With United Nations declaration of the current decade (2011-2020) as Decade on Biodiversity and India holding Chair of the Conference of Parties (COP 11) to Convention of Biological Diversity during 2012, Science Express was redesigned on the theme ‘Biodiversity’. It was a unique collaboration between Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Govt. of India. From 2012-2014, it travelled as Science Express Biodiversity Special (SEBS). The state-of-the-art exhibition aboard SEBS created widespread awareness on unique biodiversity of India, climate change and related issues among various sections of society, especially students. Out of the 16 coaches, MoEFCC had put up exhibitions in 8 coaches that were solely dedicated to showcasing the myriad biodiversity spread across the bio-geographical zones of India like Trans-Himalaya & Himalaya, the Gangetic Plain, North-East India, the Western Ghats, the Indian Desert, the Semi-Arid Zone, the Deccan Peninsula, the Coasts and the Islands. In rest of the rake, DST had put up exhibition on the themes of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Water, Sustainable Environment and Energy Conservation. In the second part of the coach on Energy Conservation, DST’s panels on Science Education in India had been placed.
In its three phases, SEBS covered over 54,000 km across India and received over 69 lakh visitors. Besides, the first phase of SEBS (2012) was visited by the highest number of people amongst all its phases till date.