The Gatimaan Express: Pulling a Fast One on Indian Passengers?

The Gatimaan Express is claimed to be the fastest train in India. But how fast it exactly?

Gatimaan Express can reach a top speed of 160 km/h, but is that enough? (Photo: The Quint)

India’s fastest train, the Gatimaan Express, is blazingly fast – at least, that’s what the hype suggests. The journey of 185 kilometres between Delhi and Agra is expected to take around 100 minutes, cutting the previous travel time of Bhopal Shatabdi by 17 minutes. That is, in ideal conditions. If there are unscheduled stoppages and delays, the timings, as well as the hype, may just fall flat.

But how does Gatimaan Express fare against the competition, at home and outside? Let’s take a look.

So how fast is the Gatimaan Express? (Infographic: Aaqib Raza Khan/The Quint)

With just a 6.6% improvement over the speed of Bhopal Shatabdi – a train introduced in 1988 – the government is going all gaga over the ‘semi-bullet train’ Gatimaan Express. The administration is apparently so worried about the ‘high speed’ of the train that they had to give out ‘warnings’ in the form of advertisements.

But hey, the train’s supposed to have free WiFi, airplane like crew, a better meal menu and on-board entertainment systems. Worth the deal? Share your views in the comments below.