Indian Railways tries to cater to all strata of people in the country. With this intention in mind, the railway department has provided different types of trains and different passenger classes. Read on below for an overview of the different categories.
Different types of trains in Indian Railways
There are eleven types of trains that the Indian Railways operates. The categorization is based on the trains’ speed, facilities and passenger classes provided. Each category has numerous trains networking thousands of railways stations all over the country.
Rajdhani Express
Rajdhani Express is one of the top class trains in the Indian Railways and is given high priority. These are completely air conditioned. They connect major cities in different states to the capital New Delhi. Rajdhani Expresses are some of the fastest trains in the country, reaching an average speed of 82 mph or 130 kmph. They stop at very few stations on their way. The government proposes to increase the speed of these trains to 200 kmph.
Duronto Express
Duronto Expresses are faster than Rajadhani. They are non-stop trains and stop only at operational stops. These trains were introduced in 2009 and are available only in a few states in the country. They operate between major capital cities and metros. Most of these trains are fully air-conditioned with first class, two-tier and three-tier accommodation. In some trains, sleeper class compartments are also included.
AC Express
AC Expresses have top priority in India. They are among the fastest trains in India, matching the speed of Rajdhani Expresses. As the name indicates, these trains are fully air conditioned and stop at a very few stations along their way.
Shatabdi Express
Shatabdi Expresses have two types of seats – executive class seats and normal seats. Some of these trains also have AC three-tier accommodation. They run in the day time between important cities. These trains run faster than Rajdhani Express and other superfast trains, averaging speeds between 130kmph and 160kmph.
GaribRath
In Hindi, the word “Garib” means “poor” and “Rath” means “Chariot” or “mount”. So essentially, “GaribRath” means the “Chariot of the Poor”. So, if you want to experience air conditioned comfort economically, this is the train you need to book your ticket in. The train travels with a maximum speed of 130 kmph.
Express
Express trains are fast and comfortable. They have limited stops. These trains are among the most common trains in the country.
Passenger Trains
Passenger trains are slow, with an average speed of 40kmph to 80kmph. The passenger trains that reach a speed of up to 80kmph are called Fast Passenger Trains. They stop at almost every station, including the small rural stations. They are also among the cheapest trains in the country. Most of these trains have unreserved accommodation. Passenger and fast passenger trains that run in the night have three-tier berths.
Metro trains
Metro trains are specially designed to travel within major cities. As of now, Metros are available in Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Some of the other types of trains operated by Indian Railways are Jan Shatabdi Express, Intercity Superfast Express, Mail and Suburban trains.
Different classes of passenger accommodation in Indian Railways
When you book your railway ticket, you can see ten different classes in passenger accommodation. Not all trains have all these classes.
AC First Class
First Class is luxury air conditioned accommodation. They are really expensive and the rates are almost as high as air fares. In every First Class compartment, there are right cabins and an attendant to assist passengers. The maximum capacity of a first class compartment is 18 passengers. When you travel in this class, you receive bedding. When compared to other passenger compartments, the berths here are more spacious and wide.
Other air conditioned classes
The four other air conditioned classes in Indian Railways are AC two-tier, AC three-tier, AC Economy and AC Chair Car. In AC two-tier class, each bay has six berths, two aligned lengthways and four aligned width-ways. Each two-tier compartment has berths for 48 passengers. The arrangement of berths in AC three-tier compartments is similar to the sleeper class compartments. Each bay has eight berths, two arranged lengthways and six arranged width-ways.
AC Economy class is present in trains like GaribRath. These are simple accommodations and bedding is not included in the fare. You need to pay an additional nominal fee to get bedding. The AC Chair Car class has two categories – normal and executive. While both these only offer seating accommodation (no berths to sleep), the executive class is slightly more luxurious with wider seats and more leg space.
First Class
First Class is similar to AC First Class. However, this class is not air conditioned. Although very popular in the past, this class has lost its popularity in the recent times. In most of the trains, this class has been phased out. Only a few trains that go to hill stations still have first class compartments.
Sleeper Class
Sleeper class is the non-air conditioned class. Berths are arranged in three-tiers along the width and in two-tiers along the length. These regular sleeping coaches are the most common in most of the Indian trains. Each coach can carry 72 passengers. You may check status of your train ticket at checkpnrstatus.
The two other common classes of passenger accommodation in Indian Railways are Seater Class and Unreserved class. You can book online tickets for any of these trains and classes. The PNR number gives you the status of your berth.
Filed Under: MISCELLANEOUS
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