Indian Railways is a humungous organization, carting several millions of passengers daily. In fact, it counts as the 4th largest train network in the world.
The first train of the Indian Railways was launched in 1853 by running between Thane and Mumbai. Both these places are located in the Western coastal districts of Maharashtra. The current railway network is a result of the gradual development of technology.
Nowadays, it runs thousands of local passenger and daily express trains. The Railways has categorized such trains as per the number of halts en-route and average speed of the train. It is possible to check train live running status using modern technology.
The following are the major types of trains on the Indian Railways network:
Metro Trains
Such trains are equipped with latest facilities and technology. They run in a few metro areas of India like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. These metro trains are in much demand, and the Indian Government is mulling over the prospects of extending their services to other metro areas.
The metro trains do not issue PNR number on their tickets as seats on such trains cannot be reserved. Such trains have moderate or mild speed and usually run on schedule.
Suburban Locals
These trains run only in select big cities like Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. Even in these trains, reservation of tickets prior to journey is not permitted. So, one cannot get PNR number on tickets. The trains are divided into fast locals and slow locals. The difference is that slow locals stop almost at all stations while fast locals stop only at major, important stations in the route.
Passenger Trains
Even these trains can be classified into fast or slow passenger trains. They run on routes touching most major cities separated by small distances. The slow passenger trains stop at all stations on the route while fast ones do only at major stops. Even, in these trains, tickets cannot be pre-booked, so their tickets lack PNR numbers.
Super-Fast and Express Trains
These trains run much faster than above trains. They ply across long distances, and it is possible to reserve tickets beforehand. Since reservation of tickets is possible, tickets feature unique, 10-digit PNR numbers, in order to identify passengers. When tickets are not confirmed, the status of PNR number can be ascertained through websites, mobile apps or SMS.
Jan Shatabdi and Shatabdi Express Trains
These are high speed trains connecting major stations separated by short distances. They lack sleeper coaches and have only seats for sitting journeys.
The major difference between Jan Shatabdi and Shatabdi trains is that Shatabdi has only air-conditioned coaches while Jan Shatabdi trains have both AC and Non-AC compartments. The seats in both trains can be pre-booked, and tickets do feature PNR number.
Garib Rath
Such trains have AC 3 tier coaches. Their ticket price is much cheaper than other air-conditioned trains. PNR status can be checked in person, online or via mobile apps.
Rajdhani Express
These are completely air-conditioned trains and links major cities of India. These are trains with high priority, and usually, run on time. They have limited stoppages on their routes. It is possible to reserve tickets on these trains. PNR status can be checked on their websites.
Duronto Express
Such trains are source to destination trains launched by the Indian Railways. This means they don’t have any in-between stoppages.
These are some of the major trains in the Indian Railways.