AC Express (Indian Railways)

AC Express
Lucknow - New Delhi Air Conditioned SF Express
Overview
Status	Active
Predecessor	Deluxe Express
First service	1 July 2008 as Nanda Devi AC Express
Current operator(s)	Indian Railways
On-board services
Class(es)	AC First Class, AC Two Tier, AC Three Tier
Seating arrangements	Available
Sleeping arrangements	Available
Catering facilities	Pantry Car Available, no complementary food
Baggage facilities	Available
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB Coaches
Operating speed	110 - 130 km / hr

Air Conditioned Express or AC Express is a series of superfast air conditioned trains of Indian Railways that links major cities of India. These trains have the second highest priority within the Indian Railway network, after the premium trains of Indian Railways. As of date, there are 25 such AC Express operating in Indian Railways.

History

Santragachi - Chennai AC Express

The history of AC Express trains dates back to the Deluxe Express, which were the first air-conditioned trains of Indian Railways, connecting important cities across India. These trains were fully air-conditioned, had minimal stops, and operated at maximum speeds. The Howrah-bound Poorva Express and the Mumbai-bound Paschim Express were the first AC Express trains, originally known as the Deluxe AC Express. However, after the introduction of Rajdhani Express in 1969 and its subsequent fleet expansion, these trains lost their status as full air-conditioned trains. ^[1]

Bandra Terminus Bhuj AC Superfast Express in ICF coaches

The second type of AC Express was introduced in 1991. After the Mumbai Rajdhani was launched in 1972, there was a high demand for another pair of Rajdhani Express trains between Delhi and Mumbai. To meet this demand, on 1 July 1991, Indian Railways inaugurated the Bombay Central – New Delhi AC Express. This train ran the same route as the Bombay Rajdhani, had similar timings, and an extra 45 minutes of travel time to accommodate more passengers. On 1 January 1992, this train was formalized as the Bombay Central – H.Nizamuddin August Kranti Rajdhani Express. ^{[2] [3]}

Yesvantapur - Kamakhya AC Express standing at Balasore Railway Station

The third and current type of AC Express was launched in 2008. The first such AC Express was the Nanda Devi AC Superfast Express, which was inaugurated on 1 July 2008 between Dehradun and Kota Junction.^{[ citation needed ]}

Services

Unlike its predecessor AC Express trains, which offered premium services like complimentary meals and butler services, the newer AC Express trains were designed to cater to the middle and upper-middle class segments of society. These trains have limited stops and operate at speeds comparable to premium trains like the Rajdhani and Duronto. However, unlike the premium trains, the food and meals on these AC Express trains are not complimentary. Instead, pantry car services are available, similar to those on other general express and mail trains of Indian Railways.^{[ citation needed ]}

Prior to the rapid conversion of the Indian Railway coaching stocks from ICF to LHB coaches, initially these trains use to operate on the old ICF coaches of Rajdhani Express.^{[ citation needed ]}

Currently,^{[ when? ]} the following AC Express trains are operating in India.

Sr no.	Train no.	Name
1	12551/12552	Kamakhya–SMVT Bengaluru AC Superfast Express
2	14805/14806	Yesvantpur–Barmer AC Express
3	22677/22678	Yesvantpur–Kochuveli AC Express
4	12171/12172	Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Haridwar AC Superfast Express
5	12401/12402	Nanda Devi AC Express
6	12519/12520	Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Agartala AC Express
7	12773/12774	Shalimar–Secunderabad AC Superfast Express
8	12775/12776	Cocanada AC Express
9	12783/12784	Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad AC Superfast Express
10	22115/22116	Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Karmali AC Superfast Express
11	22117/22118	Pune–Amravati AC Superfast Express
12	22121/22122	Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Lucknow AC Superfast Express
13	22123/22124	Pune–Ajni AC Superfast Express
14	22125/22126	Nagpur–Amritsar AC Superfast Express
15	22207/22208	Chennai–Thiruvananthapuram AC Superfast Express
16	22401/22402	Delhi Sarai Rohilla–Udhampur AC Superfast Express
17	22411/22412	Arunachal AC Superfast Express
18	22461/22462	Shri Shakti AC Express
19	22631/22632	Anuvrat AC Superfast Express
20	22475/22476	Hisar–Coimbatore AC Superfast Express
21	22807/22808	Santragachi–Chennai Central AC Express
22	22837/22838	Dharti Aaba AC Superfast Express
23	22863/22864	Howrah–SMVT Bengaluru AC Superfast Express
24	22903/22904	Bandra Terminus–Bhuj AC Superfast Express
25	12429/12430	Lucknow–New Delhi AC Superfast Express

Defunct Services

Howrah - New Jalpaiguri AC Express

See also

• Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor
• Vande Bharat Express
• Humsafar Express
• Antyodaya Express
• Uday Express
• Tejas Express
• Mahamana Express
• Gatimaan Express
• Rajdhani Express
• Shatabdi Express
• Jan Shatabdi Express
• Sampark Kranti Express
• Double Decker Express
• Jan Sadharan Express
• Garib Rath Express
• Duronto Express
• Rajya Rani Express
• Kavi Guru Express
• Vivek Express

References

1. "[IRFCA] Indian Steam Railway Society Article". irfca.org. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
2. Notable among the new trains introduced are the New Delhi-Bombay Central bi-weekly Rajdhani Express with effect from 17 May 1972
3. I refer to the introduction of the tri-weekly New Delhi-Bombay Central A.C. Express which follows the Rajdhani Express at an interval of 45 minutes from both ends and takes about the same time to cover the journey