Rajdhani Express turns 40!

The country's first super-fast train, and also the most prestigious passenger carrier, the Rajdhani Express, completed 40 years of service on March 1. On that day in 1969, the first Rajdhani Express left New Delhi station for Howrah station to cover a distance of 1,445 km in 17 hours 20 minutes.

In all, there were nine coaches in that train, including one pantry car and one power generator car, all built domestically. There were only two classes, AC First Class and AC Chair Cars, and the fares were Rs 280 and Rs 90 respectively. There were three stops on the route, at Gomoh, Mughal Sarai and Kanpur, for operational reasons.

No passenger tickets were issued to and from those stations. On the return journey, the train left Howrah station for New Delhi on March 3. It was a bi-weekly service.

Text: Business Line

Image: Getty

Also read: Heritage trains of India