East Coast Express
Train in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 18045 / 18046 East Coast Express is a daily train that runs between Charlapalli (Hyderabad) and Shalimar (Kolkata). Earlier this train's terminating stations were Hyderabad Deccan and Howrah. From 2022 the terminal has been shifted from Howrah to Shalimar And on the other end from June 2025 Train Terminal has been shifted from Hyderabad Deccan to Charlapalli for decongesting the existing stations and to provide better service between Hyderabad and Kolkata. It is being operated with train numbers 18045/46 on a daily basis.
East Coast Express train board with the old train numbers | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Service type | Express |
| Locale | Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha & West Bengal |
| First service | 1 August 1957[1] |
| Current operator | South Eastern Railway |
| Route | |
| Termini | Charlapalli (CHZ) Kolkata Shalimar (SHM) |
| Stops | 56 |
| Distance travelled | 1,566 km (973 mi) |
| Average journey time | 31 hrs 10 mins |
| Service frequency | Daily |
| Train number | 18045 / 18046 |
| On-board services | |
| Classes | AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier, AC 3 Tier Economy, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved |
| Seating arrangements | Yes |
| Sleeping arrangements | Yes |
| Catering facilities | E-catering only |
| Observation facilities | Large windows |
| Baggage facilities | Available |
| Other facilities | Below the seats |
| Technical | |
| Rolling stock | LHB coach |
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) |
| Operating speed | 51 km/h (32 mph) average including halts. |
Train composition
This train has 7 Sleeper Coaches, 5 3AC-Tier Coaches, 2 2AC-Tier Coaches, 2 3AC Economy Coaches, 2 General, 1 SLR Coach, 1 EOG Coach & 2 High Capacity Parcel Van making a total of 22 coaches.[2]
Locomotive
The train is hauled by a Lallaguda-based WAP-7 locomotive from Charlapalli to Vijayawada. It reverses there and gets another WAP-4 of Vijayawada loco shed and hauls it up to Visakhapatnam. It again reverses there a gets a WAP-4 from Santragachi loco shed or a WAP-7 from Visakhapatnam Electric Shed to haul the train up to Howrah.
Route
18045 – East Coast Express – SHALIMAR (KOLKATA )to CHARLAPALLI (HYDERABAD)
| Station name | Station code |
|---|---|
| Shalimar | SHM |
| Mecheda | MCA |
| Panskura Junction | PKU |
| Kharagpur Junction | KGP |
| Belda | BLDA |
| Jaleswar | JER |
| Basta | BTS |
| Rupsa Junction | ROP |
| Balasore | BLS |
| Soro | SORO |
| Markona | MKO |
| Bhadrakh | BHC |
| Baitarani Road | BTV |
| Korai Halt | KRIH |
| Jajpur Keonjhar Road | JJKR |
| Dhanmandal | DNM |
| Cuttack | CTC |
| Barang | BRAG |
| Bhubaneswar | BBS |
| Khurda Road | KUR |
| Nirakarpur | NKP |
| Kalupara Ghat | KAPG |
| Balugan | BALU |
| Chilka | CLKA |
| Khallikot | KIT |
| Chatrapur | CAP |
| Brahmapur | BAM |
| Ichchapuram | IPM |
| Sompeta | SPT |
| Palasa | PSA |
| Naupada | NWP |
| Srikakulam Road | CHE |
| Chipurupalle | CPP |
| Vizianagaram | VZM |
| Kothavalasa | KTV |
| Simhachalam | SCM |
| Visakhapatnam | VSKP |
| Duvvada | DVD |
| Anakapalle | AKP |
| Elamanchili | YLM |
| Tuni | TUNI |
| Annavaram | ANV |
| Pithapuram | PAP |
| Samalkot | SLO |
| Dwarapudi | DWP |
| Rajahmundry | RJY |
| Nidadavolu | NDD |
| Tadepalligudem | TDD |
| Eluru | EE |
| Vijayawada | BZA |
| Khammam | KMT |
| Mahbubabad | MABD |
| Warangal | WL |
| Kazipet | KZJ |
| Jangaon | ZN |
| Aler | ALER |
| Bhongir | BG |
| Charlapalli | CHZ |
