The Rajdhani Express () is a series of passenger train services in India operated by Indian Railways connecting the national capital New Delhi with the capitals or the largest cities of various states. The Sanskrit word Rajdhani means "capital". Introduced in 1969, the trains are amongst the premium services operated by Indian Railways and regularly get a higher priority on the railway network.

History In 1960, the Railway Board of India commissioned a study to increase the speed of its trains, which was restricted to on the existent broad gauge lines. A target of with an intermediate stage of was set for passenger trains. Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) started work on the same in 1962 with field trials commencing in 1967. The coaches were manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory at Madras and hauled by diesel locomotives.

On 19-February-1969, the Union of India introduced a new express train capable of reaching speeds of up to as announced in the railway budget. On 01-March-1969, the first Rajdhani Express with nine coaches was flagged off from New Delhi to Howrah with the return journey commencing on 03-March-1969. The train completed the trip in 17 hours 20 minutes and was the only such train in operation till 1972, when the second Rajdhani was introduced from Mumbai.

Rajdhani, derived from the Sanskrit means "capital" and later, with subsequent up-gradation of the tracks, new Rajdhani expresses were introduced connecting major cities with the capital New Delhi.

Rake Rajdhani trains have fully air-conditioned coaches that have to be reserved in advance. While the trains initially had chair car coaches, now the trains exclusively have sleeper coaches in three configurations: first class, two-tier and three-tier. The first class has dedicated coupes, two-tier has open bays containing six berths per bay (four berths in two tiers and two on the side of the aisle) with curtains and three-tier has open bays containing eight berths per bay (six berths in two tiers and two berths on the side of the aisle). The coaches were exclusively manufactured by Integral Coach Factory at Chennai till 2006, when LHB coaches manufactured by Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala were introduced. , each train-set costs . While the trains are capable of running at higher speeds, the maximum speed is often limited to with the fastest Rajdhani permitted to reach a maximum speed of and average speeds being much lesser due to traffic congestion and lack of supporting tracks. earlier some Rajdhani Express trains run by diesel locomotives WDM-2, WDM-3A, WDM-3D and WDP-4/4D or a WDP-3A now the Rajdhani express trains are usually hauled by WAP-7 and WAP-5 electric locomotives.

Tejas-Rajdhani Express

In July-2021, Indian railways started upgrading the coaches of Rajdhani express to new Tejas coaches with enhanced features. These coaches are equipped with newer air suspensions, bio-toilets, Wi-Fi, fire alarms, CCTVs, reading lights, dedicated power sockets, automatic doors, passenger information system, improved interior and designed exterior. The trains which are equipped with all new coaches are known as "Tejas Rajdhani" express. Indian Railways plans to introduce Tejas coaches across all Rajdhani trains in a phased manner.

Facilities The trains are amongst the premium services operated by Indian Railways and regularly gets a higher priority on the railway network. Passengers are served optional meals by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTCL), the menu of which could include morning tea, breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner depending on the duration and timing. These trains have fewer halts than other express trains with stoppages only at prominent stations. Dynamic pricing is applicable on fares across all Rajdhani trains.

Services As of 13-September-2025, there are currently 26 operational pairs (excluding special services) of ordinary Rajdhani Express, including seven with Tejas-Rajdhani rakes:

+ Train name Rake Origin station Terminal station Zone Halts Distance Travel time Speed Inaugural run 1 Howrah Rajdhani Express (via Gaya) 12301/ 12302 LHB Howrah New Delhi ER 7 6 days/wk 17h 15m 3 March 1969 2 Mumbai Tejas Rajdhani Express 12951/ 12952 Tejas Mumbai Central New Delhi WR 6 Daily 15h 32m 17 May 1972 3 August Kranti Tejas Rajdhani Express 12953/ 12954 Tejas Mumbai Central Hazrat Nizamuddin WR 10 Daily 16h 33m 1 January 1992 4 KSR Bengaluru Rajdhani Express 22691/ 22692 LHB KSR Bengaluru Hazrat Nizamuddin SWR 13 Daily 33h 30m 1 November 1992 5 Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express 12431/ 12432 LHB Thiruvananthapuram Central Hazrat Nizamuddin NR 19 Tri-weekly 41h 15m 3 July 1993 6 Chennai Rajdhani Express 12433/ 12434 LHB MGR Chennai Central Hazrat Nizamuddin NR 8 Bi-weekly 28h 25m 3 July 1993 7 Howrah Rajdhani Express (via Patna) 12305/ 12306 LHB Howrah New Delhi ER 7 Weekly 20h 00m 3 July 1993 8 Bhubaneswar Tejas Rajdhani Express (via Adra) 22811/ 22812 Tejas Bhubaneswar New Delhi ECoR 13 Bi-weekly 23h 20m 1 April 1994 9 Bhubaneswar Tejas Rajdhani Express (via Tatanagar) 22824/ 22823 Tejas Bhubaneswar New Delhi ECoR 13 4 days/wk 24h 30m 1 April 1994 10 Dibrugarh – New Delhi Rajdhani Express 12423/ 12424 LHB Dibrugarh New Delhi NR 9 Daily 37h 55m 6 July 1994 11 Jammu Tawi Rajdhani Express 12425/ 12426 LHB Jammu Tawi New Delhi NR 3 Daily 8h 20m 10 July 1994 12 Patna Tejas Rajdhani Express 12309/ 12310 Tejas Rajendra Nagar Terminal New Delhi ECR 4 Daily 12h 30m 1 September 1996 13 Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani Express 12957/ 12958 LHB Sabarmati Jn. New Delhi WR 9 Daily 12h 10m 1 January 1998 14 Secunderabad Rajdhani Express 12437/ 12438 LHB Secunderabad Jn. Hazrat Nizamuddin NR 5 Weekly 21h 40m 21 January 1998 15 Diburgarh Rajdhani Express (via Bogibeel) 20505/ 20506 LHB Dibrugarh New Delhi NFR 23 Bi-weekly 39h 38m 11 January 1999 16 Sealdah Rajdhani Express 12313/ 12314 LHB Sealdah New Delhi ER 6 Daily 18h 00m 1 July 2000 17 Ranchi Rajdhani Express (via Bokaro) 20839/ 20840 LHB Ranchi New Delhi SER 6 Bi-weekly 17h 00m 17 October 2001 18 Bilaspur Rajdhani Express 12441/ 12442 LHB Bilaspur Jn. New Delhi NR 8 Bi-weekly 20h 40m 28 October 2001 19 Ranchi Rajdhani Express (via Japla) 20407/ 20408 LHB Ranchi New Delhi NR 6 Weekly 16h 45m 11 June 2006 20 Ranchi Rajdhani Express (via Chopan) 12453/ 12454 LHB Ranchi New Delhi NR 7 Weekly 17h 55m 11 June 2006 21 Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express (via Moranhat) 20504/ 20503 LHB Dibrugarh New Delhi NFR 22 5 days/wk 41h 15m 6 March 2010 22 Madgaon Rajdhani Express 22414/ 22413 LHB Madgaon Jn. Hazrat Nizamuddin NR 9 Bi-weekly 24h 54m 20 November 2015 23 Agartala Tejas Rajdhani Express 20501/ 20502 Tejas Agartala Anand Vihar Terminal NFR 14 Weekly 43h 15m 28 October 2017 24 Bhubaneswar Tejas Rajdhani Express (via Sambalpur) 20817/ 20818 Tejas Bhubaneswar New Delhi ECoR 14 Weekly 26h 40m 10 February 2018 25 Mumbai CSMT Rajdhani Express 22221/ 22222 LHB Mumbai CSMT Hazrat Nizamuddin CR 8 Daily 17h 55m 19 January 2019 26 Sairang Rajdhani Express 20507/ 20508 LHB Sairang (Aizawl, Mizoram) Anand Vihar Terminal NFR 18 Weekly 42h 15m 13 September 2025

Trivia The Bilaspur Rajdhani Express is the First Rajdhani Express in India that undergoes loco reversal, which happens at Nagpur Junction railway station. The First Rajdhani Express to operate from Anand Vihar Terminal railway station is 20501/20502 Agartala Tejas Rajdhani Express. The Second Rajdhani Express to operate from Anand Vihar Terminal railway station is the 20507/20508 Sairang Rajdhani Express. This is also the Second Rajdhani Express in India that undergo loco reversal, which happens at Badarpur Railway Station at Assam. 12301/12302 Howrah Rajdhani used to take 16 hrs 50 mins to cover the distance running at speed in period from 2006–2016. The train was slowed down by 20 mins due to safety and operational reasons. 12951/52 Mumbai Rajdhani is the First Rajdhani Express in India which received LHB coach in late 2003. Only Kolkata, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Dibrugarh currently has three pairs of end to end (E2E) Rajdhani Express Service.

Gallery

Accidents and incidents On 09-September-2002, at least 140 people were killed when the Howrah–New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed near Rafiganj, Bihar due to sabotage by Naxalites. On 27-October-2009, Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express was hijacked by hundreds of armed activists of the Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) who forced the train to stop at Banshtala near Jhargram in West Midnapore district of West Bengal and demanded the release of Chhatradhar Mahato. The Maoists fled on the arrival of Central Reserve Police Force and all passengers were rescued without any casualties. On 18-April-2011, three coaches of Mumbai Rajdhani Express caught fire, including the pantry car, at 2:20 hrs at Thuriya near Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. Three coaches were written off but there were no casualties. On 25-June-2014, at least four passengers were killed and eight injured when the Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express derailed at Goldin Ganj near Chhapra, Bihar in suspected sabotage by Maoists. On 07-September-2017, Ranchi Rajdhani Express derailed at New Delhi railway station. No one was injured in the incident. On 14-September-2017, Jammu Tawi Rajdhani Express derailed at the New Delhi railway station when entering the platform. No one was injured. On 18-October-2018, two coaches of Thiruvananthapuram Rajdhani Express derailed at the staffed level crossing near Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh when a speeding truck collided with train due to brake failure. There were no injuries to the passengers in the train, but the truck driver was killed due to the collision. The train continued the journey after a delay of seven hours. On 03-April-2019, two coaches of Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express uncoupled on the Kathajodi River bridge near Cuttack in Odisha. The train was halted and there were no casualties. On 11-May-2019, a fire broke out at the generator car of Bhubaneswar Rajdhani near Balasore in Odisha. There were no casualties and the train continued its journey after a delay of two hours. On 20-December-2025, the Sairang-Anand Vihar Terminal Rajdhani Express in Assam's Lumding division hit a herd of elephants which were crossing the railway tracks. Five coaches, including the engine, were derailed. Seven elephants were killed, and one was injured. However, no passengers were injured. On 17-May-2026, a fire broke out in the B1 coach and the adjacent generator car of the Thiruvananthapuram–Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express between Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations under the Kota Division of West Central Railway in Madhya Pradesh, approximately 110 kilometres from Ratlam. The fire spread rapidly, engulfing the AC three-tier coach and the adjoining generator car in massive flames that were visible from a considerable distance. Railway authorities halted the train and safely evacuated passengers, and no casualties or injuries were reported.

In Popular Culture Being one of the most popular trains in India, the train's name featured as a title of a Bollywood movie, Rajdhani Express. A Bollywood movie titled The Burning Train featuring Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Vinod Khanna.

See also Vande Bharat Express Vande Bharat Sleeper Express Amrit Bharat Express Namo Bharat Rapid Rail Tejas Express Uday Express Mahamana Express Humsafar Express Antyodaya Express Sampark Kranti Express Jan Shatabdi Express Jan Sadharan Express Duronto Express Vivek Express Yuva Express Kavi Guru Express Garib Rath Express

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