Godavari Express

Godavari Express
గోదావరి ఎక్స్‌ప్రెస్
12727 HYB bound Godavari Express at Marripalem near Visakhapatnam
Overview
Service type Superfast Train
Status Operating
Locale Telangana, Andhra Pradesh
First service 1 February 1974 (1 February 1974)
Current operator(s) South Central Railway
Ridership Classic Sleeper – 864
Third Class – 192
Second Class – 96
First Class – 18
Total – 1170
Route
Start Hyderabad Deccan
Stops 18
End Visakhapatnam Junction
Distance travelled 710 km (440 mi)
Average journey time 12 hours,25 minutes
Service frequency Daily
On-board services
Class(es) Sleeper, Ac 1,2,3 General
Catering facilities No Pantry car, Paid Food service is available
Observation facilities Large windows in all carriages, cleanliness
Baggage facilities Below the seats
Technical
Rolling stock Two
Track gauge Broad (1,676 mm)
Operating speed 57 kilometres per hour (35 mph)
Route map

The route map of Godavari Express showing most of the stops en route.

Godavari Express (numbered:12727/12728) is an express train of South Central Railway, operated between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.[1]

History

On 1 February 1974, the Indian Railways announced the first railway service between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, with the Waltair-Hyderabad Express. As the train provides rail connectivity to stations of East and West Godavari districts, it was officially named Godavari Express. The train retained its 5 new coaches and ran with a diesel locomotive end to end. By 1990, the train had become very popular and two more coaches were introduced, taking the total to 24. It then became one of the longest trains in India. As the Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada line and the Vijayawada-Kazipet-Hyderabad lines were electrified, the train started running with the WAP 4 electric locomotive. Soon, the Godavari Express became the first train belonging to the South Central Railway to run with 5 air-conditioned coaches. In June 1999, the train met with its first incident, as it derailed at Ghanpur near Warangal. In 2000, the Godavari Express became the first train in the South Central railway to run with its own air conditioned first class coach and was also the first train in the Zone to have 6 air-conditioned coaches.

In 2011, the train was re-numbered to 12727 on becoming a Superfast train and was hauled by a WAP 7 and WAP 4 between Vijayawada and Hyderabad. The train timings were modified again and the journey time was further reduced by 15 minutes. In July and August 2011, the passengers of the air-conditioned coaches of the Godavari Express were robbed twice and a hoax call was made regarding a bomb in the sixth coach of the train. As a result, safety was enhanced and the train started running with a WAP 7 and WAP 4 from end to end. This train then became the first to run with a WAP 7 between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.[2] On 2 April, The Indian Railways decided to increase reservation fares of the second and first classes in all trains, which resulted in the fares of the train's second and first classes going up from ₹1,058 (US$15) and ₹1,771 (US$25) to ₹1,510 (US$21) and ₹2,555 (US$36) respectively.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Train Name Index" (PDF). Portal of Indian Railways. p. 5. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Godavari SF Express a.k.a "The Prestigious train of SCR"". Indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "Raised railway fares become operational". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
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