Train Names

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Train Names

Q. How does IR name its trains?

All trains on IR are identified primarily through their numbers. However, as a convenience, most trains (other than some very frequent local services such as EMU/MEMU or passenger shuttles) are referred to by names in IR's literature and also by the travelling public. The most common way to name a train is by providing the endpoints of the train and the train class designation, e.g., Bangalore-Chennai Mail, Purna-Hyderabad Passenger, etc. A lot of trains have specific names, however (see below for a list), based on names of landmarks (rivers, mountains, etc.), regions, famous personalities, abstract qualities, and so on.

Note that because of the absence of standardization for transliteration of names from Indian languages, the English (Romanized) version of a train name may have several variants. E.g., Sheshadri Exp. or Seshadri Exp., Avadh Exp. or Awadh Exp. Word breaks or hyphenation may also cause confusion, e.g., Janseva Exp. or Jan Seva Exp. On occasion the IR reservations system will use slight variations on the standard names of trains, sometimes for the sole purpose of distinguishing trains that have the same endpoints, e.g., Howrah-Mumbai Mail (12321, via Allahabad), and Howrah-Bombay Mail (12810, via Nagpur).

Freight Train Names

Most freight trains do not have specific names. A handful of freight trains for special classes of service, e.g., guaranteed transit parcel services and so on, have had names such as Green Arrow, Red Star, Blue Flame, Green Bullet, Black Gold, etc. in the past.

Passenger Train Names

Many IR trains have special names to identify them, in addition to their official numbers. Below is a list of some of these names.

Train Names

This is necessarily an incomplete list as IR is always changing the names and introducing new ones. Names which are composed of just the names of one or both destinations of a train, along with ‘Express’ or ‘Mail’, etc., such as ‘Bangalore Mail’ or ‘Chennai - Jaipur Express’, have been omitted here. Some of these names may no longer be in use; those that are known not to be current are marked ‘OLD’. A few trains are marked ‘proposed’; these were announced but never brought into service.

Bear in mind that some of these names may not be officially sanctioned ones; sometimes local officials make up names, or there may be names used colloquially by the travellers which do not, however, appear in any of the timetables or other IR material.

Abida Begum Express: Delhi Jn. - Raxaul [OLD - used only briefly]
(Abida Ahmed Begum, wife of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed)
Agniveena Express: Howrah - Asansol (former Bidhan Exp.)
(name of work by Bengali poet Nazrul Islam)
Ahilyanagari Express: Cochin - Indore
(another (older) name for Indore, built by Holkar queen Ahilyabai)
Ahimsa Express: Ahmedabad - Pune
(Ahimsa = non-violence, associated with Gandhi)
Air-Conditioned Express (AC Express)
(Name used for several trains in the past when air-conditioning was rare. Howrah - New Delhi/Amritsar [OLD], Mumbai Central - New Delhi/Amritsar [OLD], Madras Central - New Delhi [OLD], Bombay VT - Howrah [OLD], Bombay VT - Madras Central [OLD], Madras Central - Howrah [OLD]. The last three existed at the same time and probably shared rakes in a three-way arrangement.)
Ajanta Express: Secunderabad - Mudkhed
(Ajanta caves near Aurangabad)
Akal Takht Express: Sealdah - Amritsar
(Sikh holy site at the Golden Temple in Amritsar)
Ala Hazrat Express: Delhi - Bareilly
(Shrine of Muslim saint Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan)
Amarkantak Express: Durg - Bhopal
(source of the river Narmada)
Amarnath Express: Gorakhpur/Barauni - Jammu Tawi
Amarnath is a Hindu shrine in the Himalayas
Amaravati Express: Vijayawada - Hubli - Vasco da Gama
(name of town - location of Buddhist stupa)
Amrapali Express: Amritsar - Barauni [OLD]
(name of a character in a legend in the Jataka tales)
Amrapali Express: Amritsar - Katihar Jn. [unofficial]
(from the name of the earlier train that terminated at Barauni, see above)
Amrita Express: Palghat Town - Trivandrum
(named for Mata Amritanandamayi, a spiritual leader in Kerala)
Ananya Express: Sealdah - Ajmer (formerly Millennium Exp.)
('unique')
Ananthapuri Express: Trivandrum - Chennai Egmore
(One of the classical names of Trivandrum)
Andaman Expess: Jammu Tawi- Chennai
(apparently just to keep the tradition of having a train named after every state or territory — the Andamans are islands and cannot have train services from the mainland, but at least can have a train named for them!)
Andhra Kesari Express: Vijayawada - Mumbai [PROPOSED]
('Lion of Andhra Pradesh')
Andhra Pradesh Express: Hyderabad - New Delhi
(name of state)
Aradhana Express: Howrah - Okha [unofficial]
('worship', ??)
Aranyak Express: Bankura - Shalimar - Adra
('of the forest', perhaps referring to a novel of this name by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Aravalli Express: Bandra - Jaipur
(a mountain range)
Archana Express: Rajendra Nagar - Jammu Tawi
(Worship ritual, 'pooja')
Arunachal Express: Kamakhya - Murkong Selek
(name for the state, 'hills of the dawn')
Ashram Express: Ahmedabad - New Delhi
(Gandhi's ashram at Ahmedabad)
Assam Mail: Delhi - Barauni (BG), Barauni - Guwahati (MG) [OLD]
(name of state)
August Kranti Rajdhani Express: Mumbai - Hazrat Nizamuddin
('August Revolution', the Quit India movement started in 1942) This train was the Bombay AC Rajdhani, and renamed in October 1992.
Avantika Express: Mumbai - Indore
(Avantika is another (older) name for Ujjain, near Indore)
Awadh Assam Express: Guwahati - New Delhi
(Awadh, also Avadh — name of a region)
Awadh Express: Gorakhpur - Bandra
(Awadh, also Avadh — name of region)
Awadh (Audh) Tirhut Mail: Lucknow - Guwahati (MG) [OLD]
(Awadh, also Avadh — name of region; Tirhut — name of a place. See also Tirhut Express)
Azad Express: Shalimar - Haldia
('free, independent')
Azad Hind Express: Pune - Howrah
('Free India') The Azad Hind Fauj was a nationalist militia raised by Netaji Subhashchandra Bose against the British.
Baidyanathdham Express: Puri - Patna
(Hindu holy spot near Bihar)
Bagh Express: Howrah - Kathgodam
(may be 'garden', or more likely 'tiger' the latter could be a reference to Corbett National Park near Kathgodam)
Bagha Jatin Passenger: Howrah - Bhadrak
(Bagha Jatin or Jatindranath Mukherjee was a freedom fighter from West Bengal)
Barak Valley Express: Lumding - Silchar
(river valley in Assam)
Barisal Express: Sealdah - Jessore/Khulna [OLD]
(name of place)
Basava Express: Yeshwantpur - Bijapur
(Basava, also known as Basaveshwara or Basavanna, was a 12th century reformer and theologian from the Bijapur area)
Beas Link Express: Jodhpur - Jammu [OLD]
(Beas river)
Begumpura Express: Jalandhar - Goverdhanpura (Varanasi) [OLD]
(Area near Jalandhar)
Bhagirathi Express: Sealdah - Lalgola
(name of river, tributary of the Ganga)
Bhagirathi Express: Chapra - Allahabad City (NER, MG) [OLD]
(name of river, tributary of the Ganga)
Bhagya Nagar Express: Secunderabad - Sirpur Kagaznagar
(Bhagyanagar is an old name for present-day Hyderabad)
Bharat Darshan: Tourist journey, billed as a pan-Indian economy tourist train
('vision of India')
Bharat Tirth: Tourist trains with circular itineraries run by IRCTC, primarily in the south
('pilgrimage of India')
Bhopal Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Habibganj
(Bhopal is the real destination near Habibganj)
Bidhan Express: Howrah - Asansol [OLD, unofficial?]
(named for Dr Bidhan Chandra Ray, former chief minister of West Bengal)
Bihar Express: New Delhi - Darbhanga
(name of state)
Bishwabharati (Vishwabharati) fast Passenger: Howrah - Rampurhat
(Rabindranath Tagore's university at Shantiniketan)
Black Diamond Express: Howrah - Dhanbad
(coalfields)
Blue Express: Chennai - Mettupalayam Nilgiri Express [unofficial]
(from the earlier name, Blue Mountain Express — see below)
Blue Mountain Express: Chennai - Mettupalaiyam [OLD]
(Nilgiri ranges = Blue Mountain)
Boat Mail (Indo-Ceylon Boat Mail): Madras Egmore - Dhanushkodi [OLD]
(connecting to Colombo (Sri Lanka) by ferry from Talaimannar pier; predecessor of Rameswaram Exp.)
Bombay Jayanti: Mumbai - Kanyakumari [OLD, unofficial]
(one of the Jayanti Janata trains (see below))
Bombay VT Express: Kurla - Gorakhpur Kushinagar Exp. [unofficial]
(the train used to run to Victoria Terminus)
Brahmaputra Mail: New Delhi - Dibrugarh
(name of river)
Brindavan Express: Chennai - Bangalore
('garden', referring to the Brindavan Gardens in Mysore, since there used to be a connecting link from Bangalore to Mysore for passengers on this train. Note, however, Bangalore is also known as the Garden City.)
Buddha Purnima Express: Sarnath - Rajgir via Gaya
('purnima' = full moon; Buddha Purnima is the day marking the birth of the Buddha)
Buddhist Circuit
(tourist train covering sites of significance to Buddhism)
Bundelkhand Express: Gwalior - Varanasi
(name of region in Madhya Pradesh)
Cachar Express: Lumding - Silchar
(name of region in Assam)
Cape Express: Kanyakumari - Bangalore [unofficial]
(Kanyakumari is at the tip of the Indian peninsula, earlier known as Cape Comorin)
Capital Express: Katihar - Danapur - New Jalpaiguri
(Perhaps originally intended to run from Patna, the capital of the state of Bihar. Danapur is 9km from Patna.)
Cash Local [unofficial]
Name given to the cash collection train run daily by WR on the Mumbai suburban section. This train stops at each station to collect cash receipts from the ticket offices. The southernmost vendor compartment next to the Guard's van is used for carrying the cash, which is in large boxes, or sometimes in leather bags that are then placed in large round drums. Only security and treasury department personnel are allowed to travel in that vendor's compartment. Similar trains are also run in other suburban and semi-urban areas.
Cauvery Express (see Kaveri Exp.)
Century Express
(NER timetable listing of Sanctuary Exp., arising from confusion over the spelling)
Chalukya Express: Bombay (Dadar) - Puducherry via Miraj, Bangalore
(former kingdom in the area)
Chambal Express: Howrah - Agra
(name of river/valley)
Chambal Express: Howrah - Gwalior
(name of river/valley)
Chamundi Express: Mysore - Bangalore
(temple to deity of this name at Mysore)
Chandigarh Express: Kalka - Jodhpur
(name of town)
Chandrabhaga Express: Mumbai - Pandharpur [proposed]
(local name of river Bhima/Bhimarathi at Pandharpur)
Chappra Express: Gwalior - Barauni Jn. Mail [unofficial]
(name of region)
Charminar Express: Chennai - Hyderabad
(Charminar — medieval minarets at Hyderabad)
Chattisgarh Express: Bilaspur - Amritsar; also Delhi - Durg
(name of region)
Chauri Chaura Express: Kanpur - Gorakhpur
(name of town)
Cheran Express: Chennai - Coimbatore
(historical royal dynasty)
Chetak Express: New Delhi - Udaipur
(legendary battlehorse of Maharana Pratap, ruler of Udaipur)
Chitrakut Express: Jabalpur - Lucknow
(region in Uttar Pradesh)
Cholan Express: Madras Egmore - Thiruchirapalli
(historical royal dynasty)
Circar Express: Chennai - Kakinada
(region in Andhra Pradesh)
Circular Express: Bombay - Madras - Calcutta - Bombay [OLD]
Classical India Tour [OLD]
(tourist train covering Delhi-Agra-Gwalior-Khajuraho-Varanasi-Patna)
Coalfield Express: Howrah - Dhanbad
(coal mines near Dhanbad)
Corbett Park Link Express: New Delhi - Ramnagar
(national park named for Jim Corbett, hunter and pioneer conservationist)
Coromandel Express: Howrah - Chennai
(name of the eastern coastal region)
Dakshin Express: Hyderabad - Hazrat Nizamuddin
('dakshin' = south)
Dakshin Express: Madras - Hazrat Nizamuddin [OLD]
('dakshin' = south)
Dakshin Parcel Express: Calcutta - Chennai (parcels) [OLD]
('dakshin' = south)
Darjeeling Mail: Sealdah - New Jalpaiguri
(the town and region of Darjeeling)
Day Express: Cochin - Shoranur [OLD]
(Daytime train, predecessor of Parasuram Exp.)
Deccan Express: Mumbai - Pune
(the region - Deccan plateau)
Deccan Express: Pune - Bangalore (MG) [OLD]
(the region - Deccan plateau)
Deccan Odyssey
Maharashtra/Goa round trip tourist train
Deccan Queen: Mumbai - Pune
(the region - Deccan plateau; started 1930, first and second class accommodation only)
Deekshabhoomi (Dikshabhumi) Express: Nagpur - Gaya
(Dr Ambedkar College at Nagpur)
Dehra Express: Howrah - Dehradun Doon Express [unofficial]
(from the town Dehradun)
Delhi Jayanti: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Mangalore [OLD, unofficial]
(one of the Jayanti Janata trains (see below))
Delta Fast Passenger: Secunderabad - Repalle [unofficial]
(Krishna Delta region between Guntur and Repalle)
Deluxe Express
Popular name for some trains: Poorva Exp., Pashchim Exp., etc., as well as the older AC Express trains.
Desert Queen
Rajasthan - round trip tourist train
Devgiri Express: Mumbai - Nanded - Nizamabad - Kacheguda
(region in Maharashtra)
Dhauladhar Express: Pathankot - Delhi (formerly to Baijnath Paprola/Joginder Nagar?)
(name of mountain range)
Dhauli Express: Howrah - Bhubaneshwar
(hill in Orissa, site of the Kalinga war of Ashoka, ~270BCE)
Doon Express: Howrah - Dehradun
(the Doon valley)
Duplicate Express: Howrah - Varanasi, later Howrah - Amritsar [unofficial]
(The Howrah-Amritsar Exp. is considered a poor cousin of the more prestigious Howrah-Amritsar Mail, hence the term 'duplicate'. The name appeared on schedule boards at Bareilly, although it was not officially in any timetables. The train was originally (1960) the Howrah-Benaras Express and Passenger to Jaunpur (15/16 on ER).)
Duronto Express
('Quick' in Bengali; these trains are designated as fast and very limited-stop trains.)
Dwaraka (Dwarka) Express: Okha - Guwahati
(Dwarka is a place on the west coast near Okha.)
East Bengal Express, East Bengal Mail: Sealdah - Parbatipur (East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) [OLD]
(Bengal region)
East Coast Express: Howrah - Hyderabad
Ekta Express: Bhiwani - Kalka
('Ekta' = unity)
Ellora Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Mudkhed (Manmad)
(the Ellora cave temples)
Engine Local: Bombay VT - Karjat Local (Unofficial)
(?? local name in steam days, lingering after electric traction was introduced)
Ernad Express: Mangalore Central - Nagercoil
(region in Kerala)
Executive Express: the Ernakulam - Trivandrum Vanchinad Exp. [unofficial]
Executive Express: the Ernakulam/Alleppey - Cannonore [unofficial]
(primarily used by by office going commuters 'office executives')
Falaknuma Express: Howrah - Secunderabad
(Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad)
Farakka Express: Malda - Bhiwani Via Faizabad/Via Sultanpur
(place, better known for dam across the Ganga
Flying Mail: New Delhi - Amritsar [OLD]
(Withdrawn in 2001; used to run New Delhi - Lahore - Karachi in British India.)
Flying Queen Express: Mumbai - Surat [OLD]
Flying Ranee Express: Mumbai - Surat
('Ranee' = queen)
Frontier Mail: New Delhi - Mumbai [OLD]
(Used to be from Peshawar, the north west frontier of British India)
Gajanan Express: Colloquial name for Howrah-Puri Jagannath Exp.
(?? Hindu deity Ganesh)
Ganadevta Express: Rampurhat - Howrah (extended to Azimganj in 2005)
(Bengali novel by Tarashankar Bandhopadhyay)
Gandak Express: Jaynagar - Narkatiaganj
(River near Jaynagar. See also Sitamahal Express - the reverse direction)
Ganga Damodar Express: Dhanbad - Patna
(names of rivers)
Ganga Gomti Express: Allahabad - Lucknow
(names of rivers)
Ganga Jamuna Express: New Delhi - Lucknow [now unofficial]
(names of rivers)
Ganga Kaveri Express: Chennai - Varanasi
(names of rivers)
Ganga Sagar Express: Sealdah - Darbhanga
(Ganga river, 'sagar' = ocean; Ganga Sagar is a pilgrimage spot close to the Sunderbans / Sandheads area)
Ganga Sutlej Express: Dhanbad - Firozpur
(names of rivers)
Gangaur Express: Mumbai Central - Jaipur [unofficial/proposed]
(a festival in Jaipur, around March every year)
Garhwal Express: Delhi - Kotdwara
(Mountainous region in Uttaranchal)
Garib Nawaz Express: Ajmer/Udaipur - Jaipur, also Delhi - Ajmer [OLD], Yeshwantpur - Ajmer [2006], Kishanganj - Ajmer [2006], Ranchi - Ajmer [2006]
(Garib Nawaz is the honorific title of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chisti, whose tomb is at Ajmer
Garib Rath Express
('Chariot of the poor' - new class of trains introduced with all-AC coaches and lower fares than AC-3T trains)
Garudadri Express: Chennai Central - Tirupati [unofficial]
(name of hill, one of the famed 'seven hills' of Tirupati)
Gaur Express: Sealdah - Malda Town
(town near Malda, historic capital of Bengal kingdoms)
Gautami Express: Kakinada - Secunderabad
(legendary disciple of the Buddha, also name of river tributary of the Godavari at Kakinada)
Girnar Express: Veraval - Ahmedabad
(hills in Gujarat)
Girnar Link Express: Bhavnagar - Dhola
(hills in Gujarat)
Gitanjali Express: Mumbai - Howrah
(compilation of Bengali songs/poetry by Rabindranath Tagore)
Goa Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Vasco da Gama/Madgaon
(name of state)
Godan (Godaan) Express: Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Gorakhpur
(?? Novel by Hindi author Premchand, who lived in/near Gorakhpur)
Godavari Express: Vishakapatnam - Hyderabad (SCR)
(name of river - route is through Rajahmundry Godavari bridge) This train, introduced in the 1970s, is one of the few trains that shares a name with another train where there is no shared route, and where the name is not indicative of a class of trains.
Godavari Express: Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Manmad (CR)
(name of river - route is through Nasik where the Godavari originates) See previous entry. This is a more recently introduced train (2000?) but shares a name with the previous one.
Gokul Express: Gonda - Agra Fort
(legendary place where the Hindu god Krishna spent his childhood)
Golconda Express: Guntur - Secunderabad
(medieval fortress near Hyderabad
Golden Chariot
Tourist train from Bangalore covering Mysore, Srirangapatnam, Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary, Belur, Halebid, Shravanabelagola, Hampi, Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal, Goa.
Golden Express: Tatanagar - Amritsar [OLD]
(the Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest place, is at Amritsar)
Golden Temple Mail: Bombay Central - Amritsar
(the Golden Temple, Sikhism's holiest place, is at Amritsar)
Gol Gumbaz Express: Sholapur - Bangalore via Bijapur/Gadag
(GolGumbaz is a domed monument in Bijapur)
Gomti Express: New Delhi - Lucknow
(name of river)
Gondwana Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Bilaspur/Jabalpur/Nagpur/Bhusawal
(name of region, inhabited by the Gond tribe)
Gorakhdham Express: New Delhi - Gorakhpur
Gorakhnath Express: Lucknow - Manduadih [unofficial]
(the train earlier terminated at Gorakhpur)
Grand Trunk Express: New Delhi - Chennai
(name modelled on the famous Grand Trunk Road; also known simply as 'GT Express')
Great Indian Rover
Buddhist interest round trip tourist train [OLD]
Green Valley Express: Vishakapatnam - Araku Valley [proposed]
'GT' Express: New Delhi - Chennai
(see Grand Trunk Express above)
Gujarat Express: Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad
(name of state)
Gujarat Mail: Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad
(name of state)
Gujarat Queen: Valsad - Ahmedabad
(name of state)
Gulbarga Express: Bijapur - Yeshwantpur [OLD]
(Region in the Deccan, in Karnataka state)
Gurudev Express: Nagercoil - Howrah
('Gurudev' = divine teacher; named for both Rabindranath Tagore & Swami Chinmayananda)
Gyanganga Express: Pune - Varanasi
('Gyanganga' = the Ganga (river) of knowledge)
Haldighati Fast Passenger: Agra Fort - Nimach
(Name of place, site of 16th century battle between Rajputs and Mughals)
Hampi Express: Hubli - Bangalore
(place in Karnataka with ruins of the 14th century Vijayanagar kingdom) Earlier the Vijayanagar Exp.
Harihar Express: Sonpur - Ambala
(Sonpur is also known as Harihar Kshetra and has the Harihar Nath temple.)
Hariharnath Express: Katihar - Sonepur/Samastipur (MG)
(Hariharnath temple in Sonepur)
Haripriya Express: Kolhapur - Tirupati
('beloved of god' (Hari = Hindu god Vishnu); the name was the winner in a contest among schoolchildren to name this train)
Haryana Express: Tilak Bridge (New Delhi) - Sirsa [OLD]
(name of state)
Hate Bazaar Hatey Bazaare Express: Sealdah - Saharsa
(name of novel by Balai Chand Mukhopaddhay ('Banaphool'))
Hazarduari Express: Kolkata - Lalgola
(Hazarduari is a building in the classical European style in Murshidabad (a stop for the train); 'hazar duari' = with a thousand doors)
Hemkunt Express: Jammu Tawi - Rishikesh - Howrah
(Perhaps from Hemkunt Sahib (near Rishikesh) Sikh holy site in northern Uttar Pradesh in the Uttarakhand Himalayas)
High Court Express: Manmad - Dharmabad [unofficial]
(Originally a Nanded-Aurangabad train, started for the convenience of passengers of interior Marathwada region to travel to Aurangabad which has a bench of the Mumbai High Court. See Marathwada Express.)
Himachal Express: New Delhi - Una
(Una is in Himachal Pradesh; 'Himachal' = mountains of snow)
Himalayan Queen Express: New Delhi - Kalka
('Himachal' = mountains of snow, Kalka is the primary railhead for the region)
Himgiri Express: Howrah - Jammu Tawi
('Himgiri' = hills of snow)
Himsagar Express: Kanyakumari - Jammu Tawi
('Himsagar' = snow + ocean)
Hirakhand Express: Bhubaneshwar - Raurkela/Koraput
(region in Orissa, known for gems and minerals; 'hira' = diamond)
Hirakud Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Bhubaneshwar/Sambalpur - Vishakhapatnam
(region in Orissa, site of one of the biggest dams in the world)
Honeymoon Express [unofficial]
Unofficial name given locally to various trains that are popular choices for young couples on romantic getaways. E.g., Kalka Mail between Delhi Jn. and Kalka, Mussoorie Exp. between Delhi Jn. and Dehradoon, and the Nilgiri Express between Madras and Mettupalaiyam.
Hussainsagar Express: Mumbai - Hyderabad
(lake near Hyderabad)
Hutatma Express: Pune - Solapur
('Hutatma' = martyr)
Ibadat Express: Rajendranagar - Ajmer
('Devotion, Worship', reference to the Ajmer Sharif shrine of the Sufi saint Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti. Ziyarat Exp. (see below) in reverse direction.)
Imperial Indian Mail: Bombay - Calcutta [OLD]
(1906; accommodation for first-class passengers and their servants only)
Indian Maharaja [OLD]
Mumbai - Aurangabad - Udaipur - Sawai Madhopur - Jaipur - Agra - New Delhi; luxury tourist train
Indo-Ceylon Boat Mail: See Boat Mail above [OLD]
Indrayani Express: Mumbai - Pune
(name of river)
Intercity Express
Many trains, past and present
Island Express: Bangalore - Kanyakumari [OLD, now unofficial]
(This originally ran to Cochin, where the terminus is on an island; later the train was extended to Trivandrum, Nagercoil, and finally Kanyakumari.)
Ispat Express: Howrah - Sambalpur/Raurkela
('Ispat' = steel; Raurkela has a steel plant)
Jagannath Express: Howrah - Puri
(see Sri Jagannath Exp.)
Jallianwala Bagh Express: Tatanagar - Amritsar
(Site in Amritsar of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 1919)
Janaki Express: Katihar - Samastipur
(Janaki temple near Samastipur)
Jana (Jan) Shatabdi Express
('Jana' = people; People's Shatabdi, i.e., lower-cost version of the Shatabdi Expresses — see below). There are many trains in this class running.
Janata Express
('Janata' = people). Class name of many trains, including: Howrah - New Delhi [OLD], Howrah - Madras [OLD,1960-1980?], Howrah - New Bongaigaon [OLD], Madras Egmore - Madurai [OLD], Madras Egmore - Howrah [OLD], Madras Egmore - Bombay [OLD], Mumbai - Delhi - Firozpur [OLD], Mumbai - Baroda [OLD], Mumbai - Pune [OLD], Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad [OLD], Saharanpur - Delhi [OLD]
Janmabhoomi Express: Tenali/Vishakhapatnam - Vijayawada
('Janmabhoomi' = birthplace; may also refer to a self-help program in Andhra Pradesh)
Janmabhoomi: Name given to some special trains for military personnel and their families.
('Janmabhoomi' = birthplace)
Jan Nayak Express: Darbhanga - Amritsar
('Jan Nayak' = leader of the people; honorary title of Jaiprakash Narayan)
Jan Sadharan Express: New Delhi - Patna, Muzaffarpur - LTT Kurla, Muzaffarpur - Ahmedabad, Muzaffarpur - Howrah etc,.
('Jan' = people, 'sadharan' = ordinary, simple)
Jansewa Express: Barauni - Amritsar
('Jansewa' = service of the people)
Jansewa Express: Bhagalpur - Muzaffarpur
('Jansewa' = service of the people)
Jayanti Janata Express: Mumbai - Cochin (later Kanyakumari) [OLD]
('Jayanti Janata' = 'the people shall prevail')
Jeevan Rekha Exp. (Lifeline Exp.): itinerant hospital train
(literally, Life-Line)
Jharkhand Express: New Delhi - Ranchi [2004]
(name of state)
Jharkhand Swarna Jayanti Express: New Delhi - Hatia
(was name of region; now name of state)
Jhelum Express: Pune - Jammu Tawi
(name of river)
Jnaneshwari (Gyaneshwari) Express (Super Deluxe Exp.): Lokmanya Tilka Terminus - Howrah via Nagpur
(Jnaneshwari is the Marathi translation of and commentary on the Hindu text the Bhagwad Gita by the 13th century saint Jnaneshwara)
Jim Corbett Park Express: Ramnagar - Moradabad - Delhi
(national park named for Jim Corbett, hunter and pioneer conservationist)
Joy Train: Darjeeling - Ghum (DHR)
A couple of the DHR train services of short excursions, which are intended for, and generally patronized by, tourists; the trains don't run if enough tickets aren't sold. See School Train.
Kaifiat Express: Delhi - Azamgarh
(Said to be for Kaifi Azmi, poet born at Azamgarh)
Kakatiya Fast Passenger: Warangal - Hyderabad/Secunderabad
(From name of 14th century dynasty ruling in the Warangal region)
Kalindi Express: Farrukhabad - New Delhi
(another name for the river Yamuna, from Kalinda = the Sun, the mythological father of the river)
Kalinga Utkal Express: Puri - Hazrat Nizamuddin - Haridwar
('Kalinga' = region along the east coast (in modern-day Orissa); 'Utkal' = Orissa) This train replaced the older Kalinga and Utkal Expresses of SER.
Kamala Gandak Express: Jaynagar - Gorakhpur
(names of two rivers in Bihar)
Kamayani Express: Kurla (LTT) - Varanasi
(name of epic work by Hindi poet Jaya Shankar Prasad)
Kamban Express: Chennai - Nagore
(Tamil poet, 9th century AD, who wrote the Tamil version of the Ramayana epic)
Kamrup Express: Howrah - Dibrugarh
(name of district in Assam)
Kanchan Kanya Express: Sealdah - New Jalpaiguri - Guwahati
('kanchan' = gold; 'kanya' = girl, virgin; probably a reference to the Kanchenjunga mountain in the Himalayas)
Kanchenjunga Express: Sealdah - Guwahati
(name of mountain in Himalayas)
Kangra Queen: Pathankot - Palampur
(name of town and valley in Himachal Pradesh)
Kangra Valley Express: Pathankot - Joginder [NG] [OLD]
(name of town and valley in Himachal Pradesh)
Kangra Valley Passenger: Pathankot - Joginder (NG) [OLD]
(name of town and valley in Himachal Pradesh)
Kannokunwari Mixed Express: Gwalior - Sheopur Kalan (NG) [OLD]
(?? 'Kunwari' is a small river near Gwalior)
Kanyakubj Express: Kanpur - Kasganj [OLD]
(old name for modern-day Kannauj area in Uttar Pradesh)
Karmabhoomi: Name given to some unreserved trains intended for 'common' people.
('Karmabhoomi' = land of work)
Karnataka Darshan: Round-trip tourist train
(name of state; 'Darshan' = vision)
Karnataka Express: Bangalore - New Delhi
(name of state)
Karnavati Express: Mumbai - Ahmedabad
(another (older) name for modern-day Ahmedabad)
Kashi Express: Dadar - Varanasi [OLD]
(another name for Varanasi)
Kashi Express: Dadar - Gorakhpur [unofficial]
(another name for Varanasi, where the train originally terminated)
Kashi Vishwanath Express: Varanasi - New Delhi
(Hindu temple at Varanasi)
Kashmir Mail: Delhi - Amritsar/Mukerian - Pathankot [OLD]
(name of state)
Kaveri (Cauvery) Express: Mysore - Bangalore [OLD]
(name of river)
Kaveri (Cauvery) Express: Mysore - Madras
(name of river; the train runs in the slot of the old Cauvery Exp. (above))
Kaziranga Express: Guwahati - Jorhat Town
(proximity to Kaziranga Park, a wildlife sanctuary)
Kerala Express: Trivandrum - New Delhi - Chandigarh
(name of state)
Kerala Karnataka Express: New Delhi - Trivandrum/Bangalore [OLD]
(names of states; train bifurcated at Jolarpettai. Later became the Kerala Exp. and Karnataka Exp.)
Kerala Mangala Express: Trivandrum/Mangalore - New Delhi [OLD?]
('Kerala' = name of state; 'mangala' = good fortune/covering the Mangalore region)
Kisan Express: Delhi - Bathinda
('farmer')
Kisan Express: Dhanbad - Firozepur Ganga Sutlej Exp.[unofficial]
('farmer')
Kittur Express: Bangalore - Miraj (MG) [OLD]
(former kingdom; see Rani Chenamma Exp., its BG replacement)
Koila Gari: Howrah - Dhanbad Black Diamond Exp. [unofficial]
('Coal Car')
Kolong Paar Passenger (?): Guwahati - Haibergaon [OLD]
(??)
Konark Express: Mumbai - Bhubaneshwar
(name of place in Orissa, site of the sun temple built in the 13th century)
Kongu Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Coimbatore
(name of region in Tamil Nadu)
Konkan Kanya Express: Mumbai - Madgaon - Mangalore
('Konkan' = name of the western coastal area; 'kanya' = girl, virgin)
Koshi Express: Forbesganj - Sonpur
(name of river in Nepal)
Kosi Express: Saharsa - Patna
(name of river in Bihar)
Kovai Express: Chennai - Coimbatore
(another name for Coimbatore)
Koyna Express: Mumbai - Kolhapur
(name of river/region)
Krishak Express: Gorakhpur - Manduadih
('krishak' = farmer)
Krishna Express: Tirupati - Hyderabad - Nizamabad
(name of river)
Kudal Express: Chennai - Madurai
(another (older) name for the Madurai region)
Kumaon Express: Agra Fort - Lalkua
(name of region)
Kushinagar Express: Kurla - Gorakhpur
(name of town near Gorakhpur; site where the Buddha is said to have died)
Kutch Express: Mumbai - Bhuj
(name of region)
Lahori Passenger: the Dehradun - Amritsar Passenger [unofficial, from pre-1947 route]
(from Lahore, the city in modern-day Pakistan)
Lake City Express: Jaipur - Udaipur
(Udaipur is known as the Lake City)
Lakshadweep Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Ernakulam
(name of island group in Indian ocean (also sometimes 'Laccadive'); literally, 'myriad isles')
Lal Quila Express: Sealdah - New Delhi
('Red Fort')
Lalbagh Express: Chennai - Bangalore
(name of botanical gardens in Bangalore)
Lashkar Express: Kurla - Agra
('army'; originally terminated at Gwalior, where the old fort area is named Lashkar)
Lashkar Express: Secunderabad - Vijayawada - Guntur [OLD]
('army'; Secunderabad has a military cantonment)
Lichhavi Express: New Delhi - Muzaffarpur via Madhosingh/Varanasi - Samastipur
(name of ancient dynasty that prevailed in areas of Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, to which the Buddha belonged)
Lifeline Exp.: see Jeevan Rekha Exp.
(the hospital train)
Link Express
Many past and present trains intended to provide connecting services with other trains.
Lohit Express: Guwahati - Jammu Tawi
(local name in Assam/Arunachal Pradesh for the Brahmaputra river, also the name of a tributary of the Brahmaputra)
Lokshakti Janata Express: Mumbai - Ahmedabad
('lokshakti' = people power; 'janata' = the public)
Madhya Pradesh Express: H. Nizamuddin - Jabalpur
(name of state)
Magadh Vikramshila Express: Patna - New Delhi
('Magadh' = ancient kingdom in present-day Bihar; 'Vikramshila' = ruins of an ancient university)
Mahabodhi Express: New Delhi - Gaya
('great enlightenment', a reference to Siddhartha becoming the Buddha at Gaya)
Mahakoshal Express: Jabalpur - Hazrat Nizamuddin
(name of region)
Mahal Express: Chennai - Madurai (MG) [OLD]
(Probably for Tirumal Naicker Mahal in Madurai. Withdrawn in 1997?)
Mahalaxmi (Mahalakshmi) Express: Mumbai - Kolhapur (BG) [OLD]
(temple of Hindu goddess Mahalaxmi at Kolhapur)
Mahalaxmi (Mahalakshmi) Express: Miraj - Bangalore, later Miraj - Mangalore (MG) [OLD]
(temple of Hindu goddess Mahalaxmi at Kolhapur)
Mahamaya Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Nagpur/Bhusawal Gondwana Exp. [unofficial]
(temple to Hindu goddess of same name in Chattisgarh)
Mahanadi Express: Bilaspur - Bhopal
(name of river)
Mahanagari Express: Mumbai - Varanasi
('of the great city')
Mahananda Link Express: New Delhi - New Jalpaiguri - Alipurduar
(name of river, region and wildlife sanctuary) Train originally terminated at Katihar.
Mahaparinirvan Express
Buddhist circuit tourist train. tTerm used to refer to the death of the Buddha; 'the great Nirvana', 'nirvana' being a Sanskrit term for cessation or extinction)
Maharajah Express
Circular luxury tourist trains run by IRCTC and Cox & Kings. The train is designed to provide extremely luxurious accommodations.
Maharashtra Express: Kolhapur - Gondia
(name of state)
Maitry Express: Sealdah - Dhaka (Bangladesh)
('maitry' = friendship)
Malabar Express: Madras - Mangalore, then Cochin - Mangalore, then Trivandrum - Mangalore
(name of south-western coastal region)
Malani Express: Barmer - New Delhi
(name of Region near Barmer)
Malwa Express: Indore - Jammu Tawi
(name of region)
Mandore Express: New Delhi - Jodhpur
(name of town)
Mandovi Express: Miraj - Vasco da Gama (MG) [OLD]
(name of river)
Mandovi Express: Mumbai - Madgaon
(name of river)
Mangala Lakshadweep Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Ernakulam
('mangala' = good fortune;, reference to Mangalore which is the terminus of this train. 'Lakshadweep' = island group in Indian ocean, literally 'myriad isles')
Marathwada Express: Manmad - Dharmabad
(region in Maharashtra)
Mariani Express: Guwahati - Jorhat
(Place near Jorhat)
Marudhar Express: Varanasi - Faizabad - Jodhpur
('marudhar' = desert)
Marusagar Express: Jaipur - Ernakulam
('desert-ocean', reflecting the locations of the termini)
Ma Tara (Maa Tara) Express: Sealdah - Rampurhat
(Hindu deity, a shrine to whom exists at Tarapith near Rampurhat)
Matribhoomi: Name given to some special trains for women.
('motherland')
Matsyagandha Express: Kurla - Mangalore
(name of person in Hindu mythology, the fisherman's daughter who was the mother of Vyasa the sage; literally, 'fishy-smelling')
Maurya Express: Hatia - Gorakhpur
(name of dynasty that ruled in the Bihar area in ancient times)
Maveli Express: Mangalore - Trivandrum
(name of ruler of Kerala in mythology, also 'Mahabali')
Mayurakshi Fast Passenger: Howrah - Rampurhat
(name of river)
Meenakshi Express: Achalpur - Yeotmal (NG) [OLD]
(name of Hindu goddess)
Meenakshi Express: Kacheguda - Ajmer (MG) [OLD]
(name of Hindu goddess)
Meenakshi Express: Jaipur - Purna
(name of Hindu goddess)
Mewar Fast Passenger: Ahmedabad - Chittorgarh (MG)
(Former kingdom in Rajasthan)
Millennium Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Ernakulam
Millennium Parcel Express: Shalimar - Ahmedabad (parcels) [proposed]
Millennium Parcel Express: Sanatnagar - Tughlakabad (parcels) [proposed]
Millennium Parcel Express: Shalimar - Sanatnagar (parcels) [proposed]
Of these, only the first is running. Train was introduced at the turn of the millenium.
Mithila Express: Howrah - Raxaul
(name of region, also Mythili)
Mithilanchal Express: Darbhanga - Kolkata (Chitpur)
(name of region, also Mythili or Mithila, straddling Bihar in India and the terai of Nepal)
Mour Dhwaj Express: Sonpur - Chhapra - Jammu Tawi [2006]
(?)
Muri Express: Tatanagar/Hatia - Pathankot
(name of town)
Mussoorie Express: New Delhi - Dehradun
(name of town)
Nagarjuna Express: Tenali - Secunderabad [OLD]
(Second-century Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna)
Nainital Express: Lalkua - Lucknow
(name of town)
Nandi Express: Bangalore - Mysore (MG) [OLD]
(named for the large Nandi bull statue near Mysore)
Nandigram Express: Mumbai CST - Nanded
(Old name of Nanded)
Narayanadri Express: Tirupati - Secunderabad
(name of a hill, one of the famed 'seven hills' of Tirupati)
Narmada Express: Indore - Bilaspur
(name of river)
Nauchandi Express: Allahabad - Meerut/Shahjahanpur via Lucknow
(Nauchandi fair held annually near Meerut)
Navjivan Express: Ahmedabad - Chennai
(institute established by Gandhi at Ahmedabad)
Navyug Express: Mangalore/Trichy - Jammu Tawi
('new era')
Neelachal Express: Puri - New Delhi
In northern India this is also known as the 'Neelanchal Express' (note the extra 'n'). An old name for Puri; a place near Puri.
Nellai Express: Chennai - Tirunelveli
(another name for Tirunelveli)
Netravati Express: Kurla - Ernakulam
(name of river)
Netravati Express cum Fast Passenger: Mangalore - Bangalore City [OLD]
(name of river)
Nilgiri Express: Chennai - Mettupalayam
(name of mountains)
Night Queen Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Habibganj [unofficial]
The name is used in some official announcements at Jhansi.
Nilgiri Express: Mettupalaiyam - Ootacamund [OLD, renamed as below]
(name of mountains)
Nilgiri Passenger: Mettupalaiyam - Ootacamund
(name of mountains))
North Bank Express: Manihari Ghat - Katihar - Barsoi - Biral [OLD]
(connected by ferry to Sahibganj on the south bank where trains from Calcutta terminated)
North Bengal Express: Sealdah - Moharajpur Ghat [OLD]
(Bengal region)
North Bihar Express: Howrah - Barauni [OLD]
North East Express: Guwahati - New Delhi
(refering to the region)
Orange City Express: Nagpur - Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana Exp. [unofficial]
Nagpur is known for its oranges
Padatik Express: Sealdah - New Jalpaiguri
(perhaps named for film by noted film director Mrinal Sen (not sure))
Padmavati Express: Tirupati - Nagercoil [OLD]
(name of Hindu deity whose temple is close to Tirupati)
Padmavati Express: Secunderabad - Tirupati
(name of Hindu deity whose temple is close to Tirupati)
Paharia Express: New Jalpaiguri - Digha
('of the hills')
Palace on Wheels
Delhi/Rajasthan round trip tourist train
Palamau Express: Barkakana - Patna/Rajendranagar
(name of region)
Pallavan Express: Chennai - Tiruchchirappalli
(7th century kingdom in present-day Tamil Nadu)
Palnadu Express: Guntur - Vikarabad
Region of Andhra Pradesh state, near Guntur
Panch (Pench) Valley Passenger: Chindwara - Bhopal
(River Pench near Parasia)
Panchvati Express: Mumbai - Manmad
(name of place)
Pandyan Express: Chennai - Madurai
(10th-13th century kingdom in present-day Tamil Nadu)
Parasnath Express: Ahmedabad - Dhanbad
(Jain pilgrimage destination near Ranchi, hilltop temple of Parasnath, the 23rd Jain Tirthankar)
Parikrama: Circular railway in New Delhi
(circumambulation/circumference)
Parsuram (Parashuram) Express: Trivandrum - Mangalore
(in Hindu mythology, a form of the god Vishnu, who among other things is said to have created the region of Kerala)
Pashchim Express: Mumbai - Amritsar
('pashchim' = west)
Pataliputra Express: Patna - Hatia
(another (older) name for Patna)
Patalkot Express: Chhindwara - Jhansi
(Patalkot is a place (a valley) in Chhindwara district)
Pathankot Express: Sealdah - Jammu Tawi Express [unofficial]
(name of city)
Pathankot Express: Dadar - Amritsar Express [unofficial]
(name of city)
Pawan Express: Kanpur - Kasganj [OLD]
('wind')
Pawan Express: Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Jaynagar
('wind')
Pearl City Express: Chennai - Tuticorin
(pearl farming in Tuticorin)
Pinakini Express: Vijayawada - Chennai
(name of two rivers, the Uttara (northern) Pinakini and the Dakshin (southern) Pinakini that originate in Kolar district, flowing into Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu )
Pink City Express: New Delhi - Jaipur [OLD]
(another name for Jaipur, from its pink sandstone buildings)
Pooja Express: Ajmer - Jammu Tawi Superfast
('worship', perhaps for pilgrims going to holy sites in the state of Jammu & Kashmir)
Poorabiya Express: Delhi (New Azadpur) - Lucknow - Saharsa [2006]
('Eastern', usually refering to eastern Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring areas)
Poorna Express: Pune - Ernakulam
(older name for the Periyar river near Ernakulam)
Poorva Express: Howrah - New Delhi
('poorv' = east)
Poorvottar Express: New Delhi - Guwahati
('northeast')
Pragati Express: Mumbai - Pune
('progress')
Prashanti Express: Bhubaneshwar - Bangalore
('peace, tranquility', reference to Prashanti Nilayam, the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba)
Prayagraj Express: Prayagraj - New Delhi
(name of the city; Prayagraj was the older name of Allahabad, now reverted)
Prerana Express: Nagpur - Ahmedabad
('inspiration')
Punjab Mail: Mumbai - Firozpur
(name of state)
Punjab Mail: the Howrah-Amritsar Mail [pre-1947 name, but unofficial now]
(name of state)
Purushottam Express: Puri - New Delhi
(another name for Puri)
Purvanchal Express: Howrah - Gorakhpur
(name of region, literally, the 'eastern lands' -- eastern UP and parts of Bihar)
Pushpak Express: Mumbai - Lucknow
(a flying chariot in Hindu mythology)
Qutub Express: Agra - New Delhi [OLD, 1980s]
(Qutub Minar, a medieval tower in Delhi; this train provided a reverse service for the Taj Exp.)
Qutub Narmada Express: Agra - Jabalpur [OLD, 1980s]
(Qutub Minar, a medieval tower in Delhi; formerly Qutub Exp., later Mahakoshal Exp.)
Rajdhani Express (class name)
'Capital city'. Many trains connecting Delhi to state captials or important cities. The 'Bombay AC Rajdhani' was renamed to be the August Kranti Rajdhani in 1992.
Ranakpur Express: Bikaner - Bandra
(Temple town in Rajasthan)
Rani Chennamma Express: Bangalore - Miraj - Kolhapur
('Rani' = queen; Chenamma was a queen of the Kittur kingdom)
Rani Shiromani Passenger: Howrah - Bankura (MEMU) [OLD]
(Leader of the Chuar rebellion in Bengal against the British in the early 19th century; see Shiromani Passenger below)
Ranikhet Express: Delhi - Kathgodam
(name of place)
Ranthambore Express: Indore - Jodhpur
(National park and wildlife preserve)
Raptisagar Express: Trivandrum/Cochin - Barauni/Gorakhpur
(Rapti is a river near Gorakhpur; 'sagar' = ocean, referring to Cochin which is on the coast)
Ratnachal Express: Vishakapatnam - Vijayawada
('gem mountains')
Ratnagiri Express: Kurla - Varanasi Superfast [now unofficial]
('gem mountains')
Ravi Express: Amritsar - Pathankot
(name of river)
Rayalaseema Express: Hyderabad - Tirupati
(name of region)
Red Ribbon Express
Special exhibition train for AIDS/HIV awareness and education campaign
Revanchal (Rewanchal) Express: Bhopal - Rewa
(Region in northern Madhya Pradesh.)
Rock Fort Express: Chennai - Tiruchchirappalli
(12th century fortress in Trichy)
Rohilkhand Express: Bareilly - Lucknow
(name of region)
Royal Orient: Delhi/Rajasthan/Gujarat round trip tourist train [OLD]
Royal Rajasthan on Wheels: Round trip tourist train [1/09]
Rupashi Bangla Express: Howrah - Purulia
(work of Bengali poet Jibanananda Das)
Sabari Express: Secunderabad - Ernakulam/Thiruvananthapuram
(from Sabarimalai, a Hindu pilgrimage spot)
Sabarmati Express: Ahmedabad - Faizabad
(name of river)
Sabarmati Express: Ahmedabad - Muzaffarpur - Darbhanga
(name of river)
Sabarmati Express: Ahmedabad - Varanasi
(name of river)
Sachkhand Express: Amritsar - Purna/Nanded
(Sachkhand Sahib, Sikh holy site at Nanded)
Sadbhavna Express: New Delhi - Muzaffarpur/Varanasi
('goodwill')
Sahyadri Express: Mumbai - Kolhapur
(mountain range; formerly the Poona Mail)
Sai Express: Secunderabad - Belapur [withdrawn]
(Sai Baba, spiritual leader)
Saket Express: Kurla - Faizabad
(another (older) name for Faizabad/place near Faizabad/Ayodhya, also Saketpuri)
Samarasta (Samarasata) Express: Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Shalimar (Kolkata)
('harmony')
Sambaleshwari (Samaleswari) Express: Howrah - Jadgalpur (via Sambalpur)
(local deity in Sambalpur)
Samta Express: Vishakapatnam - Hazrat Nizamuddin
('equality')
Samjhauta Express: Amritsar - Lahore
('understanding')
Sampark Kranti Express
Sampark = 'contact', Kranti = 'revolution'. Various trains, usually from New Delhi to different cities.
Sampoorna Kranti Express: Patna - New Delhi
('total revolution', movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan in 1974 against corruption in public life)
Sanctuary Express: Tikunia/Palikalan - Lucknow [OLD]
(Dudwa wildlife sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh?)
Sangam Express: Allahabad - Meerut
('confluence'; older name for Allahabad, meeting point of Ganga and Yamuna rivers, and the legendary Saraswati)
Sangamitra (Sanghamitra) Express: Bangalore - Chennai - Patna
(daughter of Mauryan ruler Ashoka, whose capital was at modern-day Patna; she is said to have spread Buddhism to Sri Lanka)
Sankalp Fast Passenger: Ahmedabad - Vadodara
('a solemn vow, resolve/pledge')
Sanskriti Express
'Culture'. Special exhibition train to mark 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. (Itinerary covers India, but was also planned to go to Bangladesh.)
Saptagiri Express: Chennai - Tirupati
('seven hills', name for Tirupati)
Sapt Kranti: New Delhi - Muzaffarpur - Darbhanga
('seven revolutions' ??)
Saraighat Express: Howrah - Guwahati
(name of place, site of first bridge over Brahmaputra; also the site of a battlefield where Assamese warrior Lachit Barphukan defeated the Mughals in battle)
Sarayu Yamuna Express: Darbhanga - New Delhi
(names of rivers)
Sarnath Express: Durg - Chhapra
(name of place; site of the Buddha's first sermons)
Sarvodaya Express: Ahmedabad - Jammu Tawi
(Gandhian philosophy practised at his ashram near Ahmedabad)
Shasya Shyamala (Sasya Syamala) Express: Secunderabad - Guwahati [PROPOSED]
('Dark with vegetation/harvest' from a phrase in 'Vande Mataram', India's national song)
Satavahana Express: Vijayawada - Secunderabad
(Deccan/Andhra kingdom in the first centuries AD)
Satpura Express: Gondia - Jabalpur (NG)
(name of mountain range)
Satyagraha Express: Delhi - Raxaul
('truthful insistence', a reference to Gandhi's campaign of non-cooperation against indigo planters in Uttar Pradesh)
Saurashtra Express: Mumbai - Porbandar
(name of region of Gujarat)
Saurashtra Janata Express: Bandra - Jamnagar
(name of region of Gujarat; 'janata' = the public)
Saurashtra Mail: Mumbai - Okha
(name of region of Gujarat)
Sayajinagari Express: Bandra - Vadodara, later to Gandhidham
('city of Sayaji'; Vadodara (Baroda) was ruled by the Gaekwads, prominent among them being Sayajirao Gaekwad)
School Train: Kurseong - Darjeeling (DHR) [OLD]
Train to Darjeeling in the morning, returning in the late afternoon; presumably from the number of school children that used take it. See Joy Train.
Science Express
Exhibition train to raise awareness of science, akin to Science on Wheels (below), started Oct. 2007. Also known as Science on Wheels and Vigyan Mail.
Seemanchal Express: New Delhi - Radhikapur [2009] [OLD]
('seema' = frontier, Radhikapur is near the India-Bangladesh border)
Seemanchal Express: New Delhi - Jogbani
('seema' = frontier, Jogbani is on the India - Nepal border and is one of three freight transhipment points)
Sethu Express: Madras - Rameswaram
(Sethu Samudram reservoir named for queen Sethu Parvati Bai of Travancore)
Sevagram Express: Dadar - Nagpur
(Sevagram Ashram established by Gandhi at Nagpur)
Shabari Express: Hyderabad - Cochin
(character from Hindu mythology; Shabarimala is a place name)
Shaheed Express: Darbhanga - Delhi
('Shaheed' = martyr)
Shaktipunj Express: Jabalpur - Howrah
('source/apex of energy', a reference to the coalfields and power plants in the Singrauli region)
Shakuntala Express: Murtazapur-Yawatmal, Murtazapur-Elichpur (was non-IR, Killicks Nixon & co.)[OLD]
Shalimar Express: New Delhi - Jammu Tawi
(Shalimar Bagh, Mughal era gardens at Srinagar)
Shan-e-Avadh Express: Lucknow - Siliguri [OLD]
('glory of Avadh (a region)')
Shan-e-Bhopal Express: Hazrat Nizamuddin - Habibganj
('glory of Bhopal')
Shan-e-Punjab Express: New Delhi - Amritsar
('glory of Punjab')
Shanti Express: Gandhinagar - Indore
('peace')
Shantiniketan Express: Howrah - Bolpur
(Rabindranath Tagore's Shantiniketan institute)
Sharavati Express: Mysore - Mumbai CST
(name of river in Karnataka)
Shatabdi Express (class name)
('Shatabdi' = century or centenary; this class of service started in 1989 to commerate the Nehru centenary. Fast expresses connecting bigger cities. It also happened to be the centenary of the construction of the Victoria Terminus station, which yields an alternative explanation for the name in some sources.)
Shekhawati Express: New Delhi - Jaipur (MG) [OLD]
(name of region near Jaipur)
Shetrunji Express: Bhavnagar - Ahmedabad [OLD]
(name of river)
Sheshadri (Seshadri) Express: Tirupati - Kakinada Town
(Name of a hill in the Tirumala Tirupati range in Andhra Pradesh, one of the famed 'seven hills')
Shipra Express: Indore - Howrah
(name of river)
Shirdi Express: Kakinada - Manmad
(town of Sai Baba, spiritual leader)
Shiromani Fast Passenger: Adra - Howrah
(Queen Shiromani was leader of the Chuar rebellion in Bengal against the British in the early 19th century)
Shivalik (Shiwalik) Express: Kalka - Shimla (NG)
(name of hill range, the lowest of the Himalayas)
Shivalik (Shiwalik) Express: Ambala Cantt. - Nangal Dam [OLD]
(name of hill range)
Shiv Ganga Express: New Delhi - Varanasi
(Hindu deity Shiva, Ganga river at Varanasi)
Shramik Express: Varanasi - Kanpur [OLD]
('worker')
Shramik Express: Valsad - Muzaffarpur
('worker')
Shramik Gari: (various departmental trains for transporting staff members)
("workers' train")
Shramjeevi Express: Patna - New Delhi
('living by labour')
Shramshakti (Shram Shakti) Express: Dadar - Muzaffarpur/Guwahati [OLD]
('power of labour')
Shramshakti (Shram Shakti) Express: New Delhi - Kanpur
('power of labour')
Siddhaganga (Siddaganga) Express: Bangalore - Hubli
(Hindu pilgrimage spot in Karnataka)
Siddheshwar (Siddeshwar) Express: Mumbai - Solapur
(name of Hindu temple)
Sikkim Express: Katihar - New Jalpaiguri - Alipurduar
(name of state) See Mahananda Express. This was the link from Katihar for that train.
Sikkim Mahananda Express: New Jalpaiguri - New Delhi
('Sikkim' = name of state; 'Mahananda' = name of river flowing through Siliguri/NE Bihar, also the region and a wildlife sanctuary)
Simanchal Express
see Seemanchal Express, above
Simhadri Express: Guntur - Vishakapatnam
(name of place, site of thermal power plant)
Sindhu Express: Jamnagar - Jammu Tawi [unofficial]
(Sindhu = the Indus river)
Sinhagad (Simhagad) Express: Mumbai - Pune
('Lion fort', name of a medieval fort near Pune; formerly the Bombay-Poona Janata Exp.)
Simla Mail: Kalka - Lahore, later Kalka - Amritsar [OLD]
(name of place)
Sitamahal Express: Narkatiaganj - Jaynagar [OLD]
(?? Name of a place? See also Gandak Express - the reverse direction)
Somnath Mail: Veraval - Ahmedabad
(name of place near Ahmedabad, site of Hindu temple)
Son Bhadra Exp.: New Delhi - Patna [OLD]
(name of place) Predecessor of Magadh Exp.
South Bihar Express: Durg - Patna
Southern Express: New Delhi - Madras [OLD]
Southern Express: Hyderabad - Hazrat Nizamuddin [unofficial name for Dakshin Exp.]
('dakshin' = south)
Srinagar Express: New Delhi - Pathankot, later New Delhi - Jammu Tawi [OLD]
(Srinagar is a city in Kashmir; Predecessor of Jhelum Exp.)
Sri Jagannath Express: Howrah - Puri
(temple of Jagannath at Puri)
Steel City Express (also Steel Express): Howrah - Tatanagar
(steel industry in Tatanagar)
Subarnarekha (Suvarnarekha, Suvarna Rekha) Express: Dhanbad - Tatanagar
(name of river)
Super Express: Madras Egmore - Trivandrum Exp. [unofficial, OLD]
Super Express: Jalandhar City - New Delhi Exp. [unofficial]
Super Deluxe Express: see Jnaneshwari Exp.
Superfast Express: Mumbai - Lucknow Pushpak Exp. [unofficial]
Superfast Express: Mumbai - Chennai Exp. (1063/1064) [unofficial]
Suryanagari Express: Jodhpur - Ahmedabad - Mumbai
('city of the sun', local name for Jodhpur, perhaps referring to the legendary 'solar' origin of the former rulers of Jodhpur)
Sutlej Express: Ludhiana - Firozpur, New Delhi - Firozpur
(name of river)
Swadeshabhimani Express: Ernakulam - Cannanore [proposed]
('patriotic; pride in one's own country')
Swaraj Express: Mumbai - Jammu Tawi
('self-rule')
Swarna (Suvarna) Fast Passenger: Bangalore - Marikuppam
('gold'; the Kolar gold fields are near Marikuppam)
Swarna Jayanti Express: Hatia - New Delhi
Swarna Jayanti Express: Mysore - Hazrat Nizamuddin
Swarna Jayanti Express: Vishakapatnam - Hazrat Nizamuddin
Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani Express: New Delhi - Ahmedabad
('Golden Jubilee')
Swarna Shatabdi Express: New Delhi - Amritsar
Swarna Shatabdi Express: New Delhi - Lucknow
('Golden Centenary', upgraded version of Shatabdi services, q.v.)
Swatantrata Sainani Express: Muzaffarpur - New Delhi
('freedom fighter')
Taj Express: Gwalior - Hazrat Nizamuddin
(stops at Agra, site of the Taj Mahal; originally ran only between Delhi and Agra; introduced 1964.)
Tamilnadu Express: Madurai/Chennai - New Delhi
(also 'Tamil Nadu Express', from the name of the state)
Tapaswini Express: Raurkela - Bhubaneshwar/Puri
(?? Tapaswini is the name of a work by Orissa poet Gangadhar Meher)
Tapovan Express: Mumbai - Nanded
(name of place)
Tapti Ganga Express: Surat - Varanasi
(names of rivers)
Tata Express: Tatanagar/Hatia - Pathankot Muri Exp. [unofficial]
(from Tatanagar)
Tea Garden Express: Cochin - Tirupati (earlier to Mettupalaiyam) [OLD]
Tea Garden Express: Karaikal - Ernakulam
(from the earlier Cochin - Mettupalaiyam Tea Garden Express — see above)
Teesta Torsha Express: Sealdah - Haldibari/New Alipurduar
(names of rivers; one part of the train terminates at Haldibari close to the Teesta, and the other part at Alipurduar near where the Torsha flows)
Tej Shree Parcel Sewa: Parcel freight services, Tughlakabad to Howrah and Vapi [OLD]
Telangana Express: Secunderabad - Sirpur Kagaz Nagar[OLD]
(name of region in former Andhra Pradesh)
Telangana Express: Hyderabad - New Delhi
(name of the state)
Thar Express: Munabao (Rajasthan, India) - Khokrapar (Sindh, Pakistan)
(The Thar desert which is the predominant geographic feature of the area)
Tipu (Tippu) Express: Mysore - Bangalore
(Tipu Sultan, 18th century ruler of Mysore)
Tirhut Express: Muzaffarpur - Kolkata (Chitpur)
(Tirhut - area near Bihar/Bengal)
Tirthankar Express: Secunderabad - Bikaner [proposed]
(Presumably from a connection with Jainism in the Hyderabad area; Tirthankars were the founders of the Jain religion.)
Tirukkural (Thirukkural) Express: Kanyakumari - Hazrat Nizamuddin
(Historic Tamil poem/treatise by the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar)
Tirumala Express: Tirupati - Vishakapatnam
(Tirumala is another name for the Tirupati hills)
Toofan Mail: Howrah - Delhi Jn. [OLD]
('typhoon')
Toofan Express: Delhi - Howrah, later to Sriganganagar [OLD]
('typhoon') See Udyan Abha Toofan Exp.
Trishatabdi Express: Indore - Nagpur
('tercentenary' (of Nagpur city))
Triveni Express: Singrauli - Lucknow
(Triveni Sangam or 'triple confluence' is another name for Allahabad where the Ganga, Yamuna and legendary Saraswati rivers meet)
Tulsi Express: Kurla - Allahabad
(16th century poet Tulsi Das who wrote the Hindi version of the Ramayana epic)
Tungabhadra Express: Secunderabad - Kurnool
(rivers Tunga and Bhadra (which merge to form the Tungabhadra); dam of the same name)
Udyan Abha Express: Delhi - Sriganganagar [OLD]
(?? 'udyan' = garden; 'abha' = splendour, beauty) See Udyan Abha Toofan Exp.
Udyan Abha Toofan Express: Howrah - Sriganganagar
(?? 'udyan' = garden; 'abha' = splendour, beauty; 'toofan' = typhoon) Formed when the Udyan Abha and Toofan Expresses were combined.
Udyan Express: Delhi Jn. - Sri Ganganagar [OLD]
('garden'))
Udyan Express: Mumbai - Bangalore
('garden'; Bangalore is sometimes called the Garden City)
Udyogkarmi Express: Valsad - Udhna (Surat) - Kanpur [2006]
('Udyog' = industry; reference to the industrial areas this train connects)
Udyog Nagari Express: Mumbai - Kanpur
('City of Industry')
Ujjayani Express: Ujjain - Dehradun
(from Ujjain)
Unchahar Express: Allahabad - Ambala
(name of place in Uttar Pradesh)
Upasana Express: Howrah - Dehradun (formerly Millennium Exp.)
('worship, adoration')
Upper India Express: Sealdah - Sahibganj - Delhi [OLD]
Utkal Express
(See Kalinga Utkal Exp.)
Utkal Sammilani Passenger: Cuttack - Palasa (DMU) [OLD]
(Name of movement that promoted Oriya culture and statehood for Orissa)
Utsarg Express: Chappra - Farrukhabad
(?? 'giving as a gift, liberation, flowing into abundance')
Uttar Express, also Uttar Sampark Kranti Express: New Delhi - Udhampur
(uttar = 'north', sampark = 'contact')
Uttaranchal Express: Okha - Dehradun; also New Delhi - Kathgodam
(name of region, later state)
Uttar Banga Express: Sealdah - New Cooch Behar
('northern Bengal')
Vaigai Express: Chennai - Madurai
(name of river near Madurai)
Vainganga (Wainganga) Express: Bilaspur - Yeshwantpur
(name of river near Bilaspur, a tributary of the Godavari)
Vaishali Express: Barauni - New Delhi
(name of place in Bihar)
Vaishali Express: Kathgodam - Siliguri (MG) [OLD]
(name of place in Bihar)
Vananchal (Bananchal, Wananchal) Express: Bhagalpur - Ranchi/Hatia
(name of region)
Vanchinad (Vanchinadu) Express: Ernakulam - Trivandrum
(name of region; kingdom based near modern-day Trivandrum)
Varuna Express: Varanasi - Lucknow
(Varuna river joins the Ganga at Varnasi; also name of Hindu deity)
Venad Express: Shoranur - Trivandrum
(name of region)
Venkatadri Express: Kacheguda - Tirupati
(name of a hill, one of the famed 'seven hills' of Tirupati)
Venkatadri Express: Guntakal - Pakala [PROPOSED]
(name of a hill, one of the famed 'seven hills' of Tirupati)
Vibhuti Express: Varanasi - Howrah
('vibhuti' literally means sacred ash (as used in Hindu religious practice); the name is more likely for Dr Vibhuti Narayan Singh, by tradition the maharaja of Varanasi. Another possibility: from one or more of the famous Hindu temples at Varanasi such as the Kashi Vishwanath temple)
Viceroy's Toy Train: the Kalka-Shimla NG train [OLD and unofficial]
(the route was built at the behest of Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India)
Vidarbha Express: Mumbai - Nagpur
(name of region around Nagpur)
Vidarbha Queen: Nagpur - Nagbhid [PROPOSED] AC narrow-gauge 'jungle safari' tourist train to the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
(name of region around Nagpur)
Vigyan Mail (also Vigyan Rail): Travelling science exhibition on a dedicated 12-coach rake
('Science Rail') English name of train is 'Science on Wheels'. Sometimes Vigyan Mail is used specifically for the second version of this exhibition train which was launched in 2005, and Science on Wheels is used for the first version.
Vijayanagar Express: Hubli - Guntakal (MG) [OLD] (extended to Bangalore with BG)
(Vijayanagar empire, 14th-16th century) Later renamed to Hampi Exp.
Vikramshila Express: Bhagalpur - Patna - New Delhi
(ruins of an ancient university)
Vindhyachal Express: Itarsi - Bina
(the Vindhya mountain range)
Vishakha Express: Bhubaneshwar - Secunderabad
(For the town of Vishakhapatnam/Hindu deity Vishakha)
Vishwabharati Fast Passenger see Bishwabharati Fast Passenger
Vivekananda Express: the Trivandrum - Guwahati Exp. [unofficial]
(Vivekananda Memorial at Kanyakumari, not far from Trivandrum. Swami Vivekananda is said to have walked the length of the country along the same route. Although not seen officially in any timetables, the name was found on the schedule boards at Vijayawada.)
Wainganga Express: Yeshwantpur - Bilaspur
(name of river)
Weekend Express: Bombay - Ahmedabad [OLD, 1981]
Wellington Special: A military special train, used by officers and other brass.
(Wellington, near Ooty, has a military academy. From the Duke of Wellington, renowned British military commander at the beginning of the 19th century in India)
West Bengal Express: New Delhi - Sealdah
(name of state)
West Coast Express: Chennai - Mangalore
Yatra Special: Various trains
'Journey'; Various trains are organized for pilgrims to make trips to spots of religious significance at various times during the year.
Yelagiri Express: Chennai - Jolarpettai
(name of hills)
Yercaud Express: Chennai - Erode
(name of hill station near Salem; the train predominantly served passengers from Salem)
Yuva Express: Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Mumbai
('youth')
Zindagi Express: Exhibition train for Life Insurance Corp. of India
('life')
Ziyarat Express: Ajmer - Rajendranagar
('Pilgrimage', reference to people making a pilgrimage to the Ajmer Sharif shrine of Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti. Ibadat Exp. (see above) in reverse direction.)
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