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 | |
|---|---|
 LHB Coach of 12017 New Delhi Dehradun Shatabdi Express | |
| Overview | |
| Service type | Superfast |
| Status | Active |
| Predecessor | ICF Coaches |
| First service | 14 November 1988 |
| Successor | Vande Bharat Express |
| Current operator(s) | Indian Railways |
| Website | http://indianrail.gov.in |
| Route | |
| Line(s) used | 21 Routes |
| On-board services | |
| Class(es) | Executive Chair Car, AC Chair Car |
| Seating arrangements | Yes |
| Catering facilities | Onboard catering |
| Baggage facilities | Overhead racks, baggage area near vestibule |
| Technical | |
| Rolling stock | LHB coach |
| Track gauge | 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge |
| Operating speed | Maximum 110–150 km/h (68–93 mph) - generally 130 km/h (81 mph) |
| Track owner(s) | Indian Railways |
Generally, the maximum permissible speed of the Shatabdi Express (except the fastest one) is 130 km/h (81 mph) where proper infrastructure exists and lower elsewhere, but the maximum permissible speed of the fastest Shatabdi Express, Rani Kamalapati–New Delhi Shatabdi Express, is 150 km/h (93 mph) between Tughlaqabad and Agra Cantt since 2006, and this was the fastest train in India before the introduction of the Gatimaan Express on 5th April 2016.[1]
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 plyed between New Delhi and Jhansi Junction.[2]
Service
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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.[3][4][5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
Seats in Shatabdi Express have to be reserved in advance as there is no unreserved accommodation unlike most of the other trains in India.[8] Reservation is allowed until up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.[9] The seats are auto allocated by the reservation system.[10] Dynamic pricing is applicable on the fares.[11]
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.[12] 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.[13]
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.[14]
List of Shatabdi trains
Indian Railways operates 21 pairs of Shatabdi Express trains.[15]
| # | Train no. | Route | All/Some Halts Immediately before Withdrawing, Major Non-halting Places | Distance | Operational years and related comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2025 | Bangalore City – Hubli | Arsikere Jn, Davanagere | 468 km | 1995 -1996 Siddhaganga Intercity Express is the present form of replacement train after renaming and extension of route. |
| 2026 | Hubli–Bangalore City | ||||
| 2 | Unknown | New Delhi – Kathgodam, Present New Delhi–Kathgodam Shatabdi Express was not existed | Moradabad | 282 km | If existed it was not before Jul 1995 and not after Aug or Sept 1996. Its fare structure was printed but not its schedule on TRAINS AT A GLANCE, a book of Mail/ Express train schedule valid from Sept or Oct 1996 to a proposed time of 1997 but the printed fare structure may be of earlier than schedule - from April 1996 which maybe commencement of contemporary financial year and that fare structure maybe with proposed validity for a year. Nothing was printed on the edition of Jul 1995-96. |
| Unknown | Kathgodam – New Delhi | ||||
| 3 | Unknown | Secunderabad – Rajahmundry | Warangal, Vijayawada, Eluru | 498 km | 1999 or 1999 - 2000 |
| Unknown | Rajahmundry – Secunderabad | ||||
| 4 | 2023 | Chennai Central (formerly Madras Central)–Coimbatore, Present Chennai Central–Coimbatore Shatabdi Express was not existed | Katpadi (Vellore), Salem, Erode, Tiruppur | 494 km | 1995 -2000. Chennai–Coimbatore Intercity Express replaced it. |
| 2024 | Coimbatore–Chennai Central | ||||
| 5 | 2021 | Howrah–Rourkela (Later short terminated at Tatanagar) | Kharagpur, before short terminating at Tatanagar two more - Tatanagar, Chakradharpur | 413 km,249.5 km | 1995 -2002 (Rourkela), 2002-2003 (Tatanagar) The present form of the replacement train is Howrah–Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express after extension of route. |
| 2022 | Rourkela (Later from Tatanagar)–Howrah | ||||
| 6 | Unknown | New Delhi – Bhatinda, New Delhi Bhatinda of later was not existed. The later became New Delhi–Firozpur Shatabdi Express after extension. | Panipat, Ambala Cantt, Rajpura, Patiala | 400 km | 2002 and/or 2003 |
| Unknown | Bhatinda – New Delhi | ||||
| 7 | Unknown | New Delhi – Bareilly | Moradabad | 258 km | 2002 and/or 2003 |
| Unknown | Bareilly – New Delhi | ||||
| 8 | 2023 | Howrah – Patna | Bardhaman, Durgapur, Asansol, Madhupur, Jasidih, Lakhisarai, Mokama (Mokameh). | 531 km | Nov 2001 - late 2003 Howrah–Patna Jan Shatabdi Express replaced it. |
| 2024 | Patna – Howrah | ||||
| 9 | 2027 | Mumbai–Pune | Dadar, Lonavala | 192 km | 1995-2004. View the article of this train to view its replacement story. |
| 2028 | Pune–Mumbai | ||||
| 10 | 12035 | Jaipur–Agra Fort | Gandhinagar JPR, Bharatpur Jn | 241 km | 2012-2018 |
| 12036 | Agra Fort–Jaipur | ||||
| 11 | 12037 | New Delhi–Ludhiana | Rohtak, Jind, Tohana, Sangrur, Dhuri Jn | 329 km | 2011-2019 |
| 12038 | Ludhiana–New Delhi | ||||
| 12 | 12043 | New Delhi–Moga | Rohtak, Jind, Tohana, Sangrur, Ludhiana Jn, Jagraon | 398 km | 2012-2019 |
| 12044 | Moga–New Delhi | ||||
| 13 | 12047 | New Delhi–Firozpur | Rohtak, Jind, Jakhal, Mansa, Bathinda | 300 km | 2014 -2020 before lockdown |
| 12048 | Firozpur–New Delhi | ||||
| 14 | 12085 | Guwahati–Dibrugarh | Chaparmukh Jn., Lumding, Dimapur, Furkating Jn., Mariani, Sibsagar Town, Moranhat | 506 km | 2017 -2020 before lockdown |
| 12086 | Dibrugarh–Guwahati | ||||
| # | Train no. and route before replacement | Current train no. and present route of Vande Bharat Express | Operational years of erstwhile Shatabdi Express |
|---|---|---|---|
| Some Shatabdi Express will be replaced by Vande Bharat Express. | |||
See also
References
- "Gatimaan Express, India's fastest train, launched on the Delhi-Agra route". New Delhi: The Indian Express. 5 April 2016.
- "Bharat train routes and India's busy election calendar". Indian Express. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "'Shatabdi is the heart of Indian railways'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- "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.
- "Trains faster than Rajdhani, Shatabdi on the cards". Economic Times. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "From Vande Bharat to Rajdhani Express: Check list of top 10 fastest trains in India". News9. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "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.
- "Railways to also run AC trains from June 1; Shatabadis, Durontos to be restored". Hindustan Times. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "Good news for Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express travellers! Book tickets even after chart preparation soon". Zee Business. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "Why IRCTC Does Not Allow Seat-Selection Option To Its Passengers". News18. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "New-fare-scheme-for-Rajdhani-Shatabdi-from-15-March-2019-5.html". Mint. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- "Vistadome coach promises scenic journey". The Hindu. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "Safe and smooth Indian Railways travel! These trains to run with LHB rakes". Financial Express. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "New Indian Railways locomotive runs at 180 kmph! Rajdhani, Shatabdi trains to get it soon". Financial Express. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- "India Rail timetable". Indian Railways. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
External links
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| Defunct | |
