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

 

 


Content updated in January 2023