Indian Railways Train List with Names and Numbers

Trains Name And Number

Indian Railways assigns all the passenger trains and freight trains with train numbers. For convenience, most trains are referred to by names by the traveling public. But how the Indian Railways names its trains? The most common means to name a train are the endpoint names and train class designations. Also, a majority of trains in India are named after the origin and destination stations. Consider examples like the Bengaluru-Howrah Express, Chennai-Bengaluru Mall, Kacheguda Mangalore Express, to name a few. Examples of train names assigned after train classes include the Delta Fast passenger, Nilgiri Fast Passenger, Kakatiya Fast Passenger, and their likes.

Rivers :- Some trains are named after the names of the rivers - for instance, Godavari Express, Ganga Sutlej Express, Krishna Express, Mahananda Express, and so on.

Mountain Ranges :- Some trains are named after the mountain ranges such as Garhwal Express, Kumaun Express, Kanchanjunga Express, and so on.

Famous Personalities :- Some trains are designated after famous personalities. For instance, there is Howrah-Mumbai Geetanjali Express, Shantiniketan Express, and Howrah-Nagercoil Gurudev Express in honor of Rabindranath Tagore. Then, there is the Satyagraha Express, Sewagram Express, Ahimsa Express in honor of Mahatma Gandhi.

Other Name Categories :- You can also find trains named after islands, queens, and mineral heartlands.

Queens :- The prestigious trains like Deccan Queen run between Pune and Mumbai; then, there is the Gujarat queen that runs between Valsad and Ahmedabad.

Islands :- The Andaman Express ( Jammu to Chennai) and Lakshadweep Express (Delhi to Ernakulam) are named after the respective islands.

Minerals :- For trains originating from the mineral heartland, Indian Railways has given various names inline with the minerals. For instance, Steel city Express in TataNagar, Black Diamond Express, and Coal Field Express both in Dhanbad.

About Train Numbers

Indian Railways assigns train numbers to all the trains that run in its vast network across the country. You might have noticed a five-digit number present on the train. Have you ever wondered what each digit in the number signifies? A majority of passengers tend to be confused when it comes to train number and train name. For instance, Venkatadri Express that runs from Kacheguda to Chittoor, is numbered as 12797. At the same time, the same train running from Chittoor to Kacheguda bears the number 12798. So, having a clear idea of the train number and train name eliminates the confusion and makes your journey hassle-free.

How are the Indian trains numbered?

In 2010, Indian Railways used the 5-digit number system to name all the trains in the country. Each digit does have a significance and indicates the type of train. For instance, 0 in the first digit indicates passenger train, 1 in the first digit corresponds to long-distance trains that include Rajdhani, Sampark Kranti, Shatabdi, Garib Rath, Duronto and others. If the first digit is 3, then it corresponds to Kolkata suburban trains, 4 in the first digit relates to suburban trains of Secunderabad, Chennai, New Delhi, and other Metropolitan areas. The number 5 is for passenger trains with conventional coaches, 6 for Memo trains, 7 for DMU and railcar services, and 9 for Mumbai area Suburban trains.

What are Up and Down trains?

The up and down designation given to trains depends on the direction of its travel from its railway zonal headquarters/ divisional headquarters/ divisional quarters, whichever is closer. For instance, if a train happens to travel away from the headquarters, it is considered as Down. Similarly, the trains incoming to the headquarters are considered "Down." In general, Down trains often end up with an odd number at the end of 5 digit number. Similarly, the last digit in the train number for Up trains has an even number.

For instance, take the case of Tamil Nadu Express; the train bears the number 12621 when it travels from Chennai to New Delhi. Similarly, when the train travels from New Delhi to Chennai (12762), it is designated an even number at the end. Here the train is operated by Southern Railways. So, the Up and Down numbering depends on the operating zones and not in the direction of train travel. Intermediate trains do not originate from the headquarters; hence, the numbering for intermediate trains depends on the direction of train travel from the headquarters.