What is Anubhuti class in a train?

Anubhuti is a premium executive-class coach found on a handful of Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains. It sits one level above a standard Executive Chair Car, with wider recliner seats, personal entertainment screens, better lighting, and quieter cabins — built to feel closer to a business-class flight than a regular train coach.

What is the difference between Anubhuti class and Executive Chair Car?

Both are seated, air-conditioned executive coaches, but Anubhuti adds individual LCD screens, more legroom, automatic sliding doors between vestibules, GPS-based info displays, and nicer bio-toilets. The seats recline further and the cabin feels noticeably quieter. The trade-off is fare — Anubhuti costs roughly 20% more than standard Executive Class on the same train.

Trains & Classes

What Is Anubhuti Class? Meaning, Features & vs Executive Chair Car

Q: Which trains have an Anubhuti coach?

Anubhuti coaches are not fitted across the whole Shatabdi/Rajdhani fleet. They run on a limited, specific set of routes — the Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad Shatabdi was among the first. If a train on your route carries one, it will show up as its own selectable class (separate from CC/EC) when you search that train on IRCTC.

Q: Is Anubhuti class worth the extra fare?

For a daytime business trip where it's available, most travellers find the extra legroom, quieter cabin, and personal screen worth the roughly 20% premium over Executive Class — especially on journeys of 4-8 hours where comfort matters more than saving a few hundred rupees.

Updated 13 October 2026 · 5 min read

If you searched "what is Anubhuti class" after seeing it pop up as a booking option, here's the short answer first: Anubhuti is a premium executive-class coach — a notch above the regular Executive Chair Car (EC) you already know — running on a small, specific set of Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains. The name itself is Hindi for "experience," and the coach is built around that idea: it's meant to feel less like a train seat and more like a business-class flight cabin.

Anubhuti Class Meaning — Where the Name Comes From

Indian Railways introduced Anubhuti as an optional, higher-comfort coach that railway zones could attach to select premium trains without changing the rest of the rake. It isn't a separate train or a separate train number — it's one specific coach type, sitting inside an existing Shatabdi or Rajdhani service, that you can choose instead of the standard class when one is available on that train.

Anubhuti Class vs Executive Chair Car: What's Actually Different

This is the question behind most of the searches we see — people have already spotted "Executive (Anubhuti)" as an option while booking and want to know if the extra fare is for a real difference or just a label. It's real, and it's noticeable:

Feature	Executive Chair Car	Anubhuti Class
Seat	Reclining, cushioned	Wider, deeper recline, more legroom
Entertainment	None built-in	Personal LCD screen at every seat
Doors between coaches	Manual	Automatic sliding doors
Toilets	Standard bio-toilet	Upgraded, hands-free, modular
Info display	Basic	GPS-based real-time journey display
Cabin feel	Standard AC chair car	Diffused lighting, anti-graffiti panels, quieter
Fare vs EC	Baseline	~20% higher

So "Anubhuti class vs Executive Chair Car" really comes down to this: same seating layout and same journey, but a meaningfully more comfortable cabin for about one-fifth more fare. Whether that's "executive Anubhuti class" worth booking depends on how long your journey is and how much the extra comfort matters to you — more on that below.

Full List of Anubhuti Features

Personal LCD screens at every seat for entertainment.
Wider, ergonomically designed reclining seats with noticeably more legroom than standard Executive Class.
Overhead individual reading lights and charging points at every seat.
Automatic sliding doors between sections.
Improved bio-toilets with hands-free taps and better modular design.
GPS-based passenger information system showing real-time journey progress.
Anti-graffiti coating and diffused ambient lighting for a more premium cabin feel.

The Fare Premium

Anubhuti fare runs at roughly 1.2 times standard Executive Class fare on the same train — plus the usual reservation charge, superfast surcharge, and applicable taxes on top, same as any other class. There's no separate quota or extra paperwork; it's priced and booked exactly like any other reserved class.

Which Trains Have an Anubhuti Coach

Anubhuti coaches are attached to a limited number of trains, not the entire Shatabdi/Rajdhani fleet — availability is route-specific, and it changes as Railways adds or reassigns rakes. The Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express was among the first routes to get one. The only reliable way to know if your exact train has it today is to search that specific train and date on IRCTC — if the coach exists on that rake, it shows up as its own selectable class (shown as "EA" or "Executive Anubhuti," separate from the regular "EC" option) in the results.

How to Book an Anubhuti Seat

Search your route and date on the IRCTC website or app as usual.
If the specific train carries an Anubhuti coach, it appears as a selectable class ("EA") alongside the usual CC/EC options in the results.
Book normally — no special quota or separate process required, and the same cancellation and refund rules apply as any other reserved ticket.

Is Anubhuti Class Worth the Extra Fare?

For a daytime business trip on a route where it's available, the extra legroom, entertainment, and quieter cabin genuinely deliver a noticeably more comfortable experience than standard Executive Class. On a short hop of an hour or two the difference is barely worth chasing, but on a 4-8 hour daytime run, most travellers who've tried it say the roughly 20% premium over EC is money well spent — especially if you plan to work on a laptop or just want a quieter seat.

Quick FAQ

Is Anubhuti the same as Vande Bharat? No — Vande Bharat is a separate, fully modern train set with its own Chair Car and Executive Class; Anubhuti is a single upgraded coach attached to select existing Shatabdi/Rajdhani trains. See our Vande Bharat booking guide for that comparison.

Can I choose Anubhuti for Tatkal booking? Yes, if the train has the coach, it's bookable under Tatkal the same way any other class is, subject to the usual Tatkal opening times and availability.

Booking a premium train with an Anubhuti coach? Check exactly when your booking window opens with our free 60-day advance booking calculator.

Useful tools: IRCTC booking date calculator · Tatkal booking time · advance reservation period (ARP)