Has your favourite Rajdhani, Shatabdi Express been upgraded to Gold standard? This is Indian Railways big plan
Wednesday, July 18, 2018 IST
Indian Railways has launched an initiative - Operation Swarn - to upgrade several premium Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains at a cost of Rs 50 lakh per rake. The idea is to revamp them and offer better passenger experience, especially given the fact that people pay extra for the premium category of trains.
Operation Swarn: Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains for long and short journeys respectively were launched as a premium train services by Indian Railways. But over years the quality of passenger comfort has deteriorated. Keeping that in mind, Indian Railways has launched an initiative – Operation Swarn – to upgrade several premium Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains at a cost of Rs 50 lakh per rake. The idea is to revamp them and offer better passenger experience, especially given the fact that people pay extra for the premium category of trains. The plan to upgrade trains to ‘Gold Standard’ includes 15 Shatabdi Express trains and 14 Rajdhani Express trains.
Operation Swarn aims to upgrade major Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains on 10 parameters. These include; onboard entertainment, safety and security, punctuality, modular toilets with plush fittings, onboard cleanliness, swanky interiors. In late 2017, the New Delhi-Kathgodam Shatabdi Express and the Sealdah Rajdhani became the first few trains to be upgraded under Operation Swarn. Another notable facelift under this project was given to the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express with introduction of disposable toilet covers etc.
As of date, Operation Swarn is in advanced stages, with several rakes already upgraded and only 5 trains left to be given a facelift. Informed sources told Financial Express Online that by the end of August 2018, all the chosen Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains will be upgraded! The list also includes Gatimaan Express – Indian Railways’ fastest train. Gatimaan Express runs between Delhi and Agra at a maximum speed of 160 kmph and after that at 130 kmph to Jhansi.
Here is the full list of Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains that are being upgraded under Operation Swarn:
|
Train number |
Train name |
Status |
|
12025/26 |
Pune-Secunderabad Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12309/10 |
Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
22811/12 |
Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
22823/24 |
Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
12277/78 |
Howrah-Puri Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12301/02 |
Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
12305/06 |
Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
12313/14 |
Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
12019/20 |
Howrah-Ranchi Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12033/34 |
Kanpur-New Delhi Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12041/42 |
Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12085/86, 12087/88 |
Guwahati-Dibrugarh Shatabdi Express
Naharlagun-Guwahati Shatabdi Express
|
Complete |
|
12305/36 |
Jaipur-Agra Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12439/40 |
Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Target 31.08.2018 |
|
12441/42 |
Bilaspur-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Target 31.08.2018 |
|
12453/54 |
New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express |
Target 31.08.2018 |
|
12039/40 |
Kathgodam-Anand Vihar Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12045/46 |
New Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12047/48 |
New Delhi-Firozpur Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12049/50 |
Gatimaan Express (Delhi-Jhansi) |
Target 31.08.2018 |
|
22691/92 |
Bangalore-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
22693/94 |
Nizamuddin-Bangalore Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
12027/28 |
Bangalore-Chennai Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12007/08 |
Chennai-Mysore Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12243/44 |
Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi Express |
Complete |
|
12951/52 |
Mumbai (BCT)-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
12953/54 |
August Kranti (Mumbai-Delhi) Rajdhani Express |
Complete |
|
12957/58 |
Ahmedabad-New Delhi Rajdhani Express |
2 rakes by 31.07.2018 |
|
12009/10 |
Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express |
Complete
|
A railway ministry official told FE Online that a plan to upgrade all major Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express trains under Operation Swarn is being considered. The task of the upgrade has been handed over to the respective zonal railways and the revamp and facelift of all trains has been carried out without hampering the schedule. Apart from the above mentioned list of trains, some zones are also upgrading other Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains that fall under them. For example, earlier this year, Northern Railway upgraded the 12029/12030 New Delhi–Amritsar Swarn Shatabdi Express.
Meanwhile, keeping in mind common man’s comforts Indian Railways is also carrying out Project Utkrisht under which as many as 140 rakes of Mail/Express trains are getting a facelift. The first stage of the project is likely to be complete by March 2019.
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
The tunnel has been completed in a record time of 43 months, enabling Indian Railways to start freight operations on this crucial line, which has reduced the distan...
Recently posted . 591 views . 2 min read
IRCTC Indian Railways Live Train Status via WhatsApp: Here is how to check live train running status, schedule, departed station, emerging station, expected arriv...
Recently posted . 778 views . 2 min read
Indian Railways to go for game-changing faster trains! By March 2020, your experience of travelling on Indian Railways trains is set to undergo a major upgrade with...
Recently posted . 965 views . 2 min read
Indian Railways is all set to roll out a new UDAY Express or the Utkrisht Double-Decker Air-conditioned Yatri Express train in February.
Recently posted . 889 views . 1 min read
Under the eWallet feature of IRCTC, a passenger or a user can deposit an amount of money in advance and use it later for paying money at the time of ticket bookin...
Recently posted . 904 views . 2 min read
Trending News & Articles
While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content.
...
Recently posted . 61K views . 1 min read
The four boys as well as five school officials, including the director and principal, were arrested after the incident. The minors were presented before the Juvenil...
Recently posted . 8K views . 1 min read
Rahul was having an Italian passport and was carrying suitcase full of dollars. Some say it was about was it $2 million.
Rahul and his girl friend was th...
Recently posted . 7K views . 7 min read
True – Tr...
Recently posted . 6K views . 83 min read
More in National
State-sanctioned homophobia has set the tone for wider society. With section 377 gone, there’s hope for change
Recently posted. 916 views . 0 min read
Under the aegis of NABARD and PMKSY, a Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) worth Rs 5,000 crore was set up in May 2018.
Recently posted. 647 views . 0 min read
India’s smallest state, Goa is best known for its idyllic beaches. Unknown to most Indian and foreign tourists, Goa is also home to some of the holiest shrine...
Recently posted. 618 views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views . 88 min read
Recently posted . 1K views . 48 min read
Chandigarh: IIT Ropar has made change in the parameter of Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) according to the India Rankings 2017 published conducted by the National Ins...
Recently posted. 722 views . 14 min read
Whether you're a hard-core traveller or not, one thing that I am sure you love about vacations are road trips. After all, who doesn't love zooming over butt...
Recently posted. 590 views . 4 min read