Bhopal Shatabdi

Bhopal Shatabdi is an Indian Railways train running between New Delhi and Bhopal. It is currently the fastest train in India. The train commenced service in 1988 and was the first Shatabdi train to be introduced. The train runs at an average speed of 93 km/hr (excluding halts), touching a top speed of 150 km/hr on the 198 km Delhi-Agra stretch, which is the fastest for a train in India.

History

The name "Shatabdi" means centenary in Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali and Kannada. The first Shatabdi was introduced in 1988 to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Sri Madhav Rao Scindia was Indian Railway minister at that point of time and the Shatabdi Express was his brainchild. The first Shatabdi Express was flagged off from Jhansi to New Delhi which was later extended to Bhopal, and hence the name.

Train

The trains are fully Air-conditioned and of a much higher standard than most Indian rail coaches. Shatabdi Express travelers are provided with snacks, breakfast/meals, coffee/tea, a one litre water bottle provided by the railways owned and operated subsidiary "Rail Neer (literal translation water)", and juice.

Destinations

The train runs across the tourism hub of India covering major tourist cities like Agra, Mathura, Gwalior, Jhansi & Bhopal.The complete route is as follows
* New Delhi
* Mathura
* Agra
* Morena
* Gwalior
* Jhansi
* Bhopal

The train runs as a day train, and completes the journey of around 701km in 7 hours and 50 minutes.

ee also

*Fastest trains in India
*Chennai Rajdhani
*List of named passenger trains of India
*Taj Express
*Indian Railways - Travel Coach types and their seating / berths

External links

* [http://indiarailinfo.com/train/timetable/1518/664/12 Bhopal Shatabdi Time-Table]
* [http://indiarailinfo.com/train/videos/1518/664/12 Collection of Bhopal Shatabdi Videos]