The Garib Rath (lit. Poor Chariot) 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. 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 Sanskrit 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 first service was inaugurated on 5 October 2006 by introduced by the then Rail Minister of India Lalu Prasad Yadav between Saharsa and Amritsar.
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.DestinationsInaugurated onDistance (km)Journey timeMajor halts12203/04Saharsa Junction–Amritsar Junction 5 Oct 2006 ~1550 ~30 hrs Barauni, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, Delhi12611/12Chennai Central–Hazrat Nizamuddin 21 Feb 2007 ~2180 ~33 hrs Vijayawada, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi12909/10Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin 24 Feb 2007 ~1385 ~16 hrs Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Kota13127/28Kolkata - Ara 24 Jan 2008 ~600 ~10 hrs Asansol, Jasidih, Jamui12201/02Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Thiruvananthapuram Kochuveli 31 Jan 2008 ~1500 ~28 hrs Madgaon, Mangalore, Ernakulam12735/36Secunderabad Junction–Yesvantpur Junction 1 Feb 2008 ~700 ~12 hrs Kurnool, Dharmavaram, Hindupur12215/16Delhi Sarai Rohilla–Bandra Terminus 7 Feb 2008 ~1360 ~17 hrs Jaipur, Ajmer, Ahmedabad12535/36Lucknow Charbagh–Raipur Junction 23 Feb 2008 ~820 ~15 hrs Prayagraj, Satna, Bilaspur12517/18Kolkata - Guwahati 30 Mar 2008 ~1000 ~18 hrs Malda Town, New Jalpaiguri, New Bongaigaon12207/08Kathgodam–Jammu Tawi 8 Apr 2008 ~900 ~16 hrs Moradabad, Saharanpur, Pathankot12209/10Kanpur Central – Kathgodam 16 Sep 2008 ~450 ~8 hrs Lucknow, Bareilly, Lal Kuan12435/36Jaynagar–Anand Vihar Terminal 29 Sep 2008 ~1250 ~22 hrs Darbhanga, Samastipur, Patna12739/40 Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad 25 Oct 2008 ~700 ~12 hrs Rajahmundry, Vijayawada12881/82 Puri - Shalimar 6 Jan 2009 ~500 ~9 hrs Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Kharagpur12113/14Pune–Nagpur 19 Jan 2009 ~890 ~15 hrs Daund, Manmad, Bhusaval12877/78Ranchi – New Delhi 28 Jan 2009 ~1300 ~20 hrs Bokaro, Gaya, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay12211/12Muzaffarpur – Anand Vihar Terminal 11 Feb 2009 ~1050 ~20 hrs Hajipur, Chhapra, Ballia12983/84Ajmer Junction – Chandigarh 14 Feb 2009 ~800 ~14 hrs Jaipur, Delhi12187/88Jabalpur Junction–Mumbai CSMT 20 Feb 2009 ~1000 ~18 hrs Itarsi, Bhusaval, Kalyan12257/58Yesvantpur Junction–Thiruvananthapuram Kochuveli 24 Feb 2009 ~730 ~14 hrs Palakkad, Coimbatore, Salem22541/52Banaras–Anand Vihar Terminal 3 Mar 2009 ~800 ~14 hrs Prayagraj, Kanpur22405/06Bhagalpur Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal 10 Feb 2011 ~1200 ~22 hrs Jamalpur, Kiul, Patna22409/10Gaya Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal 3 July 2011 ~1000 ~18 hrs Dehri-on-Sone, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay12593/94Lucknow Charbagh–Bhopal Junction 19 Nov 2011 ~700 ~12 hrs Kanpur, Jhansi22883/84Puri–Yesvantpur Junction 20 July 2012 ~1500 ~26 hrs Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Renigunta12501/02Kolkata - 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
02709 Gudur-Secunderabad Garibrath Express special Rake Sharing With Secunderabad Yesvantpur Garibrath Express
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
Further reading
External links
Garibrath & Yuva Train Names (archived from Indian Railways website)