15 Major Aspects of Rajdhani Express

Trains have always been a significant means of transportation which lets you travel across the country. Travelling by train has been considered an enjoyable affair. We can have a look at the beautiful landscapes, architectural variations and cultural diverseness of different places through the window.

The wealth of experience one can gather through a train journey is another thing to take note of. Rajadhani Express is one of the train services popular across the country and currently there are 25 pairs of Rajadhani trains running across the country connecting almost all the major cities. Have a look at some of the major aspects of Rajadhani Express.

1. Connects the country’s capital to the state capitals or major cities

Rajadhani Express is a group of trains which takes passengers to and fro from our country’s capital Delhi and the state capitals or major cities. The word Rajadhani means capital in many of our regional languages; hence, these trains have been given the name Rajadhani Express. The first train from this category was launched on 1st March 1969, across New Delhi and Howrah in Kolkata. It took around 18 hours for the train to reach the destination with a maximum speed of 120km/hr.

2. High priority among the trains

The Rajdhani express trains are among the fastest trains in the country and some of the similar trains are Tejas Express, Gatimaan Express, Shatabdi Express and Duronto Express. Since it connects the nation’s capital with different state capitals, it’s getting the highest priority among other networks in the Indian railway and the passengers are enjoying much-improved services.

3. Fully air-conditioned coaches

These high-priority trains enjoy fully air-conditioned coaches. The number of coaches involves in a train varies according to each train. In fact, Rajdhani express trains have been the first fully airconditioned trains introduced by the Indian Railway. Since you would pass through different climatic conditions while making a train journey, air-conditioning facilities would be an important aspect.

4. Three different classes of accommodation

Rajadhani Express trains offer three different classes of accommodation. They are AC First Class (1A), AC 2-tier (2T), and AC 3-tier (3T). The berth arrangements as well as the privacy features vary according to each class.

AC First Class (1A) compartments have 4 or 2 berths arrangements, the one with 2 berths is called a coupe and the one with 4 berths is called a cabin. In 1A coaches there won’t be any side berths (upper and lower). Each compartment will be provided with metal doors which can be locked by the passengers from the inside.

AC 2-tier (2T) has open bays and each bay has 4 berths. Coaches would contain 8 bays. Also, there are two more berths on the other side of each bay taking the total berth tally to 6. Curtains would be there for privacy. AC 3-tier (3T) has open bays and it doesn’t have any curtains for privacy. Each bay would comprise 6 berths with 2 more births on the other side of the aisle, taking the total berth count to 8.

5. Food is complimentary

Rajadhani Express provides complementary food when you make your travel. But you would have to remember the fact that the cost of the food items has already been included in the fare. It’s been paid at the time of booking the ticket. Food prices are paid in the name of catering charges along with the ticket. These charges vary depending on the distance travelled and the time of travel. We won’t have to pay any extra amount for food during the journey. The same feature is also available on Duronto and Shatabdi trains.

6. Longest distance covered among the Rajadhani Express Trains

Hazrat Nizamuddin–Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express is the one which covers the maximum distance among these trains. It connects Hazrat Nizamuddin in the country capital New Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram Central, the capital of Kerala. The total distance involved is 3150 km and it takes 42 hours for the train to reach the destination. It has 3 services in a week from Thiruvananthapuram and it’s on Tuesday, Thursday & Friday. The return services are on Sunday, Tuesday & Wednesday from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Thiruvananthapuram Central. It runs the longest distance without a halt from Kota to Vadodara Junction. It runs about 527 km without any stops.

7. Shortest Distance covered among the Rajadhani Express Trains

The Rajdhani Express connecting Delhi and Jammu Tawi is the shortest distance covering among these Rajadhani express trains. It has a distance of about 582 km and it takes about 9 hours to complete the travel.

8. Rajadhani trains which do not end in state capitals

Most of these trains connect state capitals with Delhi. But, there are a few Rajadhani trains which do not follow this pattern. Bilaspur Rajdhani which connects the state of Chattisgarh and Delhi has its ending station at Bilaspur, instead of its state capital Raipur. Dibrugarh Rajdhani is connecting the state of Assam with the nation’s capital, instead of ending its travel at Guwahati, it ends at Dibrugarh.

9. Additional facilities provided

Rajadhani Express trains offer some of the top services provided by the Indian railway. They would provide the passengers travelling by AC coaches with blankets, pillows, towels and sheets. These are handed over to the customers in sealed covers and free of cost. Each bed roll consists of items like one pillow, one blanket, one face towel and 2-bed sheets.

10. States with more than one Rajadhanis

Many of the states have only a single Rajadhani Express allocated to them. But there are a few exceptions to this matter. Maharashtra and Jharkhand are the two main states who has two such Express trains. Meanwhile, there are also states with more than two Rajadhani Express and they are West Bengal, Odisha, and Assam.

11. Less number of halts

When we compare these express trains with normal train services, Rajadhanis have fewer halts. This makes it cover vast distances in a short time frame as it was not asked to stop at many stations. Only important cities are handpicked to assign stops for Rajadhani. The most distance-covered Hazrat Nizamuddin–Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express has got only 20 stops, this clearly suggests the way these trains are being operated by Indian Railway.

12. Major accidents among Rajadhani Express

Out of several train accidents our country has witnessed in the past which lead to precious loss of lives. The Howrah Rajdhani Express accident which took place on September 9th of 2002 is one of the deadliest. The accident occurred near Rafiganj in Bodh Gaya, near the foot-over bridge in the Dhave river. One of the local Maoist insurgent groups had caused this accident by removing the plates from the bridge. More than 200 people were injured and nearly 140 of them lost their lives in this accident.

13. Free wifi facilities in Rajadhani trains

Indian railways have always been constantly updated throughout their course to make it more helpful for us customers. We all might have heard about the wifi facility which was made available at railway stations. But what if we get wifi facility inside a train? Yes, the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani express is apparently the only Rajdhani express from Indian railways to have wifi facility.

14. Projects to improve the Rajdhani Express

Indian railways launched a project by the name ‘Operation Swarn’ in 2017 to improve the facilities in some of the premium trains like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express. Apparently, this program was started to bring in significant changes in 10 aspects like punctuality, cleanliness, linen, coach interiors, catering, toilets, staff behaviour, security, housekeeping and regular feedback.

15. Change in the time scale for Konkan Region

Indian railway would see time-scale changes in monsoon seasons for the trains which pass through the Konkan Region. Hazrat Nizamuddin–Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express would have changes in its timings as it would have to go through the Konkan region with numerous bridges over rivers and streams.