Himsagar Express

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 third longest running train on the Indian Railways in terms of distance and time, surpassed by the Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari Vivek Express and Thiruvananthapuram - Silchar Superfast Express. In 72 hours, the train covers a distance of 3787 km at a speed of 52 km/h, and transverses twelve of India's states halting at a total of 73 stations.[1]

Himsagar Express
Overview
Service typeExpress Train
StatusActive
First service1980 (1980)
Current operator(s)Southern Railways
Route
StartShri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK)
Stops67
EndKanniyakumari (CAPE)
Distance travelled3,787 km (2,353 mi)
Average journey time71 hours, 36 minutes
Service frequencyWeekly
Train number(s)16317/16318
On-board services
Seating arrangementsAvailable
Sleeping arrangementsAvailable
Catering facilitiesAvailable
Technical
Rolling stockICF Coaches
Track gaugeBroad Gauge
Operating speed110 km/h (68 mph) maximum speed, 67 km/h (42 mph) average speed with halts
Track owner(s)Indian Railways
Route map

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 & Frequency

It runs weekly, starting every Friday at 14:05 hours from Kanyakumari, reaching Katra on Mondays at 15:20 hours.[3] It starts from Katra on Mondays at 21:55 hours and reaches Kanyakumari on Thursdays at 21:30 hours.[3] Because of this schedule, it needs just one rake to complete its entire run. There is a Slip Route of this train, running from Erode Junction to Tirunelveli Junction & Chhindwara Junction to Bhopal Junction. The train travels through the union territories and states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Katra to Kanyakumari: There are several long halts for this train like New Delhi (150 min) and in Thiruvananthapuram Central, Ernakulam Town, Kottayam Railway Station, Erode Junction, Bhopal Junction, Nagpur, Itarsi Junction, Jhansi, Gwalior Junction and Vijayawada Junction (10-15 min each).

Kanyakumari to Katra: The fastest speed is achieved near Kila Raipur (108 km/h) and the slowest speeds on the Hazrat Nizamuddin to New Delhi (24 km/h) and Bhopal Habibganj to Bhopal Junction (19 km/h) . It takes around three hours for the train to clear the Delhi area.

Traction

Both trains hauled by an Erode Electric Loco Shed or Arakkonam Electric Loco Shed based WAP-4 locomotive from CAPE to NDLS and handing over to a Tughlakabad Diesel Loco Shed based WDP-4B / WDP-4D locomotive from NDLS to SVDK and vice versa.

Coach Composite

The train has 19 coaches comprising One Second AC (2AC), Two Third AC (3AC), Ten Sleeper class (SL), Three 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
SLRURURB2B1S1S2S3S4S5S6PCS7S8S9S10A1URSLR

See also

Notes
  1. The coach composition is subject to change.

References
  1. India Rail Info. "Himsagar Express/16318/ SVDK to CAPE/Timetable". India Rail Info. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  2. https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2126/1/lsd_06_07_19-03-1979.pdf Page no. 150
  3. Southern Zone Time Table July 2010, Page no 112 & Table No. 13,13A
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