Much to the happiness of many passengers, the Indian Railways recently made an announcement which said that the country’s first Shatabdi double-decker air conditioned train, the Shatabdi, will soon run from the commercial capital to Goa. The double-decker train has been introduced due to the increasing demand for tickets during winter holidays.
In India, the first double-decker train took off in the October of 2011, which still operates between Dhanbad in Jharkhand to Howrah in West Bengal. Also, other routes too have been taken by other double-decker trains. However, this is the first time when a Shatabdi Express will get double-decker coaches.
Let us get a brief about the Shatabdi Express
Congress Minister Madhav Rao Sindia inaugurated the First Shatabdi train in the country in 1988 as a commemoration of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s 100th birth anniversary.
Every Shatabdi train is only a day train. They return to their respective stations by 11 Pm daily. They do not operate at night.
The fastest train in the country is the Shatabdi Express, which runs between the capital and the city of Habibgaj in Bhopal. It runs at a speed of 140 km per hour.
Let us see which track routes have the double-decker trains
Ahmadabad-Mumbai: India’s first superfast double-decker air conditioned train ran between Ahmadabad in Gujarat and Mumbai in September 2012. This train usually takes 8 hours to complete a distance of 490 kms between the two major cities.
Howrah-Dhanbad: India’s first ever train to get double-decker was flagged off from the Howrah station to Dhanbad station. The service began on October 1, 2011. After the introduction of this train, our country became the third one after England and USA to run double-decker trains. In around in 5 hours, the train covers a distance of 250 kms.
Chennai-Bangalore: This train consists of 12 coaches. With its three engine coaches, this train has 12 double-decker chair coaches. It takes around 5 hours to cover the distance of 458 kms.
Delhi-Jaipur: India’s second shortest and frequently used train which is double-decker runs between Jaipur and Delhi. The service was flagged off on August 15, 2012. It runs 300 kms within 5 hours 30 minutes.
Flying Rani: One of India’s oldest operating trains: Flying Rani Express was introduced by the British as a weekend special train between the cities of Mumbai and Surat. Called the Queen of the Western Coast, Flying Rani runs for about 5 hours 20 minutes. Its double-decker coaches were only recently included. The train still runs on its original single decks, sometimes.
Kacheguda-Tirupati: The Indian Railways, in order to manage the flow of pilgrims to Tirupati, announced a double-decker train between Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and Kacheguda in Hyderabad last year. This train runs on 625 kms within 10 hours 30 minutes.
Guntur-Kacheguda: The newly formed state of Telengana got its second double-decker train, named the Guntur-Kacheguda Express on May 13, 2014. The train runs from Guntur and scheduled to run on 285 kms within 6 hours 10 minutes.
If you plan to travel in any of these trains, get your tickets booked well in advance and not to forget to check pnr status railway before leaving your place. Which deck would you prefer? Upper or lower?