Rajdhani Express

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AC 2 Tier Coach of Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani

Rajdhani Express (Hindi: राजधानी एक्स्प्रेस) is a passenger train service in India connecting New Delhi with other important destinations, especially state capitals. Rajdhani means "The Capital" in Hindi.

[edit] History

Rajdhani Express was introduced in 1969, for providing fast connections (up to 140 km/h/87 mph, speed varies depending upon the particular track section) from various railway stations in the capital city of New Delhi to the capital cities of various states in India (or, in certain cases, prominent cities within the state the train serves). The first Rajdhani Express left New Delhi station for Howrah station to cover a distance of 1,445 km in 16 hours 55mins.

[edit] Rajdhani

Old rake of Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express

Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani ramming just before Borivili

Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani Express.

Comfortable interiors of a First Class AC compartment in Rajdhani Express

These trains get the highest priority on the Indian railway network. They are fully air-conditioned. Passengers are served complimentary meals during the journey. Depending on the duration and timings of the journey, these could include lunch, high tea, dinner, morning tea and breakfast. Almost all Rajdhani trains offer three classes of accommodation: First Class AC with 2- or 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) with curtains for privacy. Currently there are 24 pairs of Rajdhani Express trains, connecting New Delhi to Ahmedabad, Bangalore (2), Bhubaneswar(2), Bilaspur, Chennai, Guwahati/Dibrugarh(3), Hyderabad, Ranchi(2), Kolkata (3), Jammu, Mumbai (2), Patna and Thiruvananthapuram. These trains have fewer stops than other express trains. They halt only in state capitals and prominent cities like Vadodara, Bhopal, Ratlam, Nagda, Kota, Jaipur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, Gaya, Balasore, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Asansol, Bokaro, Nagpur, Panvel, Kazipet, Surat and Raipur.

Besides Delhi three State Capitals Mumbai, Guwahati and Calcutta are served by more than one Rajdhani Express. For instance 9 pairs of Rajdhani Trains halt at Kanpur Central, as well as 5 pairs of Rajdhani Express trains halt at Bhopal Junction.

Old Rake of the now LHB Trivandrum Rajdhani Express

[edit] Rajdhani Train Routes

Train No.	Train Name	Journey	Frequency
12301–12302	Howrah Rajdhani	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Allahabad → Gaya → Parasnath → Dhanbad → Howrah	Except Fri down and except sunday up
12305–12306	Howrah Rajdhani	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Allahabad → Patna → Madhupur → Howrah	Only Friday down and Sunday up
12309–12310	Patna Rajdhani Express	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Allahabad → Patna → Rajendra Nagar	Daily
12313–12314	Sealdah Rajdhani Express	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Gaya → Dhanbad → Asansol → Durgapur → Sealdah	Daily
12951–12952	Mumbai Rajdhani	Mumbai Central → Surat → Vadodara → Ratlam → Kota → New Delhi	Daily
12953–12954	August Kranti Rajdhani	Mumbai Central → Andheri → Borivali → Vapi → Valsad → Surat → Bharuch → Vadodara → Ratlam → Nagda → Kota → Sawai Madhopur → Mathura → Hazrat Nizamuddin	Daily
22823-22824	Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Bokaro → Jamshedpur → Bhubaneswar	4 days a week
22811-22812	Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Bokaro → Adra → Bhubaneswar	3 days a week
12439-12440	Ranchi Rajdhani	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Bokaro → Ranchi	2 days a week
12453-12454	Ranchi Rajdhani	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Daltonganj → Ranchi	weekly
12423-12424 22423-22424	Guwahati/Dibrugarh Rajdhani	New Delhi → Kanpur Central → Allahabad → Patna → Guwahati or Dibrugarh Town	6 days a week
12235-12236	Guwahati/Dibrugarh Rajdhani	New Delhi → Lucknow → Varanasi → Muzaffarpur → Samastipur → Guwahati → Dibrugarh Town	Weekly
12435-12436	Guwahati/Dibrugarh Rajdhani	New Delhi → Lucknow → Varanasi → Hajipur → Guwahati → Dibrugarh Town	2 days a week
12441–12442	Bilaspur Rajdhani	New Delhi to Bilaspur → Jhansi, Bhopal, Nagpur, Durg, Raipur	2 days a week
12957–12958	Ahmedabad Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani	New Delhi to Ahmedabad → Jaipur, Ajmer , Abu Road, Palanpur, Ahmedabad	Daily
12429–12430	Bangalore Rajdhani	Hazrat Nizamuddin to Bangalore via Secunderabad, Nagpur, Bhopal	4 days a week
12493–12494	Bangalore Rajdhani	Hazrat Nizamuddin to Bangalore via Secunderabad, Nagpur, Bhopal	3 days a week
12433–12434	Chennai Rajdhani	Hazrat Nizamuddin to Chennai via Vijayawada, Nagpur	2 days a week
12425–12426	Jammu Tawi Rajdhani	New Delhi to Jammu Tawi	Daily
12437–12438	Secunderabad Rajdhani	Hazrat Nizamuddin to Secunderabad via Nagpur, Jhansi	Once a week
12431–12432	Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani	Hazrat Nizamuddin → Kota → Vadodara → Panvel → Madgaon → Karwar → Udupi → Mangalore JN → Cannannore → Calicut → Shornur → Trichur → Eranakulam JN → Alleppey → Quilon JN → Trivandrum Central	3 days a week

[edit] Gallery

WAP Engine used for high-speed Rajdhani and Shatabdi express trains
Rajdhani Express leaving Kharagpur station towards Bubhaneswar
Newly designed coaches of the Rajdhani trains
Old coaches of the now LHB Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani(Trivandrum Rajdhani) with 'GO KERALA' Enmarked on it