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| Operator | Indian Railways |
|---|---|
| Main Operation | Connects national capital /Chandigarh with state capitals / big cities |
| Fleet | 23 |
| Stations called at | From various cities to New Delhi/Old Delhi/Chandigarh |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Broad Gauge |
| Operating speed | 130 km/h (81 mph) maximum |
Sampark Kranti Express[1] trains are a series ofSuperfast express trains operated by theIndian Railways providing quick connectivity to the national capital,New Delhi.
The wordsSampark andKranti are borrowed fromSanskrit. Sampark(Devanagari:-सम्पर्क) means Contact and Kranti(Devanagari:-क्रान्ति ) means Revolution. The combined name denotes the steps taken by Indian Railways to provide high speed train connections from cities aroundIndia with the National Capital through the provision of non-air conditionedexpress trains with few stops and operating at high speeds. A similar capability had been introduced earlier on the Rajdhani express. However, these trains were completelyair-conditioned and hence quiteexpensive.
The Rajdhani and Shatabdi series are the fastest trains in India in terms of average journey speeds. The Sampark Kranti trains operate at slower average speeds than the Rajdhani and Shatabdi series yet still provide high speed options at normal prices due to their few stops and relatively faster speeds compared with other non-Rajdhani Expressexpress trains and non-Shatabdi Expressexpress trains although initially they ran non stop once they left their respective states. They don't provide any extra facilities than the other express trains only just a quick fast connection to the country's capital from the state.
TheRailway Minister (India) at the timeNitish Kumar in the interimRailway Budget of 2004-05 announced the launch of Sampark Kranti Express. The trains in the Sampark Kranti series connect the Indian states to the national capital city ofNew Delhi. Sampark Kranti trains charge the same fare as regular/superfast trains on theIndian Railwaysrail network and do not provide any special facilities not available in regularExpress trains. The initial decision of non-stop run of this Express series of trains was cut short and was given way to commercial stopping outside the states.[2] The trains aim at reducing travel time without compromising on passenger comfort.[3]
Initially eighteen trains were launched and the count was later increased. The Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express from DelhiHazrat Nizamuddin toYesvantpur was the first train which was launched on 8 February 2004.[2]Uttar Pradesh Sampark Kranti Express link from Khajuraho got terminated with the introduction ofGita Jayanti Express and extension of the same toKhajuraho inMadhya Pradesh.
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