Garib Rath Express

The Garib Rath[1] ("Poor's Chariot") is a no-frills air-conditioned train started by the Indian Railways in 2005 to provide subsidized price air-conditioned long-distance travel to passengers who could not afford standard fares of air-conditioned class in regular-fare trains. As the fares are less than two-thirds of the fares for air-conditioned classes in other trains, the distance between each seat or berth is less, the seats and berths are narrower and each coach has more seats and berths than in air-conditioned coaches in other trains.

Garib Rath Express
Overview
StatusOperating
First service5 October 2006 (2006-10-05)
Current operator(s)Indian Railways
On-board services
Class(es)3A, CC, 3E(LHB Coaches)
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Entertainment facilitiesElectric outlets (limited)
Baggage facilitiesUnderseat
Other facilitiesRentable bedrolls
Technical
Rolling stockICF rakes (modified), LHB rakes(from 2022)
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Track owner(s)Indian Railways

Only seating and three-tier (78 seats) accommodations is provided in these trains. The passengers are not provided with free bedding or food unlike regular-fare trains. But, it is significantly faster and has higher priority than Superfast Express trains. Even some Garib Raths like H.Nizamuddin Bandra Garib Rath, Chennai Garib Rath, Ranchi Garib Rath, etc. get as much priority as Rajdhani trains on there routes. The maximum speed of Garib Rath trains is 130 km/h which is at par with Rajdhanis and Durontos. The maiden journey of the train started from Saharsa, Bihar to Amritsar, Punjab (Saharsa–Amritsar Garib Rath Express).[2][3]

Active routes
Train No. Destinations Inaugurated on
12203/04Saharsa Junction–Amritsar Junction5 Oct 2006
12113/14Pune–Nagpur19 Jan 2009
12187/88Jabalpur Junction–Mumbai CSMT20 Feb 2009
12201/02Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Kochuveli1 Feb 2008
12207/08Kathgodam–Jammu Tawi8 Apr 2008
12209/10Kanpur Central – Kathgodam16 Sep 2008
12211/12Muzaffarpur Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal11 Feb 2009
12215/16Delhi Sarai Rohilla–Bandra Terminus7 Feb 2008
12257/58Yesvantpur Junction–Kochuveli24 Feb 2009
12359/60Kolkata–Patna Junction24 Jan 2008
12517/18Kolkata–Guwahati Junction30 Mar 2008
12535/36Lucknow Charbagh–Raipur Junction23 Feb 2008
12569/70Jaynagar–Anand Vihar Terminal29 Sep 2008
12593/94Lucknow Charbagh–Bhopal Junction19 Nov 2011
12611/12Chennai Central–Hazrat Nizamuddin21 Feb 2007
12735/36Secunderabad Junction–Yesvantpur Junction1 Feb 2008
12739/40Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad25 Oct 2008
12831/32Bokaro Steel City–Bhubaneswar8 Mar 2008
12877/78Ranchi Junction–New Delhi28 Jan 2009
12881/82Kolkata Shalimar–Puri6 Jan 2009
12909/10Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin24 Feb 2007
12983/84Ajmer Junction – Chandigarh14 Feb 2009
22405/06Bhagalpur Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal10 Feb 2011
22407/08Banaras–Anand Vihar Terminal3 Mar 2009
22409/10Gaya Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal3 July 2011
22883/84Puri–Yesvantpur Junction20 July 2012

Defunct routes

See also

References
  1. "Introduction of Garib Rath trains". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 17 March 2006.
  2. "Lalu's dream project 'Garib Rath' to roll out". Oneindia. 3 October 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  3. "Lalu flags off first low-fare 'Garib Rath' train". DNA. PTI. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. "16474/Puducherry-Yesvantpur Garib Rath Express - Pondicherry to Yesvantpur SWR/South Western Zone - Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

Further reading
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