Hirakud Express
Train in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 20807 / 20808 Hirakud Superfast Express is a tri-weekly express train which runs between Amritsar and Visakhapatnam. It passes through the cities of Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Panipat, Delhi, Mathura, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, Sagar, Damoh, Katni, Umaria, Shahdol, Anuppur, Bilaspur, Raigarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Angul, Talcher, Dhenkanal, Naraj Marthapur railway station, Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Brahmapur, Palasa, Srikakulam Road & Vizianagaram. Hira means diamond and Kud means island in Sambalpuri language spoken in Western Odisha. Sambalpur was famous as an ancient diamond mine and reference about it can be found in the works of Claudius Ptolemy, Edward Gibbon, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. Hirakud Express is named after the famous Hirakud Dam in Sambalpur, Odisha which is one of the longest dams of India.
Hirakud Superfast Express At Jalandhar City Junction railway station | |||||
| Overview | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service type | Swarna Jayanti Express | ||||
| Locale | Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab | ||||
| First service | 1 July 1992 | ||||
| Current operator | South Coast Railway | ||||
| Route | |||||
| Termini | Visakhapatnam (VSKP) 00.10(D)/21.10(A) Amritsar Junction (ASR) 21.25(A)/23.55(D) | ||||
| Stops | 45 | ||||
| Distance travelled | 2,584.8 km (1,606 mi) | ||||
| Average journey time | 45 hours 15 minutes | ||||
| Service frequency | Tri-weekly | ||||
| Train number | 20807 / 20808 | ||||
| On-board services | |||||
| Classes | AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved | ||||
| Seating arrangements | Yes | ||||
| Sleeping arrangements | Yes | ||||
| Catering facilities | Available | ||||
| Observation facilities | Large windows | ||||
| Baggage facilities | Under the seats | ||||
| Technical | |||||
| Rolling stock | LHB coach | ||||
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||
| Operating speed | 57.15 km/h (35.51 mph) average with halts. | ||||
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History
It was initially introduced between Sambalpur and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station (Delhi) in 1992 as 4087/4088 Hirakud Express with reversals at Katni and Jharsuguda. For the 1st 10 yrs Hirakud Express was covering 1,394.2 km (866 mi) kms in 25 hours 30 minutes running at 54.27 km/h (33.72 mph) speed. Later in 2002 it was extended to Bhubaneswar with number change to 8407/8408 with added reversal at Talcher. Timings were same in Sambalpur - Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and vice versa direction. In 2012, Hirakud Express was extended to Visakhapatnam from Bhubaneswar and Amritsar from Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station and number was changed to 18507/18508. The 18507/18508 Hirakud Express was taking a whooping 47 hours to cover 2,584.8 km (1,606 mi) running at 55 km/h (34 mph) speed. Train used reversal at 3 stops Talcher, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda as it was avoiding reversal at Katni by bypassing via Katni Murwara Junction. From 2017 onwards, with the inauguration of Jharsuguda Road, bypass station for Jharsuguda, the train uses reversal at Talcher and Sambalpur only.
Coach composition
The coach composition of the 20807/20808 Hirakud Express is:
- 1 AC 2 Tier
- 4 AC 3 Tier
- 6 Sleeper Class
- 4 Second Class(Unreserved)
- 1 Pantry Car
- 1 EOG
- 1 SRL
From Visakhapatnam to Amritsar
| Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | EOG | GEN | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | PC | S6 | A1 | B1 | B2 | B3 | B4 | GEN | GEN | GEN | SLR |
From Amritsar to Visakhapatnam
| Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLR | GEN | GEN | GEN | B4 | B3 | B2 | B1 | A1 | S6 | PC | S5 | S4 | S3 | S2 | S1 | GEN | EOG |
Timetable
- 20807- Starts from Visakhapatnam every Saturday, Tuesday and Friday at 00.10 am & reaches Amritsar Junction on 3rd day at 21.25 pm.
- 20808- Starts from Amritsar Jn every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 23.55 pm & and reaches Visakhapatnam on 3rd day at 21.10 pm.
Route & halts
- Visakhapatnam Junction
- Vizianagaram Junction
- Srikakulam Road
- Palasa
- Brahmapur
- Khurda Road Junction
- Bhubaneswar
- Naraj Marthapur
- Dhenkanal
- Talcher
- Angul
- Sambalpur Junction
- Jharsuguda Road
- Champa Junction
- Bilaspur Junction
- Anuppur Junction
- Shahdol
- Umaria
- Katni Murwara Junction
- Damoh
- Saugor
- Bina Malkedi
- Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Junction
- Gwalior Junction
- Agra Cantonment
- Mathura Junction
- Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station
- New Delhi
- Panipat Junction
- Kurukshetra Junction
- Ambala Cantonment Junction
- Ludhiana Junction
- Jalandhar City Junction
- Amritsar Junction.
Rake sharing
The train shares its rake with 20811/20812 Visakhapatnam–Hazur Sahib Nanded Superfast Express.
Traction
It is hauled by a Visakhapatnam Loco Shed based WAP-7 or WAP-4 electric locomotive on its entire journey.