Duronto Express Explained

Duronto Express
Color:	80FF00
Status:	Active
Successor:	Vande Bharat (sleeper trainset)
Operator:	Indian Railways
Website:	http://indianrail.gov.in
Line Used:	24
Class:	AC First Class, AC Two Tier, AC Three Tier, AC Three Tier Economy, Sleeper Class, 2nd Class Sitting
Seating:	Yes
Sleeping:	Yes
Catering:	On-board catering
Observation:	Large Windows, Reading Light, Announcement speaker in all class
Baggage:	Underseat
Stock:	LHB coach
Gauge:	broad gauge
Speed:	Avg: 63 - 83 km/h Max: 140 km/h
Owners:	Indian Railways
Electrification:	In 20 trains

Duronto Express, translating to "Speedster" in Bengali, is a class of long-distance rapid trains operated by Indian Railways. Initially conceived to operate non-stop between origin and destination stations, since January 2016, these trains have been permitted to make additional commercial stops and accept ticket bookings from technical halts. Before the introduction of trains like the Gatimaan Express and Vande Bharat Express, Duronto trains held the distinction of being the fastest trains in India. Unlike its counterpart, the Rajdhani Express, which links India's capital, Delhi, to state capitals, the Duronto Express connects major metropolitan areas, state capitals, and the national capital.^[1] ^[2]

History

The Government of India's Ministry of Railways has pursued the introduction of high-speed rail services in India. In 2007, the ministry initiated a pre-feasibility study for a 500-kilometre corridor between Delhi and Amritsar. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced plans in January 2009 to engage global consultants for the implementation of high-speed trains on select routes. The Indian Railway Budget for the fiscal year 2010 saw the establishment of the National High Speed Rail Authority (NHSRA) under Banerjee's leadership, aimed at developing high-speed rail corridors across the country. The Duronto Express project was part of the government's initiatives to introduce semi-high speed rail travel ahead of the full implementation of high-speed railways.^[3]

In line with these efforts, Mamata Banerjee flagged off the inaugural Duronto Express service from Sealdah Railway Station to New Delhi on 18 September 2009. The objective of this train service was to provide high-speed rail connectivity comparable to the Rajdhani Express between various metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities, catering to diverse segments of the population. Unlike the Rajdhani Express, which primarily offered air-conditioned coaches, the Duronto Express was designed to accommodate a range of reserved coaches, including AC First Class, AC Two Tier, AC Three Tier, AC Three Tier Economy, and Sleeper Class. Notably, the initial journey of the Duronto Express from Sealdah to New Delhi featured AC First Class, AC Two Tier, AC Three Tier, and AC Three Tier Economy coaches.^[4]

About

The Duronto Express holds the second highest priority among trains on the Indian railway network. Passengers aboard this service are provided with optional meals, with the cost of food included in the train fare. Depending on the duration and timing of the journey, passengers can expect to be served morning tea, breakfast, lunch, high tea, and dinner.

Duronto Express trains offer three classes of accommodation:

AC First Class (1A): Featuring 2-berth and 4-berth coupes with locking facilities for privacy.
AC 2-tier (2T): Providing open bays with 4 berths per bay, along with curtains for privacy.
AC 3-tier (3T): Similar to AC 2-tier but with 6 berths per bay.
AC 3 Tier Economy (3E): Also similar to AC 3-tier but with more seats and smaller berths.
Sleeper Class (SL): Featuring open bays with 6 berths per bay.

Currently, the Indian Railways operates a total of 24 Duronto Express trains across various routes in the country.

List of Duronto Express trains

Train no.	Origin Station	Terminal Station	Zone	Frequency	Travel Time	Halts	Inauguration
12213/12214	Yesvantpur Jn	Delhi Sarai Rohilla	SWR	Weekly	31h 55m	6	February 19, 2011
12219/12220	Mumbai LTT	Secunderabad Jn	SCR	Bi-weekly	12h 05m	3	February 23, 2011
12221/12222	Pune Jn	Howrah	SER	Bi-weekly	29h 00m	7	October 11, 2010
12223/12224	Mumbai LTT	Ernakulam Jn	CR	Bi-weekly	22h 00m	5	January 18, 2011
12227/12228	Mumbai Central	Indore Jn	WR	Bi-weekly	11h 10m	3	January 26, 2011
12239/12240	Mumbai Central	Hisar Jn	WR	Bi-weekly	21h 25m	10	April 03, 2011
12245/12246	Howrah	SMVT Bengaluru	SER	5 Days/wk	29h 00m	4	December 30, 2009
12259/12260	Sealdah	Bikaner Jn	ER	4 Days/wk	25h 00m	10	September 18, 2009
12261/12262	CSMT Mumbai	Howrah	SER	4 Days/wk	27h 00m	6	September 29, 2009
12263/12264	Pune Jn	Hazrat Nizamuddin	NR	Bi-weekly	19h 54m	5	September 29, 2009
12265/12266	Delhi Sarai Rohilla	Jammu Tawi	NR	Tri-weekly	08h 40m	1	April 01, 2010
12267/12268	Mumbai Central	Hapa	WR	Daily	11h 40m	3	December 22, 2009
12269/12270	MGR Chennai Central	Hazrat Nizamuddin	SR	Bi-weekly	28h 05m	6	September 21, 2009
12273/12274	Howrah	New Delhi	ER	Bi-weekly	22h 05m	5	April 02, 2010
12281/12282	Bhubaneswar	New Delhi	ECoR	Weekly	23h 05m	5	April 04, 2010
12283/12284	Ernakulam Jn	Hazrat Nizamuddin	NR	Weekly	41h 55m	10	March 07, 2010
12285/12286	Secunderabad Jn	Hazrat Nizamuddin	SCR	Bi-weekly	21h 50m	4	March 14, 2010
12289/12290	CSMT Mumbai	Nagpur Jn	CR	Daily	11h 05m	2	November 21, 2009
12293/12294	Mumbai LTT	Prayagraj Jn	CR	Bi-weekly	19h 20m	4	March 16, 2012
12297/12298	Ahmedabad Jn	Pune Jn	CR	Tri-weekly	08h 45m	3	March 11, 2012
22201/22202	Sealdah	Puri	ER	Tri-weekly	07h 55m	2	February 12, 2012
22203/22204	Visakhapatnam Jn	Secunderabad Jn	SCR	Tri-weekly	10h 35m	2	July 08, 2012
22209/22210	Mumbai Central	New Delhi	WR	Bi-weekly	16h 45m	3	March 23, 2012
22213/22214	Kolkata - Shalimar	Patna Jn	SER	Tri-weekly	08h 20m	2	February 19, 2012

List of defunct Duronto Express trains

	Previous service	Now running as
1	Ajmer–Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express	Ajmer–Delhi Sarai Rohilla Jan Shatabdi Express
2	Howrah–Puri Duronto Express	Howrah–Puri Shatabdi Express
3	Chennai–Coimbatore AC Duronto Express
4	Chennai–Thiruvananthapuram AC Duronto Express	Chennai–Thiruvananthapuram AC Superfast Express
5	Amritsar–Chandigarh Duronto Express	Amritsar–Chandigarh Superfast Express
6	Lucknow–New Delhi AC Duronto Express	Lucknow–New Delhi AC Superfast Express
7	Howrah–Digha Duronto Express	Howrah–Digha AC Superfast Express^[5]
8	Prayagraj–New Delhi Duronto Express	Prayagraj–New Delhi Humsafar Express
9	Chennai–Madurai AC Duronto Express	Chennai Central–Madurai AC Superfast Express

Trivia

Sealdah–Bikaner Duronto Express was not only the first Duronto service to Bikaner but also one connecting New Delhi and Bikaner.
Howrah–New Delhi Duronto Express which is equal to the Rajdhani Express gets top-most priority on the route, making it the fastest train in the Howrah–Delhi route.
Howrah–SMVT Bengaluru Duronto Express which is 2 years from 10 August 2022, the train terminus in Bengaluru changed from Yesvantpur Junction railway station to Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal.
Earlier they used Duronto hybrid LHB coaches, but now the train used LHB coaches.

Efficiency and speed

The Duronto Express is one of the fastest trains in India. Some of these trains run faster than Rajdhani Express^[6] trains which hold the record of the fastest long-distance trains in India.For example, the Chennai–Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express takes 28 hours to cover the journey while the Chennai Rajdhani Express takes 28 hours 35 minutes to do so. The trains will adhere to the speed limit of 130 km/h. New Delhi–Sealdah Duronto Express has a top speed of 130 km/h. The Mumbai, Sealdah, Yeshwantpur and Secundrabad Duronto runs at a speed of 130 km/h. The Howrah/Bhubaneshwar New Delhi, Secunderabad Hazrat Nizamuddin are now equipped with LHB rakes and now they also run at a speed of 130 km/h^[7] In March 2011, the cost of travel in the Duronto Express went up as the Minister of Railways announced a hike in railway fare. The decision to hike railway fares resulted in trouble across the Government and were rolled back,^[8] only to be raised again on 1 April.^[9]

Incidents and accidents

In January 2010, the passengers of the Duronto Express between Nagpur and Mumbai complained about passengers without confirmed tickets travelling inside the reserved coaches.^[10]
In May 2010, at least 19 passengers on board the Ernakulam Duronto Express were admitted to the Government General Hospital after complaining of food poisoning.^[11]
In June 2010, the Mumbai CST–Howrah Duronto Express faced interruption as its engine and generator car were detached from the rest of the train's coaches due to technical problems. The problem was fixed within less than an hour.^[12]
In June 2013, the 12264 Hazrat Nizamuddin–Pune Duronto derailed near Monkey Hill due to a landslide. No injuries were reported & the train reached 5 hours late at http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=5187243545553704248&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsDate=20130629&NewsTitle=Derailment%20near%20Khandala%20hits%20Pune-Mumbai%20train%20traffic.
In September 2015, 12220 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Secunderabad AC Duronto Express derailed at Martur station between Shahbad and Gulbarga on Solapur Division in Karnataka at around 02:15. Two passengers were killed and more than 30 injured when eight of its coaches were derailed.^[13]
On 29 August 2017 12290 Nagpur Duronto Express heading towards Mumbai derailed between Vasind and Asangaon stations at 06.30 as heavy rains had caused mud slides onto the tracks which caused the derailment. No casualties were reported in an official statement by the Railway department.^[14]
On 17 January 2019 unidentified persons entered into Jammu-Delhi Duronto near Badli, Delhi and looted the passengers.
On 10 May 2019 engine failure caused late departure of the train from Mumbai central by an hour.
On 11 August 2019 Yeshvantapur–Delhi Sarai Rohilla AC Duronto Express was cancelled due to "unavoidable circumstances".
On 24 April 2019 12274 Howrah–New Delhi Duronto Express led by Howrah WAP-7 30370 ran over cattle while at MPS near Jamtara, Jharkhand. The locomotive failed and was backed by ABB made GZB WAP-5 30009, but due to throttle issues it too needed help. A banker Locomotive, GMO WAG-9 31932 was attached. No passenger casualties/injuries were reported. This was a rare incident where all three types of locomotives equipped with 3-phase technology were seen hauling one train.
On 16 October 2022 More than 20 armed robbers reportedly climbed onto a Delhi-Kolkata Duronto Express train early on Sunday. Several passengers were allegedly looted at gunpoint by the robbers who climbed onto at least six-seven bogies of the train.

External links

List of Duronto Trains on India Rail website

Notes and References

Web site: 2009-09-19 . Mamata flags off first Duronto Express . 2024-04-12 . Hindustan Times . en.
Web site: English Releases . 2024-04-12 . pib.gov.in.
Web site: Communications . U. I. C. . 2024-04-12 . India: India's Rail Minister announced plans for high-speed trains for Asia's largest rail network . 2024-04-12 . UIC Communications . en.
Web site: English Releases . 2024-04-12 . pib.gov.in.
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=101556 pib.nic.in
News: Duronto Trains Will Be Faster Than Rajdhani . . 3 July 2009 . 23 September 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110713025759/http://www.indiatvnews.com/main/newsdetails.php?id=1884 . 13 July 2011.
News: Duronto blazing new tracks. . 21 September 2009. 23 September 2009.
Web site: Didi's Duronto hits Rajdhani; Trivedi hikes fares. DNA India. 7 April 2012. 2012-03-15.
Web site: Revised train fares from April 1. https://archive.today/20120724102826/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/revised-train-fares-april-1-359. dead. 24 July 2012. Deccan Chronicle. 7 April 2012.
Web site: Waitlisted causing trouble in Duronto. https://web.archive.org/web/20130703013605/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-15/nagpur/28130514_1_duronto-trains-duronto-express-waitlisted-passengers. dead. 3 July 2013. The Times of India. 8 April 2012.
News: Harrowing experience for Duronto Express passengers. The Hindu. 17 May 2010 . 8 April 2012.
Web site: Duronto Express coaches come loose. https://web.archive.org/web/20100701034341/http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/26/stories/2010062666431800.htm. dead. 1 July 2010. The Hindu. 2010-06-26. 8 April 2012.
News: Sivanandan T V. Duronto train derails near Kalaburagi; 2 dead. 25 November 2016. The Hindu. 12 September 2015. Martur, Kalaburagi district.
News: Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derails in Maharashtra, rail services affected between Kalyan and Kasara section - Times of India. The Times of India. 2017-09-06.