analysis of sf trains

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Super Fast Trains on Indian Railways

September 15, 2011

Dhananjay Aradhye

Mumbai

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Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Work Flow ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Methodology: ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Limitations ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Findings .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

0 – 300 km: Faster trains with greater halts ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

0 – 300: Crack super fast trains ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

301 – 600 km: Faster trains with greater halts ................................................................................................................................................................... 11

301 – 600 km: Crack super fast trains ............................................................................................................................................................................... 12

301 – 600 km: Crack super fast trains (Excluding Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi) ............................................................................................................. 13

601 – 1200 km: Faster trains with greater halts ................................................................................................................................................................. 14

601 – 1200 km: Crack super fast trains ............................................................................................................................................................................. 15

601 – 1200 km: Crack super fast trains (Excluding Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi) ........................................................................................................... 16

1201 – 1800 km: Faster trains with greater halts ............................................................................................................................................................... 17

1201 – 1800 km: Crack super fast trains ........................................................................................................................................................................... 18

1201 – 1800 km: Crack super fast trains (Excluding Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi) ......................................................................................................... 19

1801 – 2500 km: Faster trains with greater halts ............................................................................................................................................................... 20

1801 – 2500 km: Crack super fast trains ........................................................................................................................................................................... 21

1801 – 2500 km: Crack super fast trains (Excluding Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi) ......................................................................................................... 22

2500 km plus: Faster trains with greater halts ................................................................................................................................................................... 23

2500 km plus: Crack super fast trains ................................................................................................................................................................................ 24

2500 km plus: Crack super fast trains (Excluding Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi) ............................................................................................................. 25

End note ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 26

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Introduction

One of the more frequently discussed topics on IRFCA forums has been degradation of super fast trains when compared to their golden past. This includes prestigious trains like Tamil Nadu Express, Gitanjali Express etc. A commonly used term on the forums has been “Crack” superfast train signifying a high speed train with less number of halts in its journey. Also, there have been some discussions about “Faster trains with greater halts” referring to trains that have substantial halts but are still perceived as “fast” by members. Such discussions include references to trains like Karnavati Express, Vidarbha Express etc. Discussions on the above two topics viz. crack super fast trains and faster trains with greater halts have been marked by historical narrations about prestigious trains and some passionate views expressed by members. Through the exercise being submitted via this document, I’ve made an attempt to analyse superfast trains purely based on data i.e. distance covered, halts in journey and time taken. To evaluate superfast trains on the two fronts – 1) Crack super fast trains and 2) Faster trains with greater halts, two ratios have been computed and compiled for superfast trains, the details of which have been shared in this document. The objective of computing these ratios is to provide a numerical analysis based on a train’s speed and halt pattern and arrive at a mathematical conclusion to evaluate super fast trains. As in real life, numbers don’t and never tell the complete story!

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Work Flow

1) For all 12XXX and 22XXX series trains, the distance traveled, time taken and number of halts have been listed. Source: www.indianrail.gov.in

2) Only commercial halts have been considered. Any reference to the term ‘halt’ hereafter refers to commercial halt only. 3) Number of halts doesn’t include the origin and destination. 4) Speed = distance traveled point to point (in km) / time taken (in hours). Thus only average speed is considered.

5) Speed is given the caption [A] in the excel file.

6) Non-stop travel = 1/(no. of halts+1). This gives the percentage of journey that is covered before the train comes to a halt. The

formula has been kept so as to accommodate non stop trains like Duronto also. For eg. for a non-stop Duronto, the % of non-stop travel =1/(0+1) = 1 i.e. 100%

To give an illustration: Consider 12124 Deccan Queen, which has 2 halts - Lonavala (64 km from the origin Pune) and Dadar (183 km from the origin Pune). Going by this ratio, %non stop journey = 1/(1+2) = 33.33% The halt pattern of trains need not be equidistant. Some halts may be close to the origin, some may be close to the destination. Thus %non stop journey is averaged out % of the journey that the train undertakes before it comes to a halt (need not be the destination station). The logic is greater the value of this ratio, the greater % of the journey a train completes before coming to a halt. In the case of a non-stop train like Duronto, the % would be 100 and the "halt" thereby would be the destination only.

7) % non-stop travel is given the caption [B] in the excel file.

8) Data has been populated for both the journeys of a train pair. Train numbers which fall under 12XXX or 22XXX series but

are shown in indianrail.gov.in in one direction only (for eg. 22925) have not been included.

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9) Trains passing through Konkan Railway have been flagged as “KR” in the column “Remarks” in the worksheet “Master_1”

of the excel file. 10) To make comparison uniform, the speed [A] and % non-stop distance [B] have been ‘standardized’ for both the journeys of

the train. This should take care of instances where the distance traveled is not the same in both the journeys. For eg. 12429 Rajdhani Exp travels 2365 km whereas it’s pairing train 12430 travels 2382 km. A sample calculation is shown below:

12137 Punjab Mail travels 1930 km in 34 hours with 54 halts. The pairing 12138 Punjab Mail travels 1930 km in 33 hours 55 minutes (33.92 hours) with 52 halts. Thus for Punjab Mail as a whole, Speed [A] = (1930+1930)/(34.00+33.92) = 56.83 km/hour % non stop distance [B] = (1+1)/(54+1+52+1) = 1.85%

11) To account for differences in halt pattern and distances traveled, classification of all trains has been done into 6 distance

slabs on the basis of average distance traveled by the train. Average distance traveled = average of distance traveled in both the directions. The six slabs are as:

a. Slab no. 1: Average distance from 0 – 300 km b. Slab no. 2: Average distance from 301 – 600 km c. Slab no. 3: Average distance from 601 – 1200 km d. Slab no. 4: Average distance from 1201 – 1800 km e. Slab no. 5: Average distance from 1801 – 2500 km f. Slab no. 6: Average of greater than 2500 km

12) The above distance based categorization of trains has been done in such a manner so as to accommodate the maximum

number of ‘similar’ trains in one bracket. The halt pattern of a train like Mumbai-Pune is generally bound to be different than a long distance train like Tamil Nadu Exp.

13) Refer worksheet “Master_1” in the excel file for full data.

14) Refer worksheet “Master_2” in the excel file for ‘trains as a whole’ (as explained in point no. 9 above)

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Methodology: The two ratios used for analysis of trains are:

1) (Speed / % nonstop) i.e [A]/[B] which is a measure of “Faster trains with greater halts” Say a train has an average speed of 60 km/hour with %non stop journey as 20%, thus [A]/[B] = 60/20% =300. Now say the number of halts for this train increases and hence % non stop journey becomes 18%, but the average speed still remains 60 km/hour. Thus, [A]/[B] = 60/18% = 333. Thus, greater the [A]/[B] ratio, “the faster the train with greater halts”

2) Speed * %nonstop i.e. [A]*[B] which is a measure of “How crack a superfast train is” Say a train has an average speed of 60 km/hour with %non stop journey as 20%, thus [A]*[B] = 60*20% =12.0 Now say the number of halts for this train increases and hence % non stop journey becomes 18%, but the average speed still remains 60 km/hour. Thus, [A]*[B]=60*18%=10.8 Though the average speed of train is still the same, due to increase in number of halts, it loses its “crack quotient” Thus, greater the [A]*[B] ratio, “the more crack superfast train it is”.

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Limitations 1) Entire data has been taken from www.indianrail.gov.in, and utmost care has been taken to enter it correctly in the excel file.

However given the limitations of human ability, inadvertent errors/discrepancies may have crept in the data. Please let know in case you come across any errors.

2) Data has been collected during the period Sep 04, 2011 to Sep 14, 2011 hence trains which have been announced and

mentioned in timetables but have not started running don’t feature in the excel file. (For eg. Ahmedabad – Pune Duronto Exp)

3) Under the four digit numbering system of Indian Railways, all train numbers beginning with “2” were super fast trains.

With five digit numbering system now in practice, there may be some super fast trains which may have not featured in 12XXX or 22XXX series and may have got missed out in the list. Please let know if you are aware of such trains.

4) For trains passing through Konkan Railway, the distance traveled has not been reduced due to time constraints at my end.

As such, given the fact that portion of journey through Konkan Railway is small/not so big for most of the trains, the inflated distance shouldn’t matter much for majority of trains passing through Konkan Railway.

5) The ratios computed Speed / %non stop i.e. [A]/[B] and Speed * % non stop i.e. [A]*[B] are purely based on numbers. As in

the game of cricket where the batting average of a batsman may not talk about the difficulty of the pitch or the level of the opponents, so is it here. Due to the astronomical scale of the complexity of the Indian Railways’ network, the ratios don’t take into account the nature of the route (single line, double line, electrified etc), traffic on the route, etc.

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Findings

• Based on the distance classification, the top trains in each category have been enlisted in following part. • Quite obviously Durontos and Rajdhanis would sweep across “Crack super fast trains” given their high average speed. • To present a balanced picture, under “Crack super fast trains”, an additional list excluding Durontos, Rajdhanis and

Shatabdis also has been mentioned. • Starting below are the top 5 or 10 trains in each category. For complete details please refer the excel file.

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0 – 300 km: Faster trains with greater halts

• Flying Ranee takes the cake in this bracket with [A]/[B] ratio of 726, having 12 halts in a journey of 263 km, yet managing an average speed of 55.84 km/hour.

• Coal Field Exp which is similar to Flying Ranee Exp is at the second position. • Steel Exp though has a relatively higher % non-stop journey, by virtue of its higher average speed features in the top 10.

Top 10 Trains arranged in descending order of [A]/[B] ratio:

Number Pair Name Train type From To Avg.

Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour

Nonstop Travel - [B]

[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12921 12922 Flying Ranee Exp Mumbai Central Surat 263 55.84 7.69% 726 4.30 12339 12340 Coal Field Exp Howrah Dhanbad 259 58.66 8.33% 704 4.89 12575 12576 KGP PRR Exp Kharagpur Purulia 208 52.53 8.33% 630 4.38 12891 12892 BPO BBS Exp Baripada Bhubaneswar 275 56.12 9.09% 617 5.10 12109 12110 Panchvati Exp Mumbai CST Manmad 261 56.99 11.11% 513 6.33 12531 12532 LJN Intercity Exp Gorakhpur Lucknow NE 279 56.71 11.11% 510 6.30

12117 12118 LTT Manmad Exp Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Manmad 245 55.43 11.11% 499 6.16

12813 12814 Steel Exp Howrah Tatanagar 250 62.50 13.33% 469 8.33 12935 12936 BDTS Surat Exp Bandra Terminus Surat 252 58.20 12.50% 466 7.27 12347 12348 Rampur Hat Exp Howrah Rampur Hat 207 57.10 12.50% 457 7.14

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0 – 300: Crack super fast trains

• Quite obviously, the two short distance Durontos are at the top of the table. • The ‘not-so-discussed’ Tippu Exp is at the third position. The average speed isn’t really great at 55.60 km/hour, but it just

has one halt in its journey thus giving it a higher [A]*[B] ratio when it comes to the ‘crack quotient’. • Deccan Queen is at the 6th position. A combination of a near 60 km/hour average speed and a healthy % non stop journey

give it a ‘crack quotient’ of 17.09. Trains arranged in descending order of the ratio [A]*[B]


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12241 12242 CDG ASR DURONTO Duronto Chandigarh Amritsar 267 64.11 100.00% 64 64.11

12847 12848 HWH DGHA Duronto Exp

Duronto Howrah Digha Flag Stn 189 63.00 100.00% 63 63.00

12613 12614 Tippu Exp Mysore Bangalore Cy 139 55.60 50.00% 111 27.80 12157 12158 Hutatma Exp Pune Solapur 264 66.00 33.33% 198 22.00 12337 12338 SANTINIKATAN EXP Howrah Bolpur S Niktn 146 61.47 33.33% 184 20.49 12123 12124 Deccan Queen Mumbai CST Pune 192 59.81 28.57% 209 17.09 12169 12170 SUR Intercity Exp Pune Solapur 264 65.35 25.00% 261 16.34 12127 12128 Intercity Exp Mumbai CST Pune 192 61.94 25.00% 248 15.48 12125 12126 Pragati Exp Mumbai CST Pune 192 56.47 25.00% 226 14.12 12341 12342 Agnibina Exp Howrah Asansol 200 60.79 16.67% 365 10.13

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• The seemingly ordinary 12351/52 Howrah – Danapur Exp is at the top position. • The top 10 in this category mainly feature ‘super crawlers’ with an average speed of 55-57 km/hour and around 6-8% non

stop journey. • 12023/24 Howrah – Patna Janshatabdi Exp. has a good average speed of 67.17 km/hour but its higher %non-stop journey

prevents it from occupying one of the top 3 positions. Trains arranged in descending order of [A]/[B] ratio


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12351 12352 Danapur Exp Howrah Danapur 541 53.88 4.17% 1293 2.25 12737 12738 Goutami Exp Kakinada Port Secunderabad 566 55.22 5.13% 1077 2.83 12609 12610 Bangalore Exp Chennai Central Bangalore Cy 362 55.69 5.56% 1002 3.09 12023 12024 Janshatabdi Exp Janshatabdi Howrah Patna 532 67.17 7.69% 873 5.17 12459 12460 NDLS ASR Exp New Delhi Amritsar 448 56.28 6.67% 844 3.75 12747 12748 Palnadu Exp Guntur Vikrabad 353 55.72 7.14% 780 3.98

12481 12482 Intercity Exp Delhi Shri Ganganagar 424 55.61 7.14% 778 3.97

12185 12186 Rewanchal Exp Habibganj Rewa 554 55.40 7.14% 776 3.96 12827 12828 HWH PRR Exp Howrah Purulia 323 57.02 7.41% 770 4.22 12069 12070 Janshatabdi Exp Janshatabdi Raigarh Gondia 414 59.14 7.69% 769 4.55

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301 – 600 km: Crack super fast trains

• Durontos and Shatabdi trains sweep the top 10 positions in this category • The exception is Kanpur – New Delhi Shram Shakti Exp, but which again is equivalent to Duronto as it doesn’t have any

halt. • The Kanpur – New Delhi Shatabdi though has an impressive average speed of 86.62 km/hour, its solitary halt reduces the

“crack quotient” Trains arranged in descending order of [A]*[B] ratio:


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12267 12268 ADI Duronto Exp Duronto Mumbai Central Ahmedabad 491 75.08 100.00% 75 75.08 12243 12244 Duronto Exp Duronto Chennai Central Coimbatore 497 74.07 100.00% 74 74.07

12277 12278 HWH Puri Duronto Exp

Duronto Howrah Puri 502 69.24 100.00% 69 69.24

12451 12452 Shram Shakti Exp Kanpur Central New Delhi 440 68.59 100.00% 69 68.59

12265 12266 DEE JAT Duronto Exp

Duronto Delhi S Rohilla Jammu Tawi 578 66.06 100.00% 66 66.06

12271 12272 NDLS Duronto Exp Duronto Lucknow NR New Delhi 493 62.92 100.00% 63 62.92

12033 12034 CNB NDLS Shatabdi Exp

Shatabdi Kanpur Central New Delhi 437 86.62 50.00% 173 43.31

12007 12008 Shatabdi Exp Shatabdi Chennai Central Mysore 500 70.57 50.00% 141 35.29 12027 12028 Shatabdi Exp Shatabdi Chennai Central Bangalore Cy 362 72.40 33.33% 217 24.13 12005 12006 Kalka Shatabdi Exp Shatabdi New Delhi Kalka 303 73.45 25.00% 294 18.36

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301 – 600 km: Crack super fast trains (Excluding Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi)

• 12233/34 Lucknow New Delhi AC Exp is at the second slot with only three halts and a healthy average speed of almost 63 km/hour.

• The old timer 12927/28 Mumbai – Vadodara Exp. is amongst the top 5 in this category. Trains arranged in descending order of [A]*[B] ratio


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12451 12452 Shram Shakti Exp Kanpur Central New Delhi 440 68.59 100.00% 69 68.59

12233 12234 LKO NDLS AC Exp

Lucknow NR New Delhi 493 62.92 25.00% 252 15.73

12927 12928 Vadodara Exp Mumbai Central Vadodara 392 61.88 22.22% 278 13.75 12403 12404 ALD MTJ Exp Allahabad Mathura 507 57.94 18.18% 319 10.54 12529 12530 Intercity Exp Habibganj Jabalpur 331 58.84 16.67% 353 9.81

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• The ‘ordinary’ looking Sewagram Exp is at the top. Given that it has 31 halts in its 838 km journey and still managing an average speed of 55+ km/hour puts it at the top.

• The once “crack superfast” Magadh Express ironically now makes it to the top 10 of “Faster trains with greater halts”. • Vidarbha Express which is in the elite 60+ km/hour bracket still makes it to this list given its halts at numerous stations.

Trains arranged in descending order of [A]/[B] ratio


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12139 12140 Sewagram Exp Mumbai CST Nagpur 838 55.55 3.13% 1778 1.74

12601 12602 Mangalore Mail Chennai Central Mangalore Central 889 55.27 3.23% 1713 1.78

12333 12334 Vibhuti Exp Howrah Allahabad 882 61.89 3.70% 1671 2.29 12391 12392 Shramjeevi Exp Rajgir New Delhi 1,103 52.62 3.28% 1605 1.73 12853 12854 Amarkantak Exp Durg Bhopal 894 55.29 3.51% 1576 1.94 12189 12190 Mahakaushal Exp Jabalpur H Nizamuddin 961 55.17 3.51% 1572 1.94 12871 12872 Ispat Exp Howrah Titlagarh 745 55.51 3.57% 1554 1.98 12401 12402 Magadh Exp Islampur New Delhi 1,063 56.95 3.85% 1481 2.19 12105 12106 Vidarbha Exp Mumbai CST Gondia 968 60.65 4.26% 1425 2.58

12619 12620 Matsyagandha Exp

Lokmanya Tilak Terminus

Mangalore Central 1,186 64.66 4.55% 1422 2.94

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• Durontos rule this list once again. • Amongst non Durontos and non Rajdhanis, notable inclusion in this list is the Rajendra Nagar – New Delhi Sampark Kranti

Exp. • The New Delhi – Bhopal Shatabdi despite having an average speed of 89.53 km/hour ranks at number 9 given that it has 5

halts in a distance of 701 km. • 12417/18 Prayag Raj Express though has a relatively less %non-stop when compared to Duronto/Rajdhani, has an enviable

average speed of 67.63 km/hour thus enabling it to be in the top 10. Trains arranged in descending order of [A]*[B] ratio:


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12275 12276 NDLS Duronto Exp Duronto Allahabad New Delhi 634 85.97 100.00% 86 85.97

12289 12290 Nagpur Duronto Exp Duronto Mumbai CST Nagpur 838 76.18 100.00% 76 76.18

12239 12240 Jaipur Duronto Exp Duronto Mumbai Central Jaipur 1,159 73.59 100.00% 74 73.59

12227 12228 Indore Duronto Exp Duronto Mumbai Central Indore 829 66.77 100.00% 67 66.77

12219 12220 SC Duronto Exp Duronto Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Secunderabad 773 64.42 100.00% 64 64.42

12393 12394 Sampark Kranti Exp

Sampark Kranti RJNDR NGR BIHAR New Delhi 1,001 68.84 50.00% 138 34.42

12309 12310 RJPB Rajdhani Exp Rajdhani RJNDR NGR BIHAR New Delhi 1,001 78.79 20.00% 394 15.76

12559 12560 Shiv Ganga Exp Varanasi New Delhi 758 60.23 25.00% 241 15.06

12001 12002 NDLS Shatabdi Exp Shatabdi Bhopal New Delhi 701 89.53 16.67% 537 14.92

12417 12418 Prayag Raj Exp Allahabad New Delhi 634 67.63 18.18% 372 12.30

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• Besides Sampark Krantis and Garibraths, 12155/56 Habibganj – H Nizamuddin Exp makes it to this list thanks to its average speed of 66.41 km/hour.

• Gujarat Sampark Kranti scrapes its way at the 10th position thanks to its good average speed of 64.14 km/hour. Trains arranged in descending order of [A]*[B] ratio


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12559 12560 Shiv Ganga Exp Varanasi New Delhi 758 60.23 25.00% 241 15.06 12417 12418 Prayag Raj Exp Allahabad New Delhi 634 67.63 18.18% 372 12.30

12121 12122 M P Sampark Kranti Exp Sampark Kranti Jabalpur H Nizamuddin 909 63.79 16.67% 383 10.63

12547 12548 AF ADI SF Exp Agra Fort Ahmedabad 867 57.00 16.67% 342 9.50

12463 12464 Rajasthan Sampkark Kranti Exp

Sampark Kranti Delhi S Rohilla Jodhpur 616 61.20 12.50% 490 7.65

12739 12740 VSKP Garibrath Exp Garibrath Vishakapatnam Secunderabad 701 61.17 12.50% 489 7.65 12155 12156 Bhopal Exp Habibganj H Nizamuddin 700 66.41 11.11% 598 7.38 12735 12736 YPR Garibrath Exp Garibrath Secunderabad Yesvantpur 688 58.13 12.50% 465 7.27 12113 12114 Nagpur Garibrath Exp Garibrath Pune Nagpur 890 57.57 12.50% 461 7.20

12917 12918 Guj Sampkark Kranti Exp Sampark Kranti Ahmedabad H Nizamuddin 1,085 64.14 11.11% 577 7.13

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• The now speeded up Dakshin Exp is at the top of this list. • Ironically, the once prestigious Poorva Exp makes it to number 9 of this list.



Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12721 12722 Dakshin Exp Hyderabad Decan H Nizamuddin 1,670 55.90 2.27% 2460 1.27 12919 12920 Malwa Exp Indore Jammu Tawi 1,540 55.67 2.47% 2254 1.37 12311 12312 Kalka Mail Howrah Kalka 1,743 54.12 2.60% 2084 1.41 12839 12840 HWH MAS Mail Howrah Chennai Central 1,662 58.75 2.90% 2027 1.70 12177 12178 Chambal Exp Howrah Mathura 1,475 55.48 2.99% 1859 1.66 12409 12410 Gondwana Exp Raigarh H Nizamuddin 1,626 58.50 3.23% 1813 1.89 12175 12176 Chambal Exp Howrah Gwalior 1,302 55.11 3.28% 1681 1.81 12405 12406 Gondwana Exp Bhusaval H Nizamuddin 1,476 58.84 3.85% 1530 2.26 12303 12304 Poorva Exp Howrah New Delhi 1,530 64.30 4.35% 1479 2.80 12703 12704 Falaknuma Exp Howrah Secunderabad 1,545 59.51 4.26% 1399 2.53

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• This category has some of the most ‘hot’ Durontos and Rajdhanis running on Indian Railways. • Sealdah Duronto takes the cake due to its sheer average speed of nearly 89 km/hour. • The newly started Pune – Nizamuddin Duronto is another of my favourite in this list. • “King of WR” – 12951/52 Mumbai Rajdhani is at number 7 position. • A notable non-Duronto non-Rajdhani train is the Bandra Terminus – Nizamuddin Sampark Kranti Exp. One can say that

this train has a lot of inbuilt slack, nevertheless its average speed of 66+ km/hour and only 3 halts give it a “crack quotient” of 16.59.

Trains arranged in descending order of [A]*[B] ratio


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12259 12260 SDAH Duronto Exp Duronto Sealdah New Delhi 1,453 88.98 100.00% 89 88.98

12273 12274 HWH NDLS Duronto Exp Duronto Howrah New Delhi 1,444 84.71 100.00% 85 84.71

12281 12282 BBS Duronto Exp Duronto Bhubaneswar New Delhi 1,724 78.08 100.00% 78 78.08 12285 12286 NZM Duronto Exp Duronto Secunderabad H Nizamuddin 1,660 76.76 100.00% 77 76.76 12263 12264 NZM Duronto Exp Duronto Pune H Nizamuddin 1,520 75.85 100.00% 76 75.85

12223 12224 LTT ERS Duronto Exp Duronto Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Ernakulam 1,599 66.28 100.00% 66 66.28

12951 12952 Mumbai Rajdhani Exp Rajdhani Mumbai Central New Delhi 1,384 86.74 20.00% 434 17.35

12907 12908 BDTS Sampark Kranti Exp

Sampark Kranti Bandra Terminus H Nizamuddin 1,366 66.36 25.00% 265 16.59

12437 12438 Rajdhani Exp Rajdhani Secunderabad H Nizamuddin 1,660 76.18 20.00% 381 15.24

12453 12454 RNC NDLS Rajdhani Exp Rajdhani Ranchi New Delhi 1,341 74.15 20.00% 371 14.83

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• Analyzing this list after eliminating Durontos and Rajdhanis is like evaluating the statistics of cricket batsmen after removing Sir Donald Bradman from the list.

• Bandra Terminus – Nizamuddin Sampark Kranti is the rightful number 1 in this list now. • The YUVA Expresses to Bandra Terminus and Howrah appear in the list at number 2 and 3 respectively. • Not surprisingly, 7 out of the top 10 trains in this list run between Mumbai and Delhi and Howrah and Delhi.



Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12907 12908 BDTS Sampark Kranti Exp

Sampark Kranti Bandra Terminus H Nizamuddin 1,366 66.36 25.00% 265 16.59

12247 12248 BDTS NZM Yuva Exp Bandra Terminus H Nizamuddin 1,366 81.55 16.67% 489 13.59 12249 12250 HWH NDLS Yuva Exp Howrah New Delhi 1,447 80.01 16.67% 480 13.34 12909 12910 NZM Garibrath Exp Garibrath Bandra Terminus H Nizamuddin 1,366 81.97 12.50% 656 10.25

12329 12330 W B Sampark Kranti Exp Sampark Kranti Sealdah Delhi 1,448 64.47 15.38% 419 9.92

12323 12324 HWH NDLS Exp Howrah New Delhi 1,447 64.20 12.50% 514 8.02

12563 12564 LTT ALD Exp Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Allahabad 1,348 62.34 12.50% 499 7.79

12349 12350 BGP NDLS Exp Bhagalpur New Delhi 1,220 61.38 12.50% 491 7.67

12825 12826 Jharkand Sampark Kranti Exp

Sampark Kranti Ranchi New Delhi 1,308 60.93 12.50% 487 7.62

12939 12940 Pune Jaipur Exp Pune Jaipur 1,302 57.23 12.50% 458 7.15

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• Surprise at the top! The once maligned, shunned, neglected Ahmedabad – Howrah Exp which since the last 5 years or so is a superfast train is at the top of the list.

• With 60+ halts for a distance of 2087 km in each direction and still garnering an average speed of 55+ km/hour put it at the top.

• The legendary Punjab Mail takes the second slot, although it probably deserves the first position. • A bunch of good old trains – Howrah to Mumbai Mails, Paschim Exp and GT Exp comprise the top half of this list.



Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12833 12834 Howrah Exp Ahmedabad Howrah 2,087 55.59 1.61% 3447 0.90 12137 12138 Punjab Mail Mumbai CST Firozpur Cant 1,930 56.83 1.85% 3069 1.05 12321 12322 HWH Mumbai Mail Howrah Mumbai CST 2,177 57.48 2.06% 2788 1.19 12809 12810 Howrah Mail Mumbai CST Howrah 1,968 59.26 2.44% 2430 1.45 12925 12926 Paschim Exp Bandra Terminus Amritsar 1,821 58.04 2.47% 2351 1.43 12615 12616 Grand Trunk Exp Chennai Central New Delhi 2,184 61.82 2.67% 2318 1.65 12843 12844 Puri ADI Exp Puri Ahmedabad 2,130 55.50 2.50% 2220 1.39 12975 12976 Jaipur Exp Mysore Jaipur 2,479 56.12 2.56% 2189 1.44 12807 12808 Samta Exp Vishakapatnam H Nizamuddin 1,911 56.07 2.60% 2159 1.46 12875 12876 Neelachal Exp Puri New Delhi 1,910 55.03 2.60% 2119 1.43

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• The usual story here – Durontos sweeping the list. • Notable train on this list is the Yesvantpur – Nizamuddin Sampark Kranti Exp which despite having an average speed of

only 63.83 km/hour pips a couple of Rajdhanis thanks due to the 5 halts only that it has in its journey. Trains arranged in descending order of [A]*[B] ratio


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12269 12270 Duronto Exp Duronto Chennai Central H Nizamuddin 2,176 77.37 100.00% 77 77.37 12261 12262 Howrah Duronto Exp Duronto Mumbai CST Howrah 1,968 74.84 100.00% 75 74.84 12213 12214 Duronto Exp Duronto Yesvantpur Delhi S Rohilla 2,314 72.69 100.00% 73 72.69 12221 12222 Howrah Duronto Exp Duronto Pune Howrah 2,020 72.57 100.00% 73 72.57 12245 12246 HWH YPR Duronto Exp Duronto Howrah Yesvantpur 1,946 67.39 100.00% 67 67.39

12649 12650 Sampark Kranti Exp Sampark Kranti Yesvantpur H Nizamuddin 2,277 63.83 16.67% 383 10.64

12493 12494 Rajdhani Exp Rajdhani Bangalore Cy H Nizamuddin 2,339 69.46 14.29% 486 9.92 12433 12434 Rajdhani Exp Rajdhani Chennai Central H Nizamuddin 2,176 77.14 12.50% 617 9.64

12501 12502 Porovtor Sampark Kranti Exp

Sampark Kranti Guwahati New Delhi 1,974 62.17 14.29% 435 8.88

12611 12612 NZM Garibrath Exp Garibrath Chennai Central H Nizamuddin 2,177 77.40 10.00% 774 7.74

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• If one were to take an opinion poll for this category, the unanimous choice for the top train would be the legendary Tamil Nadu Exp which is pushed down to number 5 by the ‘upstart’ Sampark Krantis and a Garibrath.



Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]


12501 12502 Porovtor Sampark Kranti Exp

Sampark Kranti Guwahati New Delhi 1,974 62.17 14.29% 435 8.88

12611 12612 NZM Garibrath Exp Garibrath Chennai Central H Nizamuddin 2,177 77.40 10.00% 774 7.74

12449 12450 Goa Sampark Kranti Exp Sampark Kranti Madgaon H Nizamuddin 2,094 66.74 10.53% 634 7.03

12621 12622 Tamil Nadu Exp Chennai Central New Delhi 2,184 66.43 9.52% 698 6.33 12379 12380 SDAH ASR Exp Sealdah Amritsar 1,894 62.02 9.52% 651 5.91 12357 12358 KOAA ASR Exp Kolkata Amritsar 1,812 63.21 8.70% 727 5.50 12867 12868 HWH PDY Exp Howrah Puducherry 1,907 56.71 7.69% 737 4.36

12101 12102 Jnaneswari Deluxe Exp Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Howrah 1,952 63.14 6.90% 916 4.35

12389 12390 Gaya MS Exp Gaya Chennai Egmore 2,346 60.02 7.14% 840 4.29

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2500 km plus: Faster trains with greater halts

• Not surprisingly, once again “super crawlers” rule the roost here. Trains arranged in descending order of [A]/[B] ratio


Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12521 12522 Rapti Sagar Exp Barauni Ernakulam 3,441 55.95 1.65% 3385 0.92

12511 12512 Rapti Sagar Exp Gorakhpur Trivandrum Central 3,251 55.69 1.69% 3286 0.94

12617 12618 MANGALA LDWEEP Exp Ernakulam H Nizamuddin 3,067 60.68 2.22% 2731 1.35

12515 12516 Guwahati Exp Trivandrum Central Guwahati 3,552 54.89 2.04% 2690 1.12 12507 12508 Guwahati Exp Ernakulam Guwahati 3,332 56.19 2.33% 2416 1.31 12625 12626 Kerala Exp Trivandrum Central New Delhi 3,036 59.82 2.53% 2363 1.51 12659 12660 Gurudev Exp Nagercoil Shalimar 2,583 54.81 2.33% 2357 1.27 12509 12510 Guwahati Exp Bangalore Cy Guwahati 2,992 55.58 2.47% 2251 1.37 12969 12970 CBE Jaipur Exp Coimbatore Jaipur 2,682 58.95 2.74% 2151 1.61 12591 12592 GKP SBC Exp Gorakhpur Bangalore Cy 2,547 55.12 2.60% 2122 1.43

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2500 km plus: Crack super fast trains • Silent performers these…



Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]

12283 12284 ERS NZM Duronto Exp Duronto Ernakulam H Nizamuddin 2,943 66.19 100.00% 66 66.19


12651 12652 Sampark Kranti Exp Sampark Kranti Madurai H Nizamuddin 2,677 61.96 7.69% 805 4.77

12937 12938 Garbha Exp Gandhidham Howrah 2,509 58.13 6.67% 872 3.88

12431 12432 Trivandrum Rajdhani Exp Rajdhani Trivandrum Central H Nizamuddin 3,149 68.03 5.56% 1224 3.78

12539 12540 YPR Lucknow Exp Yesvantpur Lucknow NR 2,543 56.11 6.25% 898 3.51

12217 12218 Sampark Kranti Exp Sampark Kranti Kochuveli Chandigarh 3,415 58.71 5.26% 1116 3.09

12483 12484 Amritsar Exp Kochuveli Amritsar 3,597 58.89 4.55% 1295 2.68 12287 12288 Dehradun Exp Kochuveli Dehradun 3,459 56.40 4.55% 1239 2.57 12641 12642 Tirukurral Exp Kanyakumari H Nizamuddin 2,921 59.91 4.08% 1468 2.45

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2500 km plus: Crack super fast trains (Excluding Duronto, Rajdhani, Shatabdi)

• Thanks to only 9 halts over a journey of 2600+ km and an average speed of 59.20 km/hour, the Yesvantpur – Nizamuddin Sampark Kranti is at the top of “crack superfast trains”.



Distance (km)

Speed - [A]

km/hour


[A]/[B] [A]*[B]


Sampark Kranti Yesvantpur H Nizamuddin 2,610 59.20 10.00% 592 5.92


Sampark Kranti Madurai H Nizamuddin 2,677 61.96 7.69% 805 4.77

12937 12938 Garbha Exp Gandhidham Howrah 2,509 58.13 6.67% 872 3.88 12539 12540 YPR Lucknow Exp Yesvantpur Lucknow NR 2,543 56.11 6.25% 898 3.51


Sampark Kranti Kochuveli Chandigarh 3,415 58.71 5.26% 1116 3.09

12483 12484 Amritsar Exp Kochuveli Amritsar 3,597 58.89 4.55% 1295 2.68 12287 12288 Dehradun Exp Kochuveli Dehradun 3,459 56.40 4.55% 1239 2.57 12641 12642 Tirukurral Exp Kanyakumari H Nizamuddin 2,921 59.91 4.08% 1468 2.45 12645 12646 Nizamuddin Exp Ernakulam H Nizamuddin 2,809 59.66 3.64% 1641 2.17 12977 12978 Maru Sagar Exp Ernakulam Ajmer 2,859 61.65 3.51% 1757 2.16

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End note The list of trains in the top 10 list for “faster trains with greater halts” and “crack superfast trains” across various distance slabs seem to lend credence to the opinions/feelings of a majority of the members. To repeat what is already said, the objective of this exercise was to do a numerical evaluation of super fast trains. As such, this report is only for informative purposes. A possible feeling one may get is that in judging “faster trains with greater halts” the % non stop journey plays a bigger role. One variant of this exercise can be to accord a certain weightage to speed and a certain weightage to %non stop journey and then check the findings. Time permitting; this can be taken up in the near future. Regards, Dhananjay Aradhye September 15, 2011 Mumbai

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