Himsagar Express
The 16317 / 16318 Himsagar Express is a weekly Express train of the Indian Railways running between Kanyakumari in India's southernmost state of Tamil Nadu to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra in Jammu and Kashmir- the northernmost state of India. It is currently the 35th longest running train service of world and third-longest-running train on the Indian Railways in terms of distance and time, surpassed by the 15905/06 Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express and 12507/08 Aronai Superfast Express . In 73 hours, the train covers a distance of 3790 km at a speed of 52 km/h, and transverses twelve of India's states halting at a total of 73 stations.[1]
Overview | |||||
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Service type | Express | ||||
First service | 3 October 1984 | ||||
Current operator(s) | Southern Railways | ||||
Route | |||||
Termini | Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) Kanyakumari (CAPE) | ||||
Stops | 69 | ||||
Distance travelled | 3,790 km (2,355 mi) | ||||
Average journey time | 73 hours | ||||
Service frequency | Weekly | ||||
Train number(s) | 16317 / 16318 | ||||
On-board services | |||||
Class(es) | AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved | ||||
Seating arrangements | Yes | ||||
Sleeping arrangements | Yes | ||||
Catering facilities | Available | ||||
Baggage facilities | Available | ||||
Other facilities | Below the seats | ||||
Technical | |||||
Rolling stock | LHB coach | ||||
Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||
Operating speed | 67 km/h (42 mph) average with halts | ||||
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History
Krishnagiri MP Dr. P. V. Periasamy's demand promoted national integration from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir through direct train service on 19-03-1979 in parliament.[2]
Route
16317/18 Himsagar Express runs via following stations and states:
TAMIL NADU
- Kanniyakumari (Starts)
- Nagercoil
- Kulitturai
- Coimbatore Junction
- Tiruppur
- Erode Junction
- Salem Junction
- Jolarpettai Junction
- Katpadi Junction
KERALA
- Thiruvananthapuram Central
- Kollam Junction
- Kayamkulam
- Chengannur
- Tiruvalla
- Kottayam
- Ernakulam Town
- Aluva
- Thrissur
- Ottappalam
- Palakkad Junction
ANDHRA PRADESH
TELANGANA
MAHARASHTRA
MADHYA PRADESH
RAJASTHAN
UTTAR PRADESH
- Jhansi Junction
- Agra Cantonment
- Faridabad Haryana
DELHI
HARYANA
PUNJAB
- Lehragaga
- Sunam
- Sangrur
- Dhuri Junction
- Malerkotla
- Ahmedgarh
- Kila Raipur
- Ludhiana Junction
- Phillaur Junction
- Phagwara Junction
- Jalandhar Cantonment
- Urmar Tanda
- Dasuya
- Mukerian
- Pathankot Cantonment
JAMMU KASHMIR
Traction
Both trains are hauled by an Erode / Arakkonam-based WAP-4 electric locomotive from CAPE to SVDK.[3]
Coach composition
The train has 20 LHB coaches comprising two Second AC (2AC), Six Third AC (3AC), six Sleeper class (SL), two Unreserved coaches (UR/GS), two Luggage rakes (SLR) and one Pantry car (PC).[lower-alpha 1]
Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SLR | UR | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 | PC | A2 | A1 | B6 | B5 | B4 | B3 | B2 | B1 | M1 | UR | EOG | |
Notes
- The coach composition is subject to change.
References
- India Rail Info. "Himsagar Express/16318/ SVDK to CAPE/Timetable". India Rail Info. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2126/1/lsd_06_07_19-03-1979.pdf Page no. 150
- "🚂HIMSAGAR EXPRESS TRAVEL VLOG PART1!!! Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to Kanyakumari | Naveen Kumar" – via YouTube.