Rajdhani Express: routes, classes and what to know before you book
Rajdhani Express routes, classes and fare rules explained — India's original premium overnight train, with meals included and priority on the network.
Rajdhani Express has been connecting state capitals to Delhi since 1969, and it's still the benchmark for overnight rail travel in India — fully air-conditioned, given priority over most other trains on the network, and running with meals built into the fare rather than sold separately.
What makes Rajdhani different
Unlike Vande Bharat or Tejas, which run chair-car style for daytime trips, every Rajdhani service is an overnight sleeper train with fully air-conditioned coaches — there's no unreserved or general-quota travel on a Rajdhani at all, and no non-AC classes.
Classes on Rajdhani
- AC First Class (1A) — private lockable coupes, the most spacious and expensive option.
- AC 2 Tier (2A) — open bays of four berths plus two side berths, with curtains for privacy.
- AC 3 Tier (3A) — open bays of six berths plus two side berths, no curtains, the most affordable Rajdhani class.
Meals are included in the fare
Rajdhani fares bundle in catering by default — tea, breakfast, lunch or dinner and snacks depending on the timing of your journey, served at your seat or berth. This is one of the clearest differences from a regular Mail/Express ticket, where food is always an optional, separate purchase.
Popular Rajdhani routes
- Mumbai (Central or CSMT)–New Delhi — the original and still one of the fastest Rajdhani corridors.
- Howrah–New Delhi and Sealdah–New Delhi — the classic Kolkata-side connections.
- Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Secunderabad and Bengaluru all run long-haul Rajdhani services into Delhi, some of the longest scheduled train journeys in the country.
- Jammu Tawi–New Delhi — a shorter, high-frequency daily Rajdhani used heavily for onward travel to the Kashmir valley.
Pro tip: Rajdhani fares are noticeably higher than a regular Mail/Express ticket in the same class, partly because of the included catering and partly because of the priority scheduling — factor that into your budget, not just the travel time saved.
Booking tips
Rajdhani tickets open under the same 60-day advance reservation period as other trains, and on the busiest corridors (especially into Kolkata, Kerala and the Northeast around festival season) they can waitlist quickly. Booking as early in that window as you can is the single biggest lever you have over your odds of a confirmed seat.
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