Rajdhani Express

Rajdhani Express
Rajdhani Express with LHB Coaches
Overview
Main Operation(s) India
Fleet size 24
Parent company Indian Railways

The Rajdhani Express is a series of express passenger train services in India operated by Indian Railways connecting the national capital New Delhi with the capital and/or largest cities of various states. Rajdhani means "The Capital" in many Indian languages. The Rajdhanis are among the fastest trains in India along with Tejas Express, Gatimaan Express, Shatabdi Express and Duronto Express and get the highest priority on the Indian railway network.

History

The first Rajdhani Express was introduced in 1969,[1] for providing fast connections (up to 180 km/h or 110 mph, speed variation depending upon the particular track section) from New Delhi to the capital cities of various states in India. The first Rajdhani Express left New Delhi station for Howrah station to cover a distance of 1,445 km in 17 hours 20 mins.[2]

The Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, one of the most important trains in India, was introduced on 17 May 1972.[1]

Until 1988, with the introduction of the Bhopal Shatabdi Express at 140 km/hr, the Rajdhani was the fastest train in India reaching speeds of 115-120 km/hr.[1]

About

Rajdhani express gets the highest priority on the Indian railway network.[2] They are fully air-conditioned. Passengers are served meals (food price included in the train fare) during the journey. Depending on the duration and timings of the journey, these could include morning tea, breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner.[2] All Rajdhani Express trains offer three classes of accommodation: AC First Class with 2-berth and 4-berth lockable bedrooms, AC 2-tier with open berths (bays of 4 berths + 2 berths on the other side of the corridor) with curtains for privacy, and AC 3-tier (bays of 6 berths + 2 berths on the side) without curtains. Currently there are 24 pairs of trains, connecting New Delhi to important cities across the country. These trains have fewer stops than other express trains and halt only at prominent stations. Recently Dynamic pricing has been introduced on all Rajdhani express trains.

Routes

There are currently 24 pairs of Rajdhani Express operational:[3][4][5]

State(s)Train NameTrain Number(s)DistanceAverage Speed
AssamDibrugarh Rajdhani Express12423/124242434 km65 km/h
Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express (via Hajipur)12435/124362458 km58 km/h
Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express (via Muzzafarpur)12235/122362452 km56 km/h
BiharPatna Rajdhani Express12309/12310999 km80 km/h
ChhattisgarhBilaspur Rajdhani12441/124421501 km74 km/h
GoaMadgaon Rajdhani22413/224142094 km71 km/h
GujaratSwarna Jayanti Rajdhani12957/12958934 km68 km/h
Jammu and KashmirJammu Rajdhani12425/12426582 km64 km/h
JharkhandRanchi Rajdhani (via Bokaro)12439/124401305 km74 km/h
Ranchi Rajdhani (via Daltonganj)12453/124541341 km76 km/h
KarnatakaBangalore Rajdhani22691/226922365 km70 km/h
KeralaThiruvananthapuram Rajdhani12431/124323149 km76 km/h
MaharashtraMumbai Rajdhani12951/129521384 km88 km/h
August Kranti Rajdhani12953/129541377 km79 km/h
Bandra Rajdhani09003/090041367 km98 km/h
OdishaBhubaneswar Rajdhani (via Adra)22811/228121723 km74 km/h
Bhubaneswar Rajdhani (via Bokaro)22823/228241800 km76 km/h
Bhubaneswar Rajdhani (via Sambalpur)20817/208181914 km70 km/h
Tamil NaduChennai Rajdhani12433/124342175 km77 km/h
TelanganaSecunderabad Rajdhani12437/124381661 km76 km/h
TripuraAgartala Rajdhani20501/205022421 km59 km/h
West BengalHowrah Rajdhani (via Gaya)12301/123021447 km85 km/h
Howrah Rajdhani (via Patna)12305/123061530 km76 km/h
Sealdah Rajdhani12313/123141479 km82 km/h

Incidents

On 25 June 2014, at least four passengers were killed and eight injured when the New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express derailed at Goldin Ganj station near Chapra in suspected sabotage by Maoists. The train was heading towards Dibrugarh .[6]

On the morning on 14th Sept, 2017, at around 6.00 a.m. IST, a coach of the New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express derailed at the New Delhi station. According to a railway spokesperson, no one was injured in the incident.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express turns 40". Times of India. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 4 Sep 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express Trains". MakeMyTrip. Retrieved 4 Sep 2012.
  3. ↑ "Rajdhani Express trains". Indian Railways. Retrieved 14 Feb 2010.
  4. ↑ "List of all Rajdhani Express trains". etrain.info. Retrieved 4 Sep 2013.
  5. ↑ "12424/New Delhi — Dibrugarh Town Rajdhani Express". indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 4 Apr 2016.
  6. ↑ "Rajdhani Express derails near Chhapra in Bihar; Railway suspects 'sabotage'". timesofindia-economictimes. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Rajdhani Express coach derails at New Delhi Railway Station". timesofindia-indiatimes. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
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