Garib Rath Express

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.

Garib Rath Express
Amritsar–Saharsa, the first Garib Rath Express service at New Delhi.
Overview
Status	Operating
Locale	All over india
First service	5 October 2006; 18 years ago (2006-10-05)
Current operator(s)	Indian Railways
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge
Operating speed	130 Kmph
Track owner(s)	Indian Railways

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.

Active routes

Train No.	Destinations	Inaugurated on
12203/04	Saharsa Junction–Amritsar Junction[4]	5 Oct 2006
12113/14	Pune–Nagpur[5]	19 Jan 2009
12187/88	Jabalpur Junction–Mumbai CSMT	20 Feb 2009
12201/02	Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Kochuveli	1 Feb 2008
12207/08	Kathgodam–Jammu Tawi	8 Apr 2008
12209/10	Kanpur Central – Kathgodam	16 Sep 2008
12211/12	Muzaffarpur Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal	11 Feb 2009
12215/16	Delhi Sarai Rohilla–Bandra Terminus	7 Feb 2008
12257/58	Yesvantpur Junction–Kochuveli	24 Feb 2009
12359/60	Kolkata–Patna Junction	24 Jan 2008
12501/02	Kolkata-Agartala	07 July 2024
12517/18	Kolkata-Guwahati Garib Rath Express	30 Mar 2008
12535/36	Lucknow Charbagh–Raipur Junction[6]	23 Feb 2008
12435/36	Jaynagar–Anand Vihar Terminal	29 Sep 2008
12593/94	Lucknow Charbagh–Bhopal Junction	19 Nov 2011
12611/12	Chennai Central–Hazrat Nizamuddin	21 Feb 2007
12735/36	Secunderabad Junction–Yesvantpur Junction[7]	1 Feb 2008
12739/40	Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad	25 Oct 2008
12877/78	Ranchi Junction–New Delhi[8]	28 Jan 2009
12881/82	Kolkata Shalimar–Puri	6 Jan 2009
12909/10	Bandra Terminus–Hazrat Nizamuddin	24 Feb 2007
12983/84	Ajmer Junction – Chandigarh	14 Feb 2009
22405/06	Bhagalpur Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal	10 Feb 2011
22541/52	Banaras–Anand Vihar Terminal	3 Mar 2009
22409/10	Gaya Junction–Anand Vihar Terminal	3 July 2011
22883/84	Puri–Yesvantpur Junction	20 July 2012

Defunct routes

• 12255/56 Yesvantpur–Puducherry Garib Rath Express service converted to ordinary service^[9]

• 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..

See also

• Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor
• Vande Bharat Express

• Double Decker Express
• Duronto Express
• Vivek Express
• Yuva Express
• Rajdhani Express
• Shatabdi Express
• Gatimaan Express
• Jan Shatabdi Express
• Jan Sadharan Express
• Sampark Kranti Express

• Rajya Rani Express
• Kavi Guru Express
• Ramayana Express
• Tejas Express
• Uday Express
• Humsafar Express
• Mahamana Express
• Antyodaya Express