Indian Railways is the fouth largest railway network in the world comprising 119,630 kilometres (74,330 mi) of total track and 92,081 km (57,216 mi) of running track over a route of 66,687 km (41,437 mi) with 7,216 stations at the end of 2015-16. There are several different categories of trains and a sea of difference in their speeds and the priority they get. Here is the list of highest priority trains of Indian Railways network.
1. Rajdhani Express
The Rajdhanis are among the fastest trains in India along with Tejas Express, Gatimaan Express, Shatabdi Express and Duronto Express and get the highest priority on the Indian railway network. They are fully air conditioned trains connecting New Delhi with other capital cities of other states.
2. Shatabdi Express
Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other nearby important cities. Shatabdi Express are day-trains and they return to the station of origin the same day. The Shatabdi Expresses get second highest priority, after Rajdhani Expresses which gets highest priority.
3. Duronto Express
Duronto Express is a category of long-distance non stop source to destination trains run by the Indian Railways. These trains' coaches have characteristic yellow-green livery. Duronto Express services connect the several metros and major state capitals of India. These trains are faster than Rajdhani and Shatabdi express.
4. Tejas Express
Tejas Express is India’s first semi-high speed full AC train fleet introduced by Indian Railways, featuring newer modern on-board facilities. These Trains are also among the fastest trains in India along with Rajdhani Express, Gatimaan Express, Shatabdi Express and Duronto Express and get the highest priority on the Indian railway network.
5. Garib Rath Express
The Garib Rath is a no-frills air-conditioned train started by the Indian Railways in 2005 to provide subsidized price air-conditioned long distance travel to passengers who could not afford standard fares of air conditioned class in regular-fare trains. The maximum speed of Garib Rath trains is around 130 Kmph.
6. Double Decker Express
Double Decker Express have high priority and are considered among fast trains in India. Howrah Dhanbad Double Decker Express was the first superfast Double Decker train of Indian Railways, connected Kolkata with Dhanbad.
7. Jan Shatabdi Express
The Jan Shatabdi Express is a more affordable variety of the Shatabdi Express, which has both AC and non-AC accommodation. Jan shatabdi Express is similar to Shatabdi Express in terms of Fare and Precedence but has all the classes viz EC, CC and 2S.
8. Superfast Express
Superfast Mail or Express trains with an average speed, excluding halts, equaling or exceeding 55 Kmph (34 mph) on both up and down journeys fall into the Superfast Category. The average speed of Superfast trains are 60 Kmph. As of 2015, 450 pairs of Superfast trains ran on the Indian Railways.
9. Express/Mails Trains
Express Mails trains in India run on average speed of 50 Kmph with maximum number of stops. These trains have all Unreserved and general coaches, including new series of Antyodaya Express.
10. Suburban Trains
Suburban rail plays a major role in the public transport system of many major Indian cities. Suburban rail is a rail service between a central business district and the suburbs, a conurbation or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a daily basis. The first suburban rail system in India is Mumbai Suburban Railway which started operations in 1853. The Kolkata Suburban Railway has the largest network in the entire country.