Shatabdi Express Trains in India
Shatabdi Express trains are a series of superfast short distance passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business which do not involve night travel.
The word “Shatabdi” means centenary in Sanskrit, Hindi and several Indian languages. The first Shatabdi train was started in 1988 to commemorate the centenary of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s Birthday (the First Prime Minister of India) by Madhav Rao Scindia, minister for railways. It operated from New Delhi to Gwalior, later extended to Jhansi Jn. railway station, then finally to Bhopal Junction. It is now known as the Bhopal Shatabdi Express.
Shatabdi Express trains are day-trains and they return to the station of origin the same day. 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 100-130 kilometers per hour. The 2001 Bhopal Shatabdi Express, however, runs at a peak speed of 150 kilometers per hour in some stretches of its journey, which makes it the fastest train in India.
Service in Shatabdi Express Trains
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.
Berths and seats in Shatabdi 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. Even these have seat numbers indicated on them, unlike the normal current booking system on other trains in India where no seat or coach numbers are indicated.
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 air-conditioned seats (called AC Chair Car or CC) and not berths. All the Shatabdi Express trains have, however, one coach of first class air-conditioned seating. These coaches have wider leg room and offer better food compared to the normal Air conditioned seating (CC).
Facilities in Shatabdi Express Trains
Shatabdi Express travelers are provided with snacks, breakfast, meals, coffee or tea, a one-litre water bottle and a glass of canned juice. There is also facility available to make STD & ISD calls from these trains. This train has two classes of travel namely AC Chair Car & 1St Class AC Chair Car Seats. 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.
Cities Serviced by Shatabdi Express Trains
Most of the prominent cities of India are serviced by Shatabdi Express Trains, and they are – Pune Junction, Secunderabad Junction, Bhopal Junction, New Delhi Railway Station,
Lucknow NR, Kalka, Chennai Central, Mysore Junction, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad Junction, Amritsar Junction, Ajmer Junction, Dehradun, Howrah Junction, Ranchi,
Bangalore City Junction and Kanpur Central Station.
Shatabdi Trains in India
As of now there are 15 pairs of Shatabdi trains plying in various sections of Indian Railways. The comprehensive list is provided in the table underneath.
Shatabdi Express trains list and schedule
Train No |
Train Name |
Source Station |
Dept. Time |
Destination |
Arr. Time |
0163 |
SC SHATABDI |
PUNE JN |
06:00 |
SECUNDERABAD JN |
14:30 |
0164 |
PUNE SHATABDI S |
SECUNDERABAD JN |
15:20 |
PUNE JN |
23:55 |
12001 |
NDLS SHATABDI E |
BHOPAL JN |
14:40 |
NEW DELHI |
22:30 |
12002 |
BHOPAL SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
06:15 |
BHOPAL JN |
14:05 |
12003 |
LKO SWRAN SHTBD |
LUCKNOW NR |
15:35 |
NEW DELHI |
22:05 |
12004 |
LKO SWRAN SHTBD |
NEW DELHI |
06:15 |
LUCKNOW NR |
12:30 |
12005 |
KALKA SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
17:15 |
KALKA |
21:20 |
12006 |
KALKA SHTBDI |
KALKA |
06:15 |
NEW DELHI |
10:25 |
12007 |
SHATABDI EXP |
CHENNAI CENTRAL |
06:00 |
MYSORE JN |
13:00 |
12008 |
SHATABDI EXP |
MYSORE JN |
14:15 |
CHENNAI CENTRAL |
21:25 |
12009 |
SHATABDI EXP |
MUMBAI CENTRAL |
06:25 |
AHMEDABAD JN |
13:10 |
12010 |
SHATABDI EXP |
AHMEDABAD JN |
14:30 |
MUMBAI CENTRAL |
21:35 |
12011 |
KALKA SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
07:40 |
KALKA |
11:45 |
12012 |
KALKA SHTBDI |
KALKA |
17:45 |
NEW DELHI |
21:55 |
12013 |
AMRITSAR SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
16:30 |
AMRITSAR JN |
22:35 |
12014 |
AMRITSAR SHTBDI |
AMRITSAR JN |
05:00 |
NEW DELHI |
11:15 |
12015 |
AJMER SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
06:05 |
AJMER JN |
12:40 |
12016 |
AJMER SHTBDI |
AJMER JN |
15:50 |
NEW DELHI |
22:40 |
12017 |
DEHRADUN SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
06:50 |
DEHRADUN |
12:40 |
12018 |
DEHRADUN SHTBDI |
DEHRADUN |
17:00 |
NEW DELHI |
22:45 |
12019 |
SHATABDI EXPRESS |
HOWRAH JN |
06:05 |
RANCHI |
13:10 |
12020 |
SHATABDI EXPRES |
RANCHI |
13:45 |
HOWRAH JN |
21:10 |
12027 |
SHATABDI EXP |
CHENNAI CENTRAL |
17:30 |
BANGALORE CY JN |
22:30 |
12028 |
SHATABDI EXP |
BANGALORE CY JN |
06:00 |
CHENNAI CENTRAL |
11:00 |
12029 |
SWARNA SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
07:20 |
AMRITSAR JN |
13:25 |
12030 |
SWARNA SHTBDI |
AMRITSAR JN |
16:55 |
NEW DELHI |
23:05 |
12031 |
AMRITSAR SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
07:20 |
AMRITSAR JN |
13:25 |
12032 |
AMRITSAR SHTBDI |
AMRITSAR JN |
16:55 |
NEW DELHI |
23:05 |
12033 |
CNB NDLS SHT |
KANPUR CENTRAL |
06:00 |
NEW DELHI |
11:10 |
12034 |
NDLS CNB SHT |
NEW DELHI |
15:55 |
KANPUR CENTRAL |
20:50 |
12037 |
NDLS LDH SHTBDI |
NEW DELHI |
07:00 |
LUDHIANA JN |
12:20 |
12038 |
LDH NDLS SHTBDI |
LUDHIANA JN |
16:40 |
NEW DELHI |
22:05 |
12039 |
KGM ANVT SHT |
KATHGODAM |
15:45 |
ANAND VIHAR TRM |
21:15 |
12040 |
ANVT KGM SHT |
ANAND VIHAR TRM |
06:15 |
KATHGODAM |
11:50 |