| Shatabdi Express | |
|---|---|
Anubhuti coach of Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express at Mumbai Central | |
| Overview | |
| Service type | Superfast |
| Status | Active |
| First service | 10 July 1988; 37 years ago (1988-07-10) |
| Successor | Vande Bharat Express |
| Current operator | Indian Railways |
| Website | http://indianrail.gov.in |
| On-board services | |
| Classes | 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 | 150 km/h (93 mph) (maximum) where infrastructure is available |
| Track owner | Indian Railways |
Shatabdi Express (lit. 'Century Express') are a series offastpassenger trains operated by theIndian Railways. These are day trains and mostly return to their origin station the same day. The trains run at a maximum permissible speed of 110–150 km/h (68–93 mph) depending on the infrastructure on the corresponding route, with theRani Kamalapati–New Delhi Shatabdi Express achieving the maximum permissible speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).[1]
The name "Shatabdi" means century inSanskrit and the first Shatabdi Express train was announced on 10 July 1988 by then railways ministerMadhavrao Scindia to commemorate the birth centenary ofJawaharlal Nehru, the firstIndian prime minister and plied betweenNew Delhi andGwalior. The first Shatabdi, at that time the fastest train of the country, ran at a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph). The maximum speed was increased to 150 km/h (93 mph) betweenTughlakabad andAgra Cantonment on 15 February 2006, and it was the fastest train in India till the introduction of theGatiman Express in 2016.[2]
Shatabdi Express trains offer fast connectivity between major cities with only a few intermediate stops and can run at a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).[3][4][5] Passengers are provided with on-boardcatering.[6] Onboard entertainment systems are available in select trains providing content 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 and the seats are auto allocated by the reservation system.[9][10]Dynamic pricing is applicable on the fares.[11]
As Shatabdi Express are day-trains and return to the station of origin the same day, coaches have only seats and not berths. They are fully air-conditioned and the trains have multipleAC Chair Car coaches and most of them have one or two coaches ofExecutive Class seating. Indian Railways offersAnubhuti class seating andVistadome coaches offering large windows, transparent roofing, and rotatable seats in select trains.[12] The trains used to operate on specialized coaches manufactured byIntegral Coach Factory,Chennai with the older coaches now been replaced with newerLHB rakes on all the trains.[13] The trains are hauled by variousdiesel orelectric locomotives and a new specialized high speed locomotive classWAP-7HS with a maximum speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) for hauling Shatabdi express trains was introduced in 2019.[14]
As of September 04[update], there are 21 operational pairs of Shatabdi express trains.[15]
# Name of an intermediate station may be written if the route is not the shortest or to distinguish between more than one Shatabdi route irrespective of present and past routes.
Shatabdi Express Running Status: Among one of the fastest trains of Indian Railways, running at up to 130–150 km/h (81–93 mph), the Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect metro cities with other cities.