Shatabdi Express

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 cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business. Shatabdi Express are day-trains and they return to the station of origin the same day.

The Chennai Mysore Shatabdi at the Mysore Junction

The Shatabdis are among the fastest trains in India and the Indian Railways considers them as prestigious. The Shatabdi Express trains run over short to medium distances while the Rajdhani Expresses are long-distance trains connecting the nation's capital New Delhi to capitals of states. Both series of trains have a regular speed of about 130 km/h (81 mph). The 12001 Bhopal Shatabdi express, however, runs at a peak speed of 150 km/h (93 mph), which makes it the fastest train in India.

Vehicle and rolling stock

The Bhopal Shatabdi is the fastest train in India and it runs at an average speed of around 93.05 km/h (57.82 mph)  between the origin and the destination though it runs at speeds at 150 km/h (93 mph) on some stretches between Agra and New Delhi stations. These trains are now using latest L.H.B. Rakes to provide extra comfort in the train.

Bhopal Shatabdi

The Lucknow - Delhi Shatabdi has a recorded speed of 145 km/h (90 mph) although it lingers in the neighborhood of 130 km/h (81 mph) for most of the cruising distance.

The Howrah - New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi is the fastest Diesel hauled Shatabdi as well as fastest diesel hauled train in India, it often touches 125-130kph on Howrah - Barddhaman Chord Line with a WDP4/WDPB loco of Siliguri Junction Diesel Loco Shed.

Howrah - New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi

It is also the First End-to-End EMD hauled Shatabdi and uses the First Chair Car LHB Rakes from LHB Factory Raebareli.

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 are provided with bottled water, juice, coffee or tea, and meals relevant to time of day of the journey.

Interior view of the new Executive AC Chair Car coaches(EC)

 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.

Interior view of the new AC Chair Car coaches(CC)

Berths and seats in Shatabdi 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, most of the coaches on the train have only airconditioned seats (called AC Chair Car or CC) and not berths. All the Shatabdi Express trains have, however, one coach of first class airconditioned seating. These coaches have wider leg room and offer better food compared to the normal Air conditioned seating(CC).
New on board 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-Mumbai Shatabdi Express.

List of Shatabdi trains

Indian Railways operates 17 pairs of Shatabdi Express as on 1 April 2012. These trains are listed here.

Pair	Train No	Sector	Stoppages	Distance (km)	Frequency
1	12001 - 12002	Bhopal - New Delhi	Jhansi, Gwalior, Morena, Agra Cantt, Mathura	701	Daily
2	12003 - 12004	Lucknow - New Delhi	Kanpur, Etawah, Aligarh, Ghaziabad	511	Daily
3	12005 - 12006	New Delhi - Kalka	Kurukshetra, Ambala, Chandigarh	303	Daily
4	12007 - 12008	Chennai Central - Mysore	Bangalore City	500	except Wednesday
5	12009 - 12010	Mumbai - Ahmedabad	Borivali, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Nadiad	491	except Sunday
6	12011 - 12012	New Delhi - Kalka	Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Chandigarh	303	Daily
7	12013 - 12014	New Delhi - Amritsar	Sirhind, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas	448	Daily
8	12015 - 12016	New Delhi - Ajmer	Delhi Cantt, Gurgaon, Rewari, Alwar, Jaipur	443
9	12017 - 12018	New Delhi - Dehradun	Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Roorkee, Haridwar	315	Daily
10	12019 - 12020	Howrah - Ranchi	Durgapur, Raniganj, Asansol, Dhanbad, Chandrapura, Bokaro Steel City, Muri	423	except Sunday
11	12025 - 12026	Pune-Secunderabad	Daund, Solapur, Gulbarga, Wadi, Tandur, Vikarabad, Begumpet	597	Except Tuesday
12	12027 - 12028	Chennai Central - Bengaluru City	Vellore (Katpadi Junction), Bengaluru Cantonment	362	except Tuesday
13	12029 - 12030	New Delhi - Amritsar	Ambala, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas	448	except Thursday
14	12031 - 12032	New Delhi - Amritsar	Ambala, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas	448	Thursday
15	12033 - 12034	Kanpur - New Delhi	Ghaziabad	440	Except Sundays
16	12037- 12038	Ludhiana-New Delhi	Rohtak, Tohana, Sangrur	329	Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday (Soon 7 days)
17	12039- 12040	Kathgodam - Delhi Anand Vihar(T.)	Haldwani, Lalkuan, Rudrapur, Rampur, Moradabad, Ghaziabad	270	Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday
18	12041 - 12042	Howrah Junction - New Jalpaiguri	Bolpur Shantiniketan, Malda Town, Kishanganj	566	except Sunday

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.
The former railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav had also introduced Garib Rath (chariot of the poor). These are fast trains (like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi), are fully Air-Conditioned and with lower fares. These trains are quite successful and compete with low cost airlines on some long-distance routes.