Train Numbering in India
Train Numbering in India
On December 20, 2010 Indian Railways switched over from the previous four-digit numbering system for Passenger trains with the existing five-digit numbering according to the decision of Indian Ministry of Railways.
The Details of Train Numbering as Follows
The First Digit
The first digit of the 5 digit train number indicates the type of the Passenger trains:
09302 Was the Holiday Special route on Indore-Mumbai Bandra Terminus
Zero (0)
0XXXX for Special train like:
Summer special
Holiday Special
Trains to clear extra rush
One (1) or Two (2)
1XXXX or 2XXXX for the Long-distance trains like:
Superfast trains
Express trains
Three (3)
3XXXX for the Kolkata Suburban Service
Four (4)
for the Suburban trains like:
Chennai Suburban Railway
Delhi Suburban Railway
Multi-Modal Transport System (Hyderabad)
Five (5)
5XXXX for the Passenger trains with conventional coaches
Six (6)
6XXXX for the MEMU service
Seven (7)
7XXXX for the:
DEMU service
Rail Cars service
Eight (8)
8XXXX for the Premium / Suvidha Express
Nine (9)
9XXXX for the Mumbai Suburban service
Second Digit
depends on what the first digit is:
If the first digit is zero (0) or One (1) or Two (2)
then the second digit indicates the operator is the following Railway Zone (but if the second digit is 2, then it doesn't indicates to any operator).
Zero (0)
Y0XXX for
all the trains of Konkan Railway (KR)
One (1)
Y1XXX for
all the trains of Central Railway (CR)
some of the trains of West Central Railway (WCR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
Two (2)
Y2XXX for type of trains like:
Rajdhani Express
Shatabdi Express
Jan Shatabdi Express
Garib Rath Express
Duronto Express
Sampark Kranti Express
Gatimaan Express
AC Superfast trains and all other Superfast trains
Three (3)
Y3XXX for:
all the trains of Eastern Railway (ER)
all the trains of East Central Railway (ECR)
Four (4)
Y4XXX for:
all the trains of Northern Railway (NR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
Five (5)
Y5XXX for:
all the trains of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)
all the trains of North Eastern Railway (NER)
Six (6)
Y6XXX for:
all the trains of Southern Railway (SR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Seven (7)
Y7XXX for:
all the trains of South Central Railway (SCR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Eight (8)
Y8XXX for:
all the trains of South Eastern Railway (SER)
all the trains of South East Central Railway (SECR)
all the trains of East Coast Railway (ECoR)
Nine (9)
Y9XXX for:
all the trains of Western Railway (WR)
some of the trains of West Central Railway (WCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
If the first digit is Three (3)
then the second digit indicates the operator is the following Railway Zone:
Zero (0) to Seven (7)
for the 'Eastern Railway (ER)
31XXX from Sealdah towards Dum Dum and further to Naihati
32XXX from Sealdah towards Dum Dum and further to Dankuni
33XXX from Sealdah towards Dum Dum and further to Barasat
34XXX from Sealdah towards Ballygunge and further to Majerhat
35XXX from Sealdah towards Ballygunge and further to Canning
36XXX from Sealdah towards Ballygunge and further to Namkhana
37XXX from Sealdah towards Ballygunge and further to Diamond Harbour
Eight (8) or Nine (9)
for the South Eastern Railway (SER)
38XXX
39XXX
Depending on the number of services in any particular direction, the third digit may also be similarly used to indicate the destination(s) or the branch line(s) the suburban service may take.
If the first digit is Four (4)
then the second digit indicates:
Zero (0) to Four (4)
for the Southern Railway (SR)
40ZXX service depends upon the third digit 'Z', so explained in the section Third Digit below
41XXX from Chennai Beach to Velachery
42XXX from Moore Market to Gummidipundi
43AXX service depends upon the third digit 'A', so explained in the section Third Digit below
Five (5) to Six (6)
for the Northern Railway (NR)
45XXX
46XXX
Seven (7)
for the South Central Railway (SCR)
47XXX
If the first digit is Five (5) or Six (6) or Seven (7)
Then the second digit refers to the Railway Zone where the train is operated or maintained
Zero (0)
E0XXX for
all the trains of Konkan Railway (KR)
One (1)
E1XXX for:
some of the trains of Central Railway (CR)
some of the trains of West Central Railway (WCR)
Two (2)
E2XXX for:
some of the trains of Northern Railway (NR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
some of the trains of Central Railway (CR)
some of the trains of North Eastern Railway (NER)
some of the trains of East Central Railway (ECR)
Three (3)
E3XXX for:
all the trains of Eastern Railway (ER)
some of the trains of East Central Railway (ECR)
Four (4)
E4XXX for:
some of the trains of Northern Railway (NR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
Five (5)
E5XXX for:
all the trains of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)
some of the trains of North Eastern Railway (NER)
Six (6)
E6XXX for:
some of the trains of Southern Railway (SR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Seven (7)
E7XXX for:
all the trains of South Central Railway (SCR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Eight (8)
E8XXX for:
all the trains of South Eastern Railway (SER)
all the trains of South East Central Railway (SECR)
all the trains of East Coast Railway (ECoR)
Nine (9)
E9XXX for:
all the trains of Western Railway (WR)
some of the trains of West Central Railway (WCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
If the first digit is Eight (8)
The second digit shall be Two(2)
If the first digit is Nine (9)
Then the second digit refers to the Railway Zone where the train is operated or maintained
Zero (0) to Four (4)
for Western Railway (WR)
90XXX originating / terminating from Virar
91XXX originating / terminating from Vasai Road / Bhayander
92XXX originating / terminating from Borivali
93XXX originating / terminating from Malad / Goregaon
94XXX originating / terminating from Andheri / Bandra / Mumbai Central / CSTM
Five (5) to (9)
for Central Railway (CR)
95XXX for fast trains
96XXX for slow trains travelling beyond Kalyan
97XXX for slow trains to the Harbour line
98XXX for slow trains to the trans-Harbour line
99XXX for slow trains not travelling beyond Kalyan
Third Digit
If the first digit is zero (0) or One (1) or Two (2)
The second digit is two (2)
then the third digit refers to the Railway Zone where the rake is maintained [exception for Zero (0)]
Zero (0)
Y20XX for Shatabdi Express and Jan Shatabdi Express of all zones.
One (1)
Y21XX for:
all the trains of Central Railway (CR)
some of the trains of West Central Railway (WCR)
Two (2)
Y22XX for:
some of the trains of Northern Railway (NR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
some of the trains of Southern Railway (SR)
Three (3)
Y23XX for:
all the trains of Eastern Railway (ER)
all the trains of East Central Railway (ECR)
Four (4)
Y24XX for:
some of the trains of Northern Railway (NR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
Five (5)
Y25XX for:
all the trains of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)
all the trains of North Eastern Railway (NER)
Six (6)
Y26XX for:
some of the trains of Southern Railway (SR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Seven (7)
Y27XX for:
all the trains of South Central Railway (SCR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Eight (8)
Y28XX for:
all the trains of South Eastern Railway (SER)
all the trains of South East Central Railway (SECR)
all the trains of East Coast Railway (ECoR)
Nine (9)
Y29XX for:
all the trains of Western Railway (WR)
some of the trains of West Central Railway (WCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
If the second digit is other than two (2)
then the second and the third digits jointly gives the information of the Railway Division where the train is operated / maintained. Already mentioned that the second digit refers to the Railway Zone and it is explained above. But in this section also the second digit should mention to avoid confusion.
01 is for Karwar
10 is for Mumbai CR / Pune
11 is for Jhansi / Pune
12 is for Bhopal
13 is for Mumbai CR / Kolhapur
14 is for Solapur / Jabalpur
16 is for Bhopal
30 is for Howrah
31 is for Sealdah
32 is for Danapur
33 is for Dhanbad
34 is for Malda Town
35 is for Asansol
40 is for Delhi
41 is for Allahabad
42 is for Lucknow NER
43 is for Moradabad
45 is for Ambala
46 is for Firozpur
47 is for Bikaner
48 is for Jodhpur
50 is for Lucknow NER
51 is for Varanasi
52 is for Sonpur / Samastipur'
53 is for Izzatnagar / Lucknow NER
54 is for Varanasi
55 is for Samastipur
56 is for Lumding
57 is for Katihar / Alipurduar
58 is for Lumding / Alipurduar
59 is for Tinsukia
60 is for Chennai
61 is for Chennai Egmore
62 is for Mysore
63 is for Thiruvananthapuram
65 is for Bangalore
66 is for Palakkad / Salem
67 is for Madurai
68 is for Tiruchirappalli
70 is for Secunderabad
72 is for Vijayawada
73 is for Hubli
74 is for Guntakal
75 is for Hyderabad
76 is for Kacheguda
77 is for Guntakal
78 is for Hubli
80 is for Kharagpur
81 is for Chakradharpur
82 is for Bilaspur
83 is for Sambalpur
84 is for Khurda Road
85 is for Waltair
86 is for Adra / Ranchi
90 is for Mumbai WR
91 is for Vadodara
92 is for Bhavnagar
93 is for Ratlam
94 is for Kota
95 is for Rajkot
96 is for Ajmer
97 is for Jaipur
98 is for Bhavnagar
99 is for Rajkot
If the first digit is Four (4)
If the second digit is Zero (0)
then the third digit indicates the train service between
400XX Chennai Beach and Tambaram
401XX Chennai Beach and Tambaram
403XX Chennai Beach and Tambaram
404XX Chennai Beach and Tambaram
405XX Chengalpattu and Tambaram
406XX Chengalpattu and Tambaram
407XX Chengalpattu and Tirumalpur
408XX Chengalpattu and Kanchipuram
If the second digit is Three (3)
then the third digit indicates the train service between
430XX Chennai Central and Avadi
431XX Chennai Central and Pattabiram
432XX Chennai Central and Thiruvalluvar
434XX Chennai Central and Arakkonam
435XX Chennai Central and Thiruttani
436XX Chennai Beach and Avadi
438XX Chennai Beach and Arakkonam
If the second digit is Five (5) or Six (6)
then the third digit indicates the direction of travel
4N0XX DUK section
4N1XX Delhi Shahdara – Shamali section
4N2XX Ghaziabad – Meerut Ciyt section
4N5XX Ghaziabad – Hapur section / Aligarh direction
4N6XX Ghaziabad – Hapur section / Aligarh direction
4N7XX Shakur Basti – Rohtak section
4N8XX The Ring Railway
If the first digit is Five (5) or Six (6) or Seven (7)
then the second and the third digits jointly gives the information of the Railway Division where the train is operated / maintained. Already mentioned that the second digit refers to the Railway Zone and it is explained in the above section Second digit. But in this section also the second digit should mention to avoid confusion.
01 is for Ratnagiri
10 is for Mumbai CR / Pune
11 is for Jhansi / Pune
12 is for Bhopal
13 is for Mumbai CR / Kolhapur
14 is for Solapur / Jabalpur
16 is for Bhopal
20 is for Jaipur / Ajmer
21 is for Mumbai CR / Jhansi
22 is for Lucknow NER / Izzatnagar
23 is for Samastipur
24 is for Ambala
25 is for Samastipur
30 is for Howrah
31 is for Sealdah
32 is for Danapur
33 is for Dhanbad
34 is for Malda Town
35 is for Asansol
40 is for Delhi
41 is for Allahabad
42 is for Lucknow NER
43 is for Moradabad
45 is for Ambala
46 is for Firozpur
47 is for Bikaner
48 is for Jodhpur
50 is for Lucknow NER
51 is for Varanasi
52 is for Sonpur / Samastipur
53 is for Izzatnagar / Lucknow NER
54 is for Varanasi
55 is for Samastipur
56 is for Lumding
57 is for Katihar / Alipurduar
58 is for Lumding / Alipurduar
59 is for Tinsukia
60 is for Chennai
61 is for Chennai Egmore
62 is for Mysore
63 is for Thiruvananthapuram
65 is for Bangalore
66 is for Palakkad / Salem
67 is for Madurai
68 is for Tiruchirappalli
70 is for Secunderabad
72 is for Vijayawada
73 is for Hubli
74 is for Guntakal
75 is for Hyderabad
76 is for Kacheguda
77 is for Guntakal
78 is for Hubli
80 is for Kharagpur
81 is for Chakradharpur
82 is for Bilaspur
83 is for Sambalpur
84 is for Khurda Road
85 is for Waltair
86 is for Adra / Ranchi
90 is for Mumbai WR
91 is for Vadodara
92 is for Bhavnagar
93 is for Ratlam
94 is for Kota
95 is for Rajkot
96 is for Ajmer
97 is for Jaipur
98 is for Bhavnagar
99 is for Rajkot
If the first digit is Eight (8)
Then the third digit refers to the Railway Zone where the train is operated or maintained
One (1)
821XX for:
all the trains of Central Railway (CR)
all the trains of West Central Railway (WCR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
all the trains of Konkan Railway (KR)
Two (2)
822XX for Not to be utilized unless specifically permitted by Railway Board.
Three (3)
823XX for:
all the trains of Eastern Railway (ER)
some of the trains of East Central Railway (ECR)
Four (4)
824XX for:
all the trains of Northern Railway (NR)
some of the trains of North Central Railway (NCR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
Five (5)
825XX for:
all the trains of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)
all the trains of North Eastern Railway (NER)
some of the trains of East Central Railway (ECR)
Six (6)
826XX for:
all the trains of Southern Railway (SR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Seven (7)
827XXX for:
all the trains of South Central Railway (SCR)
some of the trains of South Western Railway (SWR)
Eight (8)
828XX for:
all the trains of South Eastern Railway (SER)
all the trains of South East Central Railway (SECR)
all the trains of East Coast Railway (ECoR)
Nine (9)
829XX for:
all the trains of Western Railway (WR)
some of the trains of North Western Railway (NWR)
Fourth and Fifth Digit
Random numbers for all types of trains which makes the 5-digit train number as unique . But for Delhi Suburban Railway train with a number 4NXPX, the fourth digit P indicates the following
0 to 2 for a MEMU
3 to 5 for an EMU
6 and 7 for a conventional passenger coaching stock
8 for a DEMU
9 for other types of stock
Abbreviations Used In The Place Of A Train Number
For e.g. Y1XXX, 5XXXX, Y2XXX, 0XXXX
X – A random number between 0 and 9 ('X' may or may not be a same number which jointly forms a 5 digit number)
Y – 0 or 1 or 2
N – 5 or 6
E – 5 or 6 or 7
