Shatabdi Express () are a series of fast passenger trains operated by the Indian Railways. These are day trains and mostly return to their origin station the same day. The trains run at a maximum permissible speed of depending on the infrastructure on the corresponding route, with the Rani Kamalapati–New Delhi Shatabdi Express achieving the maximum permissible speed of .
History
The name "Shatabdi" means century in Sanskrit and the first Shatabdi Express train was announced on 10 July 1988 by then railways minister Madhavrao Scindia to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian prime minister and plied between New Delhi and Gwalior. The first Shatabdi, at that time the fastest train of the country, ran at a maximum speed of . The maximum speed was increased to between Tughlakabad and Agra Cantonment on 15 February 2006, and it was the fastest train in India till the introduction of the Gatiman Express in 2016.
Facilities
Shatabdi Express trains offer fast connectivity between major cities with only a few intermediate stops and can run at a maximum speed of . Passengers are provided with on-board catering. Onboard entertainment systems are available in select trains providing content via satellite. Seats in Shatabdi Express have to be reserved in advance as there is no unreserved accommodation, unlike most of the other trains in India. Reservation is allowed until up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time and the seats are auto allocated by the reservation system. Dynamic pricing is applicable on the fares.
Rolling stock
thumb|upright=0.75|Interior of an AC chair car coach
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 multiple AC Chair Car coaches and most of them have one or two coaches of Executive Class seating. Indian Railways offers Anubhuti class seating and Vistadome coaches offering large windows, transparent roofing, and rotatable seats in select trains. The trains used to operate on specialized coaches manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai with the older coaches now been replaced with newer LHB rakes on all the trains. The trains are hauled by various diesel or electric locomotives diesel locomotives like WDP-4 , WDG-4 , WDM-3A , WDM-3D and a new specialized high speed locomotive class WAP-7HS and WAP-5 with a maximum speed of for hauling Shatabdi express trains was introduced in 2019.
Services
Active
, there are 22 operational pairs of Shatabdi express trains. (consists of 21 standard Shatabdi Express and 1 Gatimaan Express).
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|+List of active services
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Sr. no.
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Route
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Train no.
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Originating Station
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Terminal Station
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Operator
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Distance
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Duration
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Avg Speed (Km/h)
! style="background-color:skyblue;"|Year introduced
!style="background-color: skyblue;"|Stops
|-
|1||Rani Kamalapati – New Delhi||12001/12002
|Rani Kamalapati
|New Delhi
|NR||
|8h 40m
|||1988||Bhopal Jn.,Bina Jn.,Lalitpur Jn., Jhansi Jn., Gwalior Jn., , Dholpur Jn., Agra Cantt., Mathura Jn.
|-
|2||Lucknow–New Delhi||12003/12004
|Lucknow Jn.
|New Delhi
|NR||
|6h 50m
|||1989||, , Etawah Jn., Tundla Jn., Aligarh Jn., Ghaziabad Jn.
|-
|3||New Delhi–Kalka||12005/12006
|New Delhi
|Kalka
|NR||
|4h 0m
|||1989||Panipat Jn., Kurukshetra Jn., Ambala Cantt. Jn., Chandigarh Jn.
|-
|4||MGR Chennai Central–Mysuru||12007/12008
|MGR Chennai Central
|Mysuru Jn.
|SR||
|7h 7m
|||1994||Katpadi Jn., KSR Bengaluru
|-
|5||Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad||12009/12010
|Mumbai Central
|Ahmedabad Jn.
|WR||
|6h 27m
|||1994||, , , Bharuch Jn., Vadodara Jn., Anand Jn., Nadiad Jn.
|-
|6||New Delhi–Kalka||12011/12012
|New Delhi
|Kalka
|NR||
|4h 0m
|||1994||Sonipat Jn., Panipat Jn., Kurukshetra Jn., Ambala Cantt. Jn., Chandigarh Jn.
|-
|7||New Delhi–Amritsar||12013/12014
|New Delhi
|Amritsar Jn.
|NR||
|6h 21m
|||1994||Ambala Cantt. Jn., , , , Jalandhar City Jn., Beas Jn.
|-
|8||New Delhi–Daurai||12015/12016
|New Delhi
|Daurai
|NR||
|7h 20m
|||1994||Delhi Cantt., , Rewari Jn., Alwar Jn., Bandikui Jn., Gandhinagar, Jaipur Jn.,
|-
|9||New Delhi–Dehradun||12017/12018
|New Delhi
|Dehradun
|NR||
|6h 3m
|||1995||Ghaziabad Jn., Meerut City Jn., , Saharanpur Jn., ,
|-
|10||Howrah–Ranchi||12019/12020
|Howrah Jn.
|Ranchi Jn.
|ER||
|7h 22m
|||1995||, , , , , ,
|-
|11||Pune–Secunderabad||12025/12026
|Pune Jn.
|Secunderabad Jn.
|CR||
|8h 22m
|||2011||, , Wadi Jn., , Vikarabad Jn.,
|-
|12||KSR Bengaluru - MGR Chennai Central||12027/12028
|MGR Chennai Central
|KSR Bengaluru
|SWR||
|4h 57m
|||2005||Katpadi Jn., Jolarpettai Jn., Bengaluru Cantt.
|-
|13||New Delhi–Amritsar||12029/12030
|New Delhi
|Amritsar Jn.
|NR||
|6h 5m
|||1998||Ambala Cantt. Jn., Rajpura Jn., , , Jalandhar City Jn., Beas Jn.
|-
|14||New Delhi–Amritsar||12031/12032
|New Delhi
|Amritsar Jn.
|NR||
|6h 5m
|||1997||Ambala Cantt. Jn., Rajpura Jn., , , Jalandhar City Jn., Beas Jn.
|-
|15||Kanpur Central–New Delhi||12033/12034
|Kanpur Central
|New Delhi
|NCR||
|5h 15m
|||2010|| , , Ghaziabad Jn.
|-
|16||Kathgodam–New Delhi||12039/12040
|Kathgodam
|New Delhi
|NR||
|5h 42m
|||2012|| , Lalkuan Jn., , , , Ghaziabad Jn.
|-
|17|| Howrah–New Jalpaiguri||12041/12042
|Howrah Jn.
|New Jalpaiguri Jn.
|NFR||
|8h 20m
|||2012||Bardhaman Jn., , New Farakka Jn., ,
|-
|18|| New Delhi–Chandigarh||12045/12046
|New Delhi
|Chandigarh Jn.
|NR||
|3h 20m
|||2013|| Ambala Cantt. Jn.,
|-
|19|| Hazrat Nizamuddin–Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Junction||12049/12050
|Nizamuddin
|Jhansi
|NR||
|4h 25m
|||2016|| Hazrat Nizamuddin.,
|-
|20|| Naharlagun–Guwahati||12087/12088
|Naharlagun
|Guwahati
|NFR||
|5h 47m
|||2017|| Harmuti Jn., , Rangapara North Jn., , Rangiya Jn. etc..
|-
|21|| MGR Chennai Central–Coimbatore||12243/12244
|MGR Chennai Central
|Coimbatore Jn.
|SR||
|6h 52m
|||2013||Katpadi Jn., Jolarpettai Jn., Salem Jn., Erode Jn.,
|-
|22|| Howrah – Puri||12277/12278
|Howrah Jn.
|Puri
|ECoR||
|7h 50m
|||2013|| Kharagpur Jn., , , , ,
|}
Defunct
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|+List of defunct services
! style="background-color:pink;"|Route #
! style="background-color:pink;"|Train no.
! style="background-color:pink;"|Originating Station
! style="background-color:pink;"|Terminal Station
! style="background-color:pink;"|Year of Introduction
! style="background-color:pink;"|Year of Termination
! style="background-color:pink;"|Reference
|-
|Bangalore City – Hubli Jn.
|2025/2026
|Bangalore City
|Hubli Jn.
|1995
|1996
|
|-
|Chennai Central – Coimbatore Jn.
|2023/2024
|Chennai Central
|Coimbatore Jn.
|1995
|2000
|
|-
|New Delhi - Patiala – Bathinda #
|
|New Delhi
|Bathinda
|
|2003
|
|-
|New Delhi – Bareilly
|
|New Delhi
|Bareilly
|
|2003
|
|-
|Mumbai – Pune
|2027/2028
|Mumbai CSMT
|Pune Jn.
|1995
|2004
|
|-
|Jaipur – Agra Fort
|12035/12036
|Jaipur
|Agra Fort
|2012
|2018
|
|-
|New Delhi – Rhotak - Ludhiana #
|12037/12038
|New Delhi
|Ludhiana Jn.
|2011
|2019
|
|-
|New Delhi – Rhotak - Moga #
|12043/12044
|New Delhi
|Moga
|2012
|2019
|
|-
|New Delhi – Firozpur, up to Bathinda during introduction
|12047/12048
|New Delhi
|Firozpur Cantt.
|2014
|2021
|
|-
|Guwahati – Dibrugarh
|12085/12086
|Guwahati
|Dibrugarh
|2017
|2020
|
|}
# 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.
Trivia
- For many years, the Bhopal Shatabdi Express (now Rani Kamalapati - New Delhi Shatabdi Express) held the record for the fastest train in India, reaching speeds of up to 150 km/h on certain stretches, particularly between Tughlakabad and Agra.
- Unlike most long-distance Indian trains, Shatabdi Express trains are designed exclusively for day travel. This means they only have seating arrangements (Chair Car and Executive Chair Car) and no sleeping berths.
- The MGR Chennai Central–Mysuru Shatabdi Express (launched in 1994) holds the distinction of being the first Shatabdi Express to operate in South India.
- Gatiman Express is also such type of a train but faster than Shatabdi Train where infrastructure is available that had a difference of yellow stripes in all its coaches, and has fare slightly higher than that of Shatabdi Express.
- Howrah–Digha Super AC Express, completely a Shatabdi Express type train having other name instead of "Shatabdi Express" after conversion from a Duronto Express of year 2010 to 2015 was suspended during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and was withdrawn later without making any journey since that suspension period.