Amrit Bharat Express: Routes, Schedule, Fare and Key Features

Indian passengers take more than a billion trips each year covering the length and breadth of our country. While there are comfortable options like AC coaches, most of the passengers are budget conscious and opt for Sleeper or General coach options. Amrit Bharat Express was meant for these particular passengers. 

Although railways are launching new services and products to make your journey memorable, such new facilities are implemented in AC coaches most of the time. This leaves the Sleeper and General coaches with services that haven’t been upgraded for a long long time. For the benefit of such passengers, on 1 January 2024, Amrit Bharat Express was launched under Make in India program.

What are the features of this train, what are the different trains under this and which route they cover, what are the food arrangements on these trains. We will answer all such questions in this blog.

Why Amrit Bharat Express Was Needed

A migrant worker from Sitamarhi heading to Delhi doesn’t have great options. Neither does a family doing the Muzaffarpur-to-Hyderabad trip once a year. The Vande Bharat is too expensive. The Mail Express gets them there, but in a 30-year-old coach, and slowly, because at dead-end terminals, the engine has to be uncoupled, repositioned, and coupled again before the train can leave. That alone adds 20 to 30 minutes at several stations. The Amrit Bharat Express fixes the specific things that were wrong. Locomotives at both ends mean no reversal delay. Better couplers cut the jerk at station starts and stops. Sleeper and General coaches keep the fares low. Not a glamorous engineering project. Just an overdue correction to what long-distance non-AC travel should have become years ago.

The Push-Pull Setup

One engine up front does the pulling. The one at back gives a push. Control comes only from the first cabin. Cables stretch across every carriage to link them. Either a WAP-5 or a WAP-7 takes charge. Built in Chittaranjan. Sometimes made in Banaras Locomotive Works. Terminal stations no longer mean a shunting delay as the driver moves to the other cab and train goes the other way.

Want the departure time for your specific service? Check Train Schedule on RailMitra.

Three Coach Generations

Back in December 2023, the train rolled with eleven General coaches. Eight Sleepers were part of it too. A single Pantry car tagged along. Then came two Luggage-cum-Guard vans rounding out the set. Fully non-AC. Sealed gangways, CCTV, bio-vacuum toilets, sensor taps. The radium floor strips deserve a mention here: on a 20-hour overnight run, seeing where your feet are going at 2 AM is more useful than it might seem when you’re booking the ticket.

Second Generation came in January 2025. Semi-permanent couplers swapped for semi-automatic ones, which are easier to adjust during maintenance. Condition monitoring added for wheel-bearing health mid-journey. The berths got Type-A and Type-C USB ports, foldable snack tables, mobile holders. Electro-pneumatic braking assist and internet-based water level monitoring also came in at this stage.

One step ahead, April 2026 rolls in with Amrit Bharat 3.0. Air-conditioned sections show up now – 1A, 2A, 3A sharing rails with Sleeper and general compartments. Same train, fresh mix. Not separate anymore. Ride shifts quietly under new rules. PVC flooring, better berth cushioning, modular SMC toilets with fire safety ratings. Strictly non-AC is no longer accurate.

How It Compares to Other Trains

Faster than a standard Mail train. Much cheaper than a Vande Bharat. For long-distance non-AC travel, nothing currently sits between those two except this.

Before booking, check Train Seat Availability on RailMitra, especially on weekly services.

Fare

No separate fare category exists for this train. It runs on standard Indian Railways pricing. Sleeper Class fares depend on distance as on most Amrit Bharat routes that works out to somewhere between Rs 300 and Rs 700, sometimes a bit more on the longer southern runs. General Class is lower. From Amrit Bharat 3.0 onwards, First, Second, and Third AC are available on select rakes at the standard AC fare for that distance. Tatkal works the same as on any other reserved train, standard surcharge, nothing specific to this service.

All Running Routes

Over 40 active services, grouped into three zones.

Zone 1: North India, Bihar and West Bengal

Eight services, mostly Bihar-Delhi. One goes from Howrah.

15557/15558:

Leaving Darbhanga at 14:55, heading toward Anand Vihar Terminal as it covers 1,142 kilometers. This run happens two days every seven. Arriving at Anand Vihar by 12:50 next day. When heading back, it leaves that station at 3:10 in the afternoon. Reaches Darbhanga again by 11:50 on the second day after.

14047/14048:

Twice each week, trains roll out of Sitamarhi at 10:20 in the evening. That journey covers one thousand fifty-three kilometers before reaching Old Delhi. The clock hits two in the afternoon on the second day when wheels stop moving there. Rolling into platform twenty-two forty minutes past ten PM marks the late-night arrival. From start to finish, it crosses nearly eleven hundred kilometers across northern plains.

13697/13698:

Twice every three days, almost, a train rolls out of Gaya toward Old Delhi, covering 983 kilometers. From late afternoon  4:45 PM as it pulls away, arriving near midday the following day. The journey takes about seventeen hours altogether. From Delhi, the return trip begins close to eleven at night. Reaching Gaya again by 6:15 on the evening of the second day completes the loop.

13065/13066:

Leaving Howrah late at night, 23:10, bound for Anand Vihar Terminal covering 1,455 kilometers, the biggest stretch under this rail zone, runs once a week. By third day morning, reaches the spot at 02:50. Leaving Anand Vihar just after dawn at 05:15, it arrives in Howrah by ten fifty the following evening.

22361/22362:

Out by four, stepping away from Rajendra Nagar close to Patna. Takes you straight through, nearly a full day on rails. Covers 999 kilometers before touching down in New Delhi by 8:35 next morning. One train does this every single day here. Heads back out of capital close to 6 p.m. Rides overnight again, lands at Rajendra Nagar just after half past ten on second day.

15567/15568:

From Motihari, sometimes called Bapudham, it moves toward Anand Vihar Terminal, a journey stretching 978 kilometers, happening twice weekly. Later that evening, around 6:30, the journey starts as arrival shows up at about 4:40 the following afternoon. Heading home, things kick off from Anand Vihar shortly after 2 in the daytime, with Motihari appearing just before 12:30 two days later.

15133/15134:

Out of Chhapra around midday every seven days, it rolls on through. Nine hundred forty-nine long kilometers stretch ahead. By twelve ten next day, wheels slow into Anand Vihar Terminal. Time ticks just past dawn when steel meets the platform again. From there, back again near two in the afternoon. That same distance traveled both ways without change. The same schedule repeats every week.

22587/22588:

This Amrit Bharat Express connects Banaras to Sealdah. The distance between them is 772 kilometres and this train runs 3 days a week, It leaves from Banaras at 22:10 or 10:10 PM and reaches Sealdah at 07:20 in the morning on the second day of your travel.

14663/14664:

This train connects New Jalpaigui with Amritsar. It departs from New Jalpaiguri at 08:00 in the morning and reaches Amritsar at 02:20 AM on the third day of travel.

Trains in India are often delayed due to train congestion, traffic, track damage or terrible weather. It is thus better to check the actual or live train timing using the live train running status service. 

Zone 2: East-West and Central India

11015/11016:

Mumbai LTT to Saharsa, weekly, 1,956 km. LTT 11:50, Saharsa 02:00 Day 3. Saharsa 04:20, LTT 15:45 Day 2.

19021/19022:

This Amrit Bharat Express connects Udhna to Brahmapur as it covers 1,709 kilometers and operates three days a week. It leaves Udhna at 07:10 in the morning and reaches Brahmapur by 13:55 or 01:55 PM on the next day.

19623/19624:

Madar to Darbhanga, 1,313 km, weekly. Madar 21:25, Darbhanga just before 01:00 Day 3. Return from Darbhanga around 14:00.

14045/14046:

Out of Gorakhpur close to 9:40 in the evening, arrival in Old Delhi at 12:50 afternoon the following day with roughly 750 kilometers done, one time weekly. Backward motion begins shortly after midnight from Old Delhi, touching down in Gorakhpur at 3:50 in the afternoon two days later. Each leg holds steady near 750 clicks, rhythm loops every seventh day, hardly any drift.

15561/15562:

Leaving Darbhanga each week at 14:55, rolling into Gomti Nagar next day by 05:30. That’s a stretch of 632 kilometers covered overnight. From Gomti Nagar it pulls out at 08:15, pointed back toward Darbhanga. Arrival there comes at 01:15 on Day 2.

13435/13436:

Leaving Malda Town at 20:05, arrival in Gomti Nagar by 15:40 on day two, covering 941 kilometers once each week. Return begins when? At 18:40 from Gomti Nagar, back to Malda Town by 16:35 the following day.

14627/14628:

Saharsa to Chheharta (Amritsar), 1,590 km, 38 hours, weekly. Saharsa 13:00, Chheharta 03:20 Day 3. Chheharta return around 11:00.

22589/22590:

This train connects Banaras to Hadapsar in Pune. it departs from Banaras at 18:15 and reaches Hadaspur by 00:10 on day 3. Th best feature of this train is that it runs daily.

22111/22112:

This train connects Lokmanya Tilak Terminal to Ayodhya Cantt. It departs from LTT at 07:55 AM and reaches Ayodhya by 10:15 AM the next day. 

Zone 3: South India and Long North-South Routes

The distances here are in a different category. Several routes go past 2,000 km. One touches 3,129 km.

13434/13433:

Malda Town to SMVT Bengaluru, 2,272 km, weekly. Eight fifty in Malda Town, three o’clock in Bengaluru on day three. Thirteen fifty in Bengaluru, eleven in the morning back in Malda Town that same third day.

16619/16620:

Podanur to Dhanbad, 2,212 km, weekly with 45 hours 45 minutes each way. Podanur 06:15, Dhanbad 04:00 Day 3. Dhanbad return around 12:00.

16357/16358:

Out of Nagercoil at 11:45 PM, reaches Charlapalli by 4:20 AM on the third day – distance covered, nearly fifteen hundred kilometers once each week. When leaving Charlapalli at 8:15 AM, back arrives in Nagercoil at 3:35 PM two days later.

15673/15674:

Starting at Charlapalli, heading to Kamakhya – covers 2,552 kilometers once each week. Leaves Charlapalli at 7:40 in the evening. Reaches Kamakhya by 10:00 PM on day three. From Kamakhya, it rolls out again at 7:00 PM. Gets back to Charlapalli at 2:40 in the afternoon of day two.

15293/15294:

One week apart, the trip runs between Muzaffarpur and Charlapalli across 1,892 kilometers. Starting out at 11:25 from Muzaffarpur, it rolls into Charlapalli at 23:50 two days later. After a pause, departure happens at 04:05 from Charlapalli. By the second day’s afternoon, 16:00 sees its return to Muzaffarpur.

16597/16598:

Out of SMVT Bengaluru it rolls, bound for Alipurduar – a weekly run across 2,626 kilometers. Pulls away just after eight fifty in the morning, touches down at ten twenty-five on the third day. Journey repeats every seven days without fail. After a brief pause, back it goes – Alipurduar sends it off again at 10:25. Touches down in Bengaluru by noon that same third day.

20604/20603:

Some trains cover Nagercoil to New Jalpaiguri – roughly 3,100 kilometers. Takes about two full days plus a bit more. Service moves each way once every week. Time on track adds up close to 54 hours.

20610/20609:

From Tiruchchirappalli to New Jalpaiguri stretches a journey of 2,622 kilometers. About 47 hours and 15 minutes fills the time needed to reach the endpoint. This route runs just once every seven days.

16107/16108:

Running from Tambaram to Santragachi covers a distance of 1,668 kilometers. Roughly twenty eight hours and forty five minutes is needed for completion. This service operates once every week. Distance splits across southern and eastern regions of the country.

16601/16602:

Erode to Jogbani. 3,129 km, close to 59 hours. Longest Amrit Bharat route currently operating. Weekly.

11031/11032:

Panvel to Alipurduar, 2,355 km, around 50 hours, weekly.

15671/15672:

Kamakhya to Rohtak, 1,940 km, weekly. Kamakhya around 10:00, Rohtak 02:45 Day 3. Rohtak return around 22:10.

15949/15950:

Starting from Dibrugarh, heading toward Gomti Nagar, the distance covered spans 1,755 kilometers each week. Departure happens near 4 in the afternoon. Arrival shows up by half past eight on the third morning. The route repeats every seven days without skipping.

17065/17066

This train connects Charlapalli to Shalimar. It leaves Charlapalli at 06:55 in the morning and reaches Shalimar by 11:20 on the same day. This train runs only on one day of the week.

17041/17042

This Amrit Bharat express connects Charlapalli to Thiruvananthapuram North. It departs from Charlapalli at 07:15 AM and reaches Thiruvananthapuram North by 02:45 PM the next day. It runs only on one day of the week.

16329/16330

This Amrit Bharat Exprtess train connects Nagercoil to Mangaluru. It leaves Nagercoil at 11:40 and arrives at Mangaluru the next day at 05:00 AM.

16121/16122

This Amrit Bharat Express train connects Tambaram to Trivandrum . It departs from Tambaram at 17:30 and arrives at Trivandrum at 08:00 AM the next day.

After Booking: Your PNR

The 10-digit PNR tells you coach, berth, booking status. Waitlisted tickets on weekly and bi-weekly services keep moving, sometimes they confirm the morning of travel, not just in the days before. Worth checking PNR Status on RailMitra closer to departure rather than assuming what you saw at the time of booking still holds.

Food on Board

One pantry car per rake. On a 40-hour journey that covers some meals, not all of them. Menu does not vary much, and late-night availability is hit or miss. RailMitra is your trusted partner for food delivery in train, operating at 500-plus stations across 7,000 trains, Amrit Bharat services included. Enter your PNR on railmitra.com or the app. Your train and seat load automatically. Pick from restaurant kitchens listed along your route, order, pay by UPI, card, net banking, or cash on delivery.

Put the order in at least one to two hours before the delivery station. The kitchen tracks your train’s live GPS. Late arrivals get adjusted preparation times, so food does not go cold waiting on a delayed train. Options include North Indian thalis, South Indian meals, Chinese, Continental, Jain food, and milk for infants. No delivery fee, no packaging charge. No internet during the journey? Call or WhatsApp 8102888222. An executive places the order; delivery works identically.

Conclusion

Amrit Bharat Express was meant to connect the different regions of the country, often connecting long distance trains at affordable rates. With the launch of so many such trains, the Railways has done it due regarding the budget travellers. The features are not like the newly launched Vande Bharat Express, but they are significant upgrade on the poorly kept General and Sleeper coaches that the users had got habituated to.

If you want to traavel long distanxce trains and budget is a constraint for you, go for Amrit Bharat express trains to balance budget and comfort. Use RailMitra for schedules, seat availability, PNR tracking, and food delivery on the Amrit Bharat Express.