Falaknuma Express

Falaknuma Express
ఫలక్ నుమ ఎక్స్‌ప్రెస్
Overview
Service type Superfast Express
Locale Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal
First service 1994
Current operator(s) South Central Railway zone
Route
Start Secunderabad
Stops 24/25
End Howrah
Distance travelled 1,544 km (959 mi)
Average journey time 25 hours 45 minutes
Service frequency Daily
Train number(s) 12704 / 12703
On-board services
Class(es) AC First, AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved
Seating arrangements Yes
Sleeping arrangements Yes
Catering facilities Pantry Car, On-Board Catering, E-Catering
Observation facilities Large Windows
Entertainment facilities No
Baggage facilities Below the Seats
Technical
Rolling stock 4
Track gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) (Broad Gauge)
Operating speed

110 km/h (68 mph) maximum

60 km/h (37 mph) (average with halts)
Route map

Falaknuma Express is an Superfast Express train belonging to South Central Railway zone that runs between Secunderabad and Howrah in India.It is currently being operated with 12703/12704 train numbers on daily basis.[1]

Overview

The train is named after the world-famous Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, India. Falaknuma is a Persian word (Persian—فلک ا نمایش), which means "Reflections of Sky/Heaven".

It runs daily and connects important stations such as Guntur, Vijayawada,Eluru, Rajahmundry, Vishakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Bhubaneswar and Kharagpur. It is a fast alternative to other trains such as East Coast Express, Guwahati - Secunderabad Express, Shalimar - Secunderabad AC Superfast Express and Visakha Express. Compared to the other trains from Secunderabad to Kolkata/Bhubaneswar, it covers lesser distance as it runs via the Nalgonda, Guntur route. It is the fastest superfast express between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam other than Duronto & Garibrath Express. The train runs jampacked throughout the year because people prefer this train as it has lesser halts than other trains on this route. Besides being superfast, the train is most neat and clean after trains like Shatabdi Express, Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express and other superfast trains in India.

The 12703/Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express has an average speed of 60 km/h and covers 1544 km in 25h 40m.The 12704/Secunderabad-Howrah Falaknuma Express, with the same average speed, covers the same distance in 25h 50m.

Timings

The train departs from Platform #21 of Howrah Junction at 07:25 IST and arrives in Platform #2,6 of Secunderabad Junction at 09:05 IST, the next day. From Platform #1 of Secunderabad, the train departs at 15:55 IST and arrives in Platform #20 of Howrah at 17:45 IST, the next day.

Classes

The train usually consists a massive load of 24 standard ICF Coaches :

  • 1 AC First Cum Two Tier
  • 1 AC Two Tier
  • 3 AC Three Tiers
  • 13 Sleeper Classes
  • 1 Pantry Car
  • 3 General (Unreserved)
  • 2 Seating (Disabled/Ladies) Cum Luggage Rakes

As is customery with most other train services in India, coach composition may be amended at the descretion of Indian Railways, depending on demand.

Coach composition

Loco 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
SLRGENS1S2S3S4S5S6S7S8S9S10S11S12PCS13B1B2B3A1HA1GENGENSLR

1. As the Nalgonda-Guntur route is under electrification, A Gooty/Krishnarajapuram based WDP-4D diesel locomotive hauls the train from Secunderabad to Vijayawada.

2. After that, a Lallaguda based WAP-7/WAP-4 electric locomotive pulls it from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam.

3. Finally the train reverses direction at Vishakhapatnam and gets a Santragachi based WAP-4 electric locomotive for the rest way up to Howrah.

Rake sharing

The 12703/12704 Falaknuma Express previously used to share its rakes with 12733/12734 Narayanadri Express (Secunderabad-Tirupati), but now, it shares its rakes 17063/17064 Ajanta Express (Secunderabad-Manmad).

References

  1. ↑ "Train Name Index" (PDF). Portal of Indian Railways. p. 13. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.