Garib Rath Express

Garib Rath Express
Amritsar–Saharsa Garib Rath Express at Barauni
Overview
StatusOperating
LocaleAll over india
First service5 October 2006 (2006-10-05)
Current operatorIndian Railways
Technical
Rolling stockLHB
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Operating speed130 Kmph
Track ownerIndian Railways

The Garib Rath[1] (lit. Poor Chariot)[2][3] trains are a series of no-frills trains operated by Indian Railways to provide air-conditioned train travel at a cheaper rate compared to regular trains.[4] Garib Rath Express trains primarily operate on long-distance routes, connecting major cities and important railway stations across different states in India. These trains are designed to cover extensive distances, often traversing several hundred kilometers in a single journey.

History

The term "Garib Rath" translates to "Poor Man's Chariot" or "Chariot of the Poor" in English. These trains were primarily aimed at providing affordable transportation for economically weaker sections of society. The name "Garib" means Poor and "rath" means chariot in Sanskrit and the first service was inaugurated on 5 October 2006 by introduced by the then Rail Minister of India Lalu Prasad Yadav between Saharsa–Amritsar Garib Rath Express

Rolling stock

Garib rath trains have fully air-conditioned coaches that have to be reserved in advance. The originally used ICF rakes, which have been removed from service, consisted of modified AC 3-Tier coaches with side middle berths. The new LHB rakes consist of AC 3-Tier Economy coaches without side middle berths. Earlier some Garib Rath Express trains were pulled by diesel locomotives such as the WDM-3A , WDM-3D and WDP-4 or WDG-4, and nowadays with the LHB coach upgrade and the route being fully electrified those are pulled by electric locomotives like the WAP-4 , WAP-5 and most importantly the WAP-7.

Train No. Destinations Inaugurated on Distance (km) Journey Time Major Halts
12203/04 Saharsa Junction–Amritsar Junction 5 Oct 2006 ~1550 ~30 hrs Barauni, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, Delhi
12611/12 Chennai Central–Hazrat Nizamuddin 21 Feb 2007 ~2180 ~33 hrs Vijayawada, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi
12909/10 Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin 24 Feb 2007 ~1385 ~16 hrs Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Kota
12359/60 Kolkata - Ara 24 Jan 2008 ~600 ~10 hrs Asansol, Dhanbad, Gaya
12201/02 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Thiruvananthapuram 31 Jan 2008 ~1500 ~28 hrs Madgaon, Mangalore, Ernakulam
12735/36 Secunderabad Junction–Yesvantpur Junction 1 Feb 2008 ~700 ~12 hrs Kurnool, Dharmavaram, Hindupur
12215/16 Delhi Sarai Rohilla–Bandra Terminus 7 Feb 2008 ~1360 ~17 hrs Jaipur, Ajmer, Ahmedabad
12535/36 Lucknow Charbagh–Raipur Junction 23 Feb 2008 ~820 ~15 hrs Prayagraj, Satna, Bilaspur
12517/18 Kolkata - Guwahati 30 Mar 2008 ~1000 ~18 hrs Malda Town, New Jalpaiguri, New Bongaigaon
12207/08 Kathgodam–Jammu Tawi 8 Apr 2008 ~900 ~16 hrs Moradabad, Saharanpur, Pathankot
12209/10 Kanpur Central – Kathgodam 16 Sep 2008 ~450 ~8 hrs Lucknow, Bareilly, Lal Kuan
12435/36 Jaynagar–Anand Vihar Terminal 29 Sep 2008 ~1250 ~22 hrs Darbhanga, Samastipur, Patna
12739/40 Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad 25 Oct 2008 ~700 ~12 hrs Rajahmundry, Vijayawada
12881/82 Puri - Shalimar 6 Jan 2009 ~500 ~9 hrs Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Kharagpur
12113/14 Pune–Nagpur 19 Jan 2009 ~890 ~15 hrs Daund, Manmad, Bhusaval
12877/78 Ranchi – New Delhi 28 Jan 2009 ~1300 ~20 hrs Bokaro, Gaya, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay
12211/12 Muzaffarpur – Anand Vihar Terminal 11 Feb 2009 ~1050 ~20 hrs Hajipur, Chhapra, Ballia
12983/84 Ajmer Junction – Chandigarh 14 Feb 2009 ~800 ~14 hrs Jaipur, Delhi
12187/88 Jabalpur Junction–Mumbai CSMT 20 Feb 2009 ~1000 ~18 hrs Itarsi, Bhusaval, Kalyan
12257/58 Yesvantpur Junction–Kochuveli 24 Feb 2009 ~730 ~14 hrs Palakkad, Coimbatore, Salem
22541/52 Banaras–Anand Vihar Terminal 3 Mar 2009 ~800 ~14 hrs Prayagraj, Kanpur
22405/06 Bhagalpur Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal 10 Feb 2011 ~1200 ~22 hrs Jamalpur, Kiul, Patna
22409/10 Gaya Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal 3 July 2011 ~1000 ~18 hrs Dehri-on-Sone, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay
12593/94 Lucknow Charbagh–Bhopal Junction 19 Nov 2011 ~700 ~12 hrs Kanpur, Jhansi
22883/84 Puri–Yesvantpur Junction 20 July 2012 ~1500 ~26 hrs Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Renigunta
12501/02 Kolkata - Agartala 5 July 2024 ~1600 ~32 hrs Malda Town, Guwahati, Lumding

Defunct routes

  • 12255/56 Yesvantpur–Puducherry Garib Rath Express service converted to ordinary service[5]
  • 0655/0656 Chennai CST Garibrath special & Chennai Central Tirunelveli Garibrath Special Rake Sharing With Chennai–Hazrat Nizamuddin Garibrath Express..
  • 06511/06512 Jaipur - Yesvantpur Garibrath Express is now replaced by Superfast Express on same route

See also

References

  1. ^ "Introduction of Garib Rath trains". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 17 March 2006.
  2. ^ "English Translation of "गरीब" | Collins Hindi-English Dictionary". www.collinsdictionary.com. 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Sanskrit - Dictionary".
  4. ^ "All-AC Garib Rath flagged off by Lalu". The Times of India. 5 October 2006.
  5. ^ "16474/Puducherry-Yesvantpur Garib Rath Express - Pondicherry to Yesvantpur SWR/South Western Zone - Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

Further reading

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