Shatabdi Express

Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect important metro cities. Shatabdi Express are day trains and mostly return to their origin station the same day. The trains were first introduced in 1988 and were named 'Shatabdi', meaning 'century', to commemorate the birth centenary of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Shatabdi express trains can run at a maximum speed of 160 km/h.

Not to be confused with Jan Shatabdi Express.

Shatabdi Express
Mysore Shatabdi at Mysore Junction in grey avatar
Overview
Service typeSuperfast
StatusActive
First service14 November 1988 (1988-11-14)
Current operator(s)Indian Railways
Websitehttp://indianrail.gov.in
Route
Line(s) used22 Routes
On-board services
Class(es)Executive Chair Car, AC Chair Car
Seating arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesOnboard catering
Baggage facilitiesOverhead racks, baggage area near vestibule
Technical
Rolling stockLHB coach
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Operating speedMaximum 110–160 km/h (68–99 mph)
Track owner(s)Indian Railways

History

The name "Shatabdi" means century in Sanskrit. The first Shatabdi Express train was announced on 10 July 1988 by then Railways Minister Madhavrao Scindia to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India and plied between New Delhi and Jhansi Junction.[1]

Service
Interior view of an AC Chair Car coach
Puri Shatabdi express at Balasore railway station
Exterior view of an AC Chair Car coach
New LHB coaches of the Shatabdi Express
Shatabdi Express with special Commonwealth Games livery
Electronic coach board in one of the Shatabdi Express
Train board indicating the train details on a Shatabdi Express

Shatabdi Express trains offer fast connectivity between major metropolitan cities with only a few intermediate stops and can run at a maximum speed of 150 km/h.[2][3][4] They are fully air-conditioned and passengers are provided with bottled water, juice, coffee or tea, and meals relevant to the time of day of the journey.[5] New onboard entertainment systems have also been installed on some of these trains where the passengers can view movies and other content directly via satellite.[6]

Seats in Shatabdi Express have to be reserved in advance as there is no unreserved accommodation unlike most of the other trains in India.[7] Reservation is allowed until up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.[8] The seats are auto allocated by the reservation system.[9] Dynamic pricing is applicable on the fares.[10]

Rolling Stock

As Shatabdi Express are day-trains and return to the station of origin the same day, coaches have only seats and not berths. All of these trains have multiple AC Chair Car coaches and generally Shatabdi Express has one or two coaches of Executive Class seating. Indian Railways offers Anubhuti Class seating in some of the trains and Vistadome coaches offering large windows, transparent roofing and rotatable seats.[11] in some of the trains

The trains used to operate on specialized coaches manufactured by ICF, Chennai. These coaches have now been replaced with newer LHB rakess on all the trains.[12]

The trains are hauled by various diesel or electric locomotives. Indian Railways introduced a new specialized high speed locomotive class WAP-7HS with a maximum speed of 180 km/h for hauling Shatabdi express trains in 2019.[13]

List of Shatabdi trains

Indian Railways operates 22 pairs of Shatabdi Express trains.[14]

List of Trains
Sr. no. Route Train no. Originating Station Terminal Station Operator Distance Duration Avg Speed (Km/h) Year introduced Stops
1Rani Kamlapati (Habibganj) – New Delhi12001/12002 Rani Kamalapati (Habibganj) New Delhi NR709 km (441 mi) 8h 35m 83 km/h (52 mph)1988Bhopal, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Gwalior, Morena, Dholpur, Agra, Mathura
2Lucknow–New Delhi12003/12004 Lucknow Junction New Delhi NR512 km (318 mi) 6h 45m 76 km/h (47 mph)1989Kanpur, Etawah, Tundla, Aligarh, Ghaziabad
3New Delhi–Kalka12005/12006 New Delhi Kalka NR269 km (167 mi) 4h 0m 67 km/h (42 mph)1992Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Chandigarh
4MGR Chennai Central–Mysuru12007/12008 MGR Chennai Central Mysuru Junction SR497 km (309 mi) 7h 0m 71 km/h (44 mph)1994Katpadi, Bangalore
5Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad12009/12010 Mumbai Central Ahmedabad Junction WR493 km (306 mi) 6h 20m 78 km/h (48 mph)1994Borivali, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Nadiad
6New Delhi–Kalka12011/12012 New Delhi Kalka NR269 km (167 mi) 4h 0m 67 km/h (42 mph)NAPanipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala Cantt, Chandigarh
7New Delhi–Amritsar12013/12014 New Delhi Amritsar Junction NR448 km (278 mi) 6h 10m 73 km/h (45 mph)NAAmbala Cantt, Sirhind, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas
8New Delhi–Ajmer12015/12016 New Delhi Ajmer Junction NR444 km (276 mi) 6h 45m 66 km/h (41 mph)1995Delhi Cantt, Gurgaon, Rewari, Alwar, Bandikui, Jaipur
9New Delhi–Dehradun12017/12018 New Delhi Dehradun NR314 km (195 mi) 6h 10m 51 km/h (32 mph)1995Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Roorkee, Haridwar
10Howrah–Ranchi12019/12020 Howrah Junction Ranchi Junction ER421 km (262 mi) 7h 10m 59 km/h (37 mph)1995Durgapur, Raniganj, Asansol, Dhanbad, Chandrapura, Bokaro Steel City, Muri
11Pune–Secunderabad12025/12026 Pune Junction Secunderabad Junction CR597 km (371 mi) 8h 20m 72 km/h (45 mph)2011Solapur, Kalaburagi, Wadi, Tandur, Vikarabad, Begumpet
12Chennai–Bengaluru12027/12028 MGR Chennai Central KSR Bengaluru SWR359 km (223 mi) 4h 55m 73 km/h (45 mph)2005Katpadi, Bengaluru Cantt.
13New Delhi–Amritsar12029/12030 New Delhi Amritsar Junction NR448 km (278 mi) 6h 10m 73 km/h (45 mph)NAAmbala Cantt, Rajpura, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas
14New Delhi–Amritsar12031/12032 New Delhi Amritsar Junction NR448 km (278 mi) 6h 10m 73 km/h (45 mph)NAAmbala Cantt, Rajpura, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas
15Kanpur Central–New Delhi12033/12034 Kanpur Central New Delhi NCR440 km (270 mi) 5h 20m 83 km/h (52 mph)1994Etawah, Aligarh, Ghaziabad
16Kathgodam–New Delhi12039/12040 Kathgodam New Delhi NR282 km (175 mi) 5h 40m 50 km/h (31 mph)2012Haldwani, Lalkuan, Rudrapur, Rampur, Moradabad, Ghaziabad
17Howrah–New Jalpaiguri12041/12042 Howrah Junction New Jalpaiguri Junction NFR566 km (352 mi) 8h 30m 67 km/h (42 mph)2012Bardhaman Junction Bolpur Shantiniketan, New Farakka Junction, Malda Town, Kishanganj
18New Delhi–Chandigarh12045/12046 New Delhi Chandigarh Junction NR244 km (152 mi) 3h 20m 78 km/h (48 mph)2013Ambala Cantt, Karnal
19Hazrat Nizamuddin – Jhansi (Gatimaan Express)12049/12050 Hazrat Nizamuddin Jhansi Junction NR403 km (250 mi) 4h 25m 91 km/h (57 mph)2016Agra Cantt, Gwalior
20Naharlagun–Guwahati12087/12088 Naharlagun Guwahati NFR332 km (206 mi) 5h 45m 58 km/h (36 mph)2017Harmuti Jn, Viswanath Charali, Rangapara North, Udalguri, Rangiya
21MGR Chennai Central–Coimbatore12243/12244 MGR Chennai Central Coimbatore Junction SR495 km (308 mi) 7h 5m 70 km/h (43 mph)2011Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur
22Howrah – Puri12277/12278 Howrah Junction Puri ECoR500 km (310 mi) 7h 35m 66 km/h (41 mph)2010Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar
List of defunct trains
Train no. Route Distance Defunct year
2025/2026 KSR Bengaluru – Hubli[15] 468 km 1996
Unknown New Delhi–Kathgodam

(It is not that one which was introduced later as Anand Vihar - Kathgodam and later changed to New Delhi - Kathgodam)

 282 km 1996
Unknown Secunderabad–Rajahmundry 499 km 2000
2023/2024 Chennai Central–Coimbatore[15]

(It is not that one which was introduced later in this route)

 493 km 2000
Unknown New Delhi – Patiala – Bhatinda 400 km 2003[16][17]
Unknown New Delhi – Bareilly 258 km 2003[16][17]
2021/2022 Howrah–Rourkela[15]

Later changed to Howrah–Tatanagar

 413 km

249.5 km

 2002 (first route),

2003 [16][17]

2023/2024 Howrah – Patna 531 km 2003 ,
2027/2028 Mumbai–Pune 192 km 2004
12035/12036 Jaipur–Agra Fort 241 km 2018
12037/12038 New Delhi– Rohtak -Ludhiana 329 km 2019
12043/12044 New Delhi–Rohtak-Moga 398 km 2019
12047/12048 New Delhi–Firozpur 300 km 2020
12085/12086 Guwahati–Dibrugarh 506 km 2020

See also

References
  1. "Bharat train routes and India's busy election calendar". Indian Express. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  2. "'Shatabdi is the heart of Indian railways'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  3. "No halts, new Shatabdi Express to fly to Delhi". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  4. "Trains faster than Rajdhani, Shatabdi on the cards". Economic Times. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. "From Vande Bharat to Rajdhani Express: Check list of top 10 fastest trains in India". News9. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  6. "Shatabdi Express is now 'Gold Standard'; Free movies on WiFi to clean toilets, 15 facts every rail passenger will love". Financial express. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  7. "Railways to also run AC trains from June 1; Shatabadis, Durontos to be restored". Hindustan Times. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  8. "Good news for Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express travellers! Book tickets even after chart preparation soon". Zee Business. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  9. "Why IRCTC Does Not Allow Seat-Selection Option To Its Passengers". News18. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  10. "New-fare-scheme-for-Rajdhani-Shatabdi-from-15-March-2019-5.html". Mint. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  11. "Vistadome coach promises scenic journey". The Hindu. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  12. "Safe and smooth Indian Railways travel! These trains to run with LHB rakes". Financial Express. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  13. "New Indian Railways locomotive runs at 180 kmph! Rajdhani, Shatabdi trains to get it soon". Financial Express. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  14. "India Rail timetable". Indian Railways. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  15. https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/finance_budget/Previous%20Budget%20Speeches/1995-96.pdf
  16. "PIB Press Releases". archive.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  17. "Three Shatabdi Expresses to be discontinued". The Times of India. 4 March 2003. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
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