India’s first semi-high speed train, running at a speed of 160 kmph, was introduced on the Indian Railways system from April 5. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the Gatimaan Express, which will run between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Agra Cantonment stations.
#TransformingIndia Our drive to scale new heights continues unabated:MR flagged off GATIMAN the fastest train of IR pic.twitter.com/KSsmdrQd5p
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 5, 2016
As India’s fastest train Gatimaan Express starts its operations from today, let’s take a look at its main features.
1. The Gatimaan Express is here, and it seems to be making a symbolic statement about the Railways finally picking up pace in India’s transportation scenario. The train hits a top speed of 160 kmph. Gatimaan covers the 184-kilometre distance between New Delhi and Agra in 100 minutes.
Gatiman Running at 160 Kmph pic.twitter.com/QpOvfVzHjT
— GM NorthCentral Rail (@GMNCR1) April 5, 2016
2. A product of the Make in India initiative, the train was indigenously built at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore at the Kapurthala rail coach factory.
3. Gatimaan will operate on all days of the week except Friday, departing from Hazrat Nizamuddin at 8.10 am to reach Agra at 9.50 am. On its return journey, the train will depart from Agra at 5.50 pm to reach New Delhi at 7.30 pm.
4. The AC chair car fare of Gatimaan for travelling from New Delhi to Agra has been fixed at Rs 750. The executive class fare of Gatimaan has been fixed at Rs 1,500.
5. The train features 12 coaches – comprising two executive class compartments, eight AC chair car coaches and two pantry cars.
6. The train has hotspot entertainment options, besides bio-toilets, LED lights and micro-busters for providing good fragrance. The Railways have tied up with an IT firm called My Free TV, which provides free WiFi and offline video-on-demand services to passengers. The train’s compartments sport paintings depicting places of historical importance in Delhi and Agra.
7. The Railways have made an effort to enhance catering services. It has tied up with a firm called Travel Food Services. There’s a wide variety of cuisines to choose from – North Indian, South Indian, Continental and Health Food.Gatimaan Express is India’s first ever train to have hostesses taking care of the on-board housekeeping services.
8. Two packages – of one and two days’ duration – have been put on offer, with different rates for domestic and foreign passengers. Passengers have the option of choosing either the full-day Agra Guided Tour Package (City of Love and Heritage) or 1N/2D Package (with stay in 5-star hotels).
9. A product of the Make in India initiative, the train was indigenously built at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore at the Kapurthala rail coach factory.
10. Gatimaan is likely to be introduced on eight other routes across the country soon.
Gatimaan Express has been able to receive good response.
Congratulations @sureshpprabhu & people of Agra-Delhi on the launch of Gatiman Exp-fastest train in India today.Great beginning for Railways
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 5, 2016
Congratulations @sureshpprabhu on starting highest speed #GatimaanExpress. A major milestone for Indian Railways. #TransformingIndia
— Radha Mohan Singh (@RadhamohanBJP) April 5, 2016
@ndtv @sureshpprabhu Without taking any sides and being cynical, can we be happy for once,for the country,for Indian Railways & feel proud
— Narendra Tripathi (@narentrips) April 5, 2016
#TransformingIndia Gatimaan exp launched with this we launch #missionspeed to increase average speed of all trains across network due course
— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) April 5, 2016
#GatimaanExpress-BrandNwBenchmrk in HistryofIR
IstTime in IR-Polite&WellGroomd TrainHostesses&Stwrds @sureshpprabhu pic.twitter.com/CsJ8yHfeI1— DRMDELHI (@drmdelhi) April 4, 2016
Semi high speed train,
increase of 10 kmph is
6.5% increase in speed
is a welcome move Pm modi & co…#GatimaanExpress— zoy_pal (@zoy_pal) April 5, 2016
Another Feather 2 @sureshpprabhu s Crown
definately tis ll impart xtra Gati in entire Railway System #GatimaanExpress #TransformingRailway— Sanjan Banerjee (@withSANJANs) April 5, 2016
Awesome!! @RailMinIndia is setting one benchmark after another.So gud to see great work happening after yrsssssss 🙂 https://t.co/Oo4wyTcVoX
— richa anirudh (@richaanirudh) April 5, 2016