Shatabdi Express

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Shatabdi Express
Amritsar–New Delhi Shatabdi Express
Overview
Status	Active
First service	14 November 1988; 33 years ago (1988-11-14)
Successor	Vande Bharat Express
Current operator(s)	Indian Railways
Website	http://indianrail.gov.in
Route
Line(s) used	23
On-board services
Class(es)	Executive Chair Car, AC Chair Car
Seating arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	No pantry car attached but has onboard catering
Entertainment facilities	Electric outlets
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks, baggage area near vestibule
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB coaches
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Track owner(s)	Indian Railways
Route map Route map of Shatabdi trains

Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast (called Superfast in India) passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other Major cities for tourism, pilgrimage & business purposes. Shatabdi Express are day-trains and they return to the station of origin the same day.

The Shatabdi along with the Rajdhani and the Duronto are among the major in India and Indian Railways considers Rajdhani and Shatabdi as prestigious. Shatabdi Expresses gets the second highest priority, after Rajdhani Expresses which gets highest priority and overall second highest until Train 18, Gatimaan, and Tejas Express came in existence. The Shatabdi Express trains run over short to medium distances while the Rajdhani Expresses and the Duronto Expresses are long-distance trains. Rajdhani Expresses connect the nation's capital New Delhi to capitals of states and other major cities while Duronto Expresses connect major cities to other major cities. All three series of trains have a maximum speed of about 130 km/h (81 mph). The 12001 Bhopal Shatabdi express, however, runs at a peak speed of 155 km/h (96 mph), which makes it the fourth fastest train in India after the Tejas Express, Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat Express.

History[]

The name "Shatabdi" means centenary in Sanskrit. The first Shatabdi Express train was introduced on 10 July 1988, by then Railways Minister Madhavrao Scindia to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India, between New Delhi and Gwalior Junction. It was later extended to Jhansi Junction and then to Bhopal Junction. Its terminal station in Bhopal was subsequently moved from Bhopal Junction to Habibganj.

Service[]

Shatabdi Express trains offer fast connectivity with only a few intermediate stops. They are fully air-conditioned and of a much higher standard than most Indian trains. Shatabdi travelers were provided with bottled water, juice, coffee or tea, and meals relevant to the time of day of the journey but now they don’t including the Rajdhani Express. Travelers have to pay for food at an extra cost. All these new changes happened after the COVID-19 situation in India.

Shatabdi trains are also further distinguished from other trains, in terms of convenience in boarding and disembarking. Most stations give them priority berthing at the better platforms, such as ones located close to the station building or waiting halls (generally platform number 1 at most of the stations).

Berths and seats in Shatabdi Express, Duronto Express and Rajdhani Express trains have to be reserved in advance before boarding the train. There is no unreserved accommodation in these trains, unlike most of the other trains in India. A few Shatabdis have a current booking system where tickets can be booked within a couple of hours before departure.

As Shatabdi Express are day-trains and return to the station of origin the same day, coaches (AC Chair Car) on the train have only seats and not berths. All the Shatabdi Express trains have, however, one or two coaches of Executive Class seating. Recently, Indian Railways have started offering Anubhuti Class seating also. These coaches have a wider legroom and offer better food compared to the normal air conditioned seating (CC).

New onboard entertainment systems have also been installed on some of these trains where the passengers can view movies and television serials directly via satellite. One of the first services to have this system is the Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express.^[1]

List of Shatabdi trains[]

Indian Railways operates 23 pairs of Shatabdi Express as of October 2019. These trains are listed here.

Related trains[]

A variant of the Shatabdi Express, Swarna Shatabdi Express, is considered more luxurious by Indian Railway. Indian Railways later introduced a lower-priced version Jan Shatabdi Expresses, which are nearly all without air-conditioning and much more affordable.

A former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had also introduced Garib Rath (chariot of the poor) in 2005. These are fast trains (like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi), which are fully air-conditioned and with lower fares. These trains are quite successful and compete with low-cost airlines on some long-distance routes.

Gallery[]

• 

  Trainboard of 12027 Bangalore Shatabdi Express

• 

  Commonwealth Games livery coach of 12018 Dehradun Shatabdi Express

• 

  Electronic coachboard of 12017 Dehradun Shatabdi Express

• 

  ex 12007 Mysore Shatabdi coach E1 of 12026 Shatabdi Express

• 

  Coachboard of 12010 Shatabdi Express

• 

  Nameboard of 12010 Shatabdi Express

• 

  Interior view of the new Executive AC Chair Car coaches (EC) on the Chennai–Mysore line

• 

  Interior view of the new AC Chair Car coaches (CC) on the Chennai–Mysore line

• 

  Puri Shatabdi express at Balasore railway station

• 

  Chennai–Mysore Shatabdi at the Mysore Junction

• 

  12025 Shatabdi Express crossing Bharathnagar MMTS station, Hyderabad

See also[]

References[]

• "'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.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shatabdi Express trains.