Circar Express
Train in India
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The 17643 / 17644 & 17655 / 17656 Circar Express is a daily express train run by Indian Railways from Kakinada Port to Pondicherry(3-days)/ Chengalpattu(4-days) in India. As the train used to run daily till Chengalpattu, the train got extended till Pondicherry from 13-03-2024 for 3-days and the other 4-days at Chengalpattu itself.from Chengalpattu to Kakinada Port It covers a distance of 755 km and from Puducherry to Kakinada Port. It covers a distance of 896 km.[1]
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service type | Express | ||||
| Locale | Puducherry, Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh | ||||
| First service | 1 October 1965 | ||||
| Current operator | South Central Railway | ||||
| Route | |||||
| Termini | Chengalpattu (CGL)
Puducherry (PDY) Kakinada Port (COA) | ||||
| Stops | 37 | ||||
| Distance travelled | 17643/44 - 755KM 17655/56 - 896KM | ||||
| Average journey time | 17643/44 - 17Hrs 17655/56 - 20Hrs | ||||
| Train numbers |
| ||||
| On-board services | |||||
| Classes | AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved | ||||
| Seating arrangements | Yes | ||||
| Sleeping arrangements | Yes | ||||
| Catering facilities | On-board catering, E-catering | ||||
| Observation facilities | Large windows | ||||
| Baggage facilities | Available | ||||
| Other facilities | Below the seats | ||||
| Technical | |||||
| Rolling stock | ICF-CBC coach | ||||
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||
| Operating speed | 45 km/h (28 mph) average including halts. | ||||
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History
The Circar Express was introduced on 1 October 1965 by Indian Railways, initially operating between Kakinada Port in Andhra Pradesh and Madras (now Chennai).
In its early years, the service operated with steam locomotives and was later converted to diesel traction as part of the modernization of Indian Railways. The train originally terminated at Chennai Central, but its terminal was later shifted to Chennai Egmore following operational reorganization in the Chennai railway network.
With the electrification of railway lines along its route, the Circar Express was subsequently converted to electric traction. Over time, the service underwent changes in scheduling, halts, and operational patterns. The train was later extended to Chengalpattu Junction, and under revised operations, partial extensions were introduced toward Puducherry.
It was primarily introduced to cater to passengers from the coastal Andhra (historically known as the Circars region) especially Tanuku, Bhimavaram, Akividu, Kaikaluru, Gudivada region people to reach Chennai Egmore i.e, Chennai for education, employment, and trade work.
Later train got extended till Changalpattu on Daily basis, after a decade of demand the train has been split extended upto Puducherry for 3 days and remaining 4 days at Chengalpattu itself.
Name
The train is named after the Circars region (also spelled as Circar) which historically referred to the coastal districts of present-day Andhra Pradesh during British rule.
Locomotive
This train ran with diesel locomotives at the start up to the electrification of Vijayawada - Nidadavolu loop line. The train is hauled by Lallaguda Loco Shed based WAP-7 or Vijayawada Loco Shed based WAP-4 electric locomotive on its entire journey.
Coach composition
- 2 AC II Tier
- 8 AC III Tier
- 8 Sleeper Class
- 2 General Coaches
- 2 SLRD Coach
| Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
SLR | GEN | A1 | A2 | B8 | B7 | B6 | B5 | B4 | B3 | B2 | B1 | S8 | S7 | S6 | S5 | S4 | S3 | S2 | S1 | GEN | SLR |
Timetable
The Circar Express operates as train number 17643 from Chengalpattu; 17656 from Puducherry to Kakinada Port, and as train number 17655/17644 in the reverse direction from Kakinada. 17655/56 services run three days a week on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays & 17643/44 services run four days a week on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Both the Trains have Common Timetable and same path between Chengalpattu and Kakinada. [2]
| 17656 (PDY to COA) | Station name | Station code | 17655 (COA to PDY) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Departure | Arrival | Departure | ||
| — | 13:30 | Puducherry | PDY | 09:50 | — |
| 14:10 | 14:15 | Villupuram Junction | VM | 09:05 | 09:10 |
| 15:08 | 15:10 | Melmaruvattur | MLMR | 08:03 | 08:05 |
| 15:48 | 15:50 | Chengalpattu Junction | CGL | 07:28 | 07:30 |
| 16:18 | 16:20 | Tambaram | TBM | 06:43 | 06:45 |
| 16:55 | 17:05 | Chennai Egmore | MS | 06:00 | 06:10 |
| 18:38 | 18:40 | Gummidipundi | GPD | 04:13 | 04:15 |
| 19:08 | 19:10 | Sullurupeta | SPE | 03:38 | 03:40 |
| 19:33 | 19:35 | Nayadupeta | NYP | 03:18 | 03:20 |
| 20:03 | 20:05 | Gudur Junction | GDR | 02:53 | 02:55 |
| 20:33 | 20:35 | Nellore | NLR | 02:03 | 02:05 |
| 20:58 | 21:00 | Bitragunta | BTTR | 01:28 | 01:30 |
| 21:14 | 21:15 | Kavali | KVZ | 01:13 | 01:15 |
| 21:53 | 21:55 | Singarayakonda | SKM | 00:43 | 00:45 |
| 22:18 | 22:20 | Ongole | OGL | 00:18 | 00:20 |
| 22:53 | 22:55 | Vetapalemu | VTM | 23:33 | 23:35 |
| 23:03 | 23:05 | Chirala | CLX | 23:03 | 23:05 |
| 23:18 | 23:20 | Bapatla | BPP | 22:43 | 22:45 |
| 00:03 | 00:05 | Nidubrolu | NDO | 22:23 | 22:25 |
| 00:23 | 00:25 | Tenali Junction | TEL | 22:03 | 22:05 |
| 00:59 | 01:00 | New Guntur | NGNT | 21:09 | 21:10 |
| 01:29 | 01:30 | Mangalagiri | MAG | 20:52 | 20:53 |
| 02:10 | 02:20 | Vijayawada Junction | BZA | 20:05 | 20:20 |
| 03:08 | 03:10 | Gudivada Junction | GDV | 18:40 | 18:45 |
| 03:39 | 03:40 | Kaikaluru | KKLR | 18:13 | 18:15 |
| 03:58 | 04:00 | Akividu | AKVD | 17:43 | 17:45 |
| 04:18 | 04:20 | Bhimavaram Town | BVRT | 17:15 | 17:20 |
| 04:38 | 04:40 | Attili | AL | 16:43 | 16:45 |
| 04:53 | 04:55 | Tanuku | TNKU | 16:33 | 16:35 |
| 05:28 | 05:30 | Nidadavolu Junction | NDD | 16:13 | 16:15 |
| 06:04 | 06:05 | Godavari | GVN | — | — |
| 06:48 | 06:50 | Rajahmundry | RJY | 15:43 | 15:45 |
| 07:23 | 07:25 | Dwarapudi | DWP | 15:18 | 15:20 |
| 07:33 | 07:35 | Anaparti | APT | 15:13 | 15:15 |
| 07:58 | 08:00 | Samalkot Junction | SLO | 14:53 | 14:55 |
| 08:28 | 08:30 | Kakinada Town | CCT | 14:35 | 14:40 |
| 09:25 | — | Kakinada Port | COA | — | 14:30 |
Rake sharing
This train has rake sharing with 17651 / 17652 Kacheguda-Puducherry Express; 17651 / 17652 Kacheguda-Chengalpattu Express and it has rake sharing with 17655/17656 Circar Express
Average speed and frequency
The train runs at an average speed of 45 km/h. It runs on a daily basis.
Train no 17643/44 runs from Kakinada Port to Chengalpattu Junction on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and from Chengalpattu Junction to Kakinada Port on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
Train no 17655/56 runs from Kakinada Port to Puducherry on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and from Puducherry to Kakinada Port on Monday, Thursday, Saturday.
Demands
As per demands, this train is extended from Chengalpattu Junction to Puducherry on tri-weekly basis from 13 March 2024.[3]