#Know your train #Knowyourtrain
#12669/70 Ganga Kaveri Express is a Bi-weekly superfast train service, connecting Chennai in Southern India to Chhapra in Bihar.
#Name: #Etmology
It is named after two Indian Rivers; River Ganges (which flows in the holy city of Varanasi) and Kaveri (a River which flows in the Southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu).
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#History
Innagurated on Feb 16, 1977 by Kamalpati Tripathi between Madras (now Chennai) and Varanasi, was terminating at Chennai Beach station, from where an MG Ganga Kaveri Express used to run to Rameswaram through the Kaveri river basin. Later the superfast status was erased, made to terminate at Madras Central instead of Madras Beach and connection with Madras-Rameswaram Exp removed and name changed from Ganga Kaveri Exp to Madras - Varanasi Express. Thus increased halts at Katni, Pipariya, Betul and Sirpur Kagaz Nagar, converted from one-night to two-nights train, slowed down by more than 3 hours, Green and Yellow colored Rakes withdrawn and AC sleeper service introduced. Later, in 90's Jaffer Sharief introduced the train which is running currently as Ganga Kaveri Express for the benefit of South Indian tourists, willing to travel to holy city of Varanasi. This train was extended to Chhapra in December 2006.
#Regions:
Bihar - Bhojpuri region
Uttar Pradesh - purvanchal, lower doab
Madhya Pradesh - bagelkhand, Mahakoshal
DECCAN PLATEAU
Maharashtra: Vidarbha
Andhra Pradesh: Telangana, Northern Circars, Velanadu, coastal Andhra (Coromandel Coast)
#Zone #Division: This train belongs to Southern Railway Chennai Division. Enroute it passes through #SCR: Vijayawada division, Secunderabad division, #CR: Nagpur division, #WCR: Bhopal division, Jabalpur division, #NCR: Jhansi division (no stoppages), Allahabad division, #NR: Lucknow Charbagh division, #NER: Varanasi division.
#Base: Basin Bridge (Chennai)
#States: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
#Route:
Chennai - Itarsi: Electrified Double line Broad Gauge
Itarsi - Allahabad: Un-Electrified Double line Broad Gauge
Allahabad - Chhapra: Un-Electrified Single line Broad Gauge
#Loco:
Chennai - Itarsi: WAP4/WAM4
Itarsi - Chhapra: Wdm3A/Wdm3D
#Coach, RSA:
ICF, RSA with 12691/92 Chennai-SSPN Express
#Halts: 22 halts, 319 intermediate Stations
#Speed
Average Speed: 56 km/hr
Average Moving Speed: 58 km/hr
Highest Average speed: between Nagpur and Pandhurna- 85 km/hr
Lowest Average: Bhadohi and Varanasi- 36 km/hr
#Soil:
bihar: Alluvial soil
Uttar Pradesh: Alluvial soil
Madhya Pradesh: Alluvial Soil, Red and yellow soil
Maharashtra: black-cotton soil
Andhra Pradesh: Red sandy soil (Telangana), Alluvial soil (coastal Andhra )
Tamil Nadu (Chennai): shale soils, sandstone and clay soils
#Mountain ranges:
Vindhya Range
Satpura Range
Eastern Ghats
#Rivers crossing
Suvarnamukhi: Nayudupeta
Pennar: Nellore
Paleru: Singarayakonda
Vijayawada: Krishna
Manair: Bisugirsharif near Karimnagar
Godavari: Mancherial
Penganga: Ballarshah
wardha: Hinganghat, Wardha
Tapti: Multai
Tawa: Bagra Tawa near Itarsi
Narmada: Vikrampur
Satna: Satna
Yamuna : Naini near Allahabad
Ganga: Allahabad
Varuna: Varanasi
Gomti:Rajwari
Ghaghara: Chhapra
#Languages
It pases through Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Bhojpuri and Urdu speaking Regions.
#Photo Credits
1. Train Board: 462809
2. Chennai Central station 778939
3. Ganga-Kaveri Express hauled by ET WDM-3A # 16523R 532352
4. Varanasi Cantonment Junction 531452
5. Ganga Aarthi (click here)
6. Gopuram of Kashi Vishwanath Temple (click here)
7. Kashi Vishwanath (click here)
8. Dashashwamedh Ghat (click here )

#KnowYourTrain
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#SriJagannath Express
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~~~ Getting Kolkata closer to Lord Jagannath ~~~
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#Name: The word “Jagannath” means “The Lord of the Universe”. It is a combination of Sanskrit words “Jagat” (Universe) and Nath (Lord). Lord Jagannath is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and his form Krishna. Though worshipped everywhere, the Jagannath Temple at Puri is the nucleus of the Vaishnavites (people of the Vaishnav sect) and is considered one of the most sacred places for pilgrimage. It is a part of the Char-Dham Yatra. As the train connects Kolkata with Puri, it has been aptly named as Sri Jagannath Express as obeisance to Lord Jagannath.
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#Regions (Physical): Odisha Coastal Plains, Central Plateaus, Indo-Gangetic Plains
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#Regions of State: Districts of Puri, Khordha, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore in Odisha; Districts of Paschim Medinipur, Purva Medinipur and Howrah in West Bengal
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#Zone, #Division: The train belongs to #ECoR Zone, Khurda Road Division. #ECoR - Khurda Road; #SER - Kharagpur; #ER - Howrah
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#Route:
> Puri-Khurda Road Branch Line
> Khurda Road – Howrah by the Chennai-Howrah Main Line
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#Halts, #States: The train passes entirely through two states and halts at 19 intermediate stations in the UP Direction and 18 intermediate stations in the DOWN direction, excluding originating and destination stations. The statewise breakup of halts is as under: OR-14, WB-5 (4 in DOWN).
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#Soils: It crosses through region having fertile alluvial and black soil. Sand and Sand-mix soil found near Puri due to proximity with the Bay of Bengal.
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#Rivers: Kathajodi, Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha, Rupnarayan, Damodar, Hooghly
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#Languages: Odia, Bengali
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#Speed: Highest average speed: 90 kmph between Kapilas Road Jn and Jajpur Keonjhar Rd
Lowest average speed: 13 kmph between Santragachi Jn and Howrah Jn
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#RSA: 12859/60 HWH-CSTM-HWH Gitanjali SF Express
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#Base: Puri
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Photo Credits:
Pic-1: Train Board ( /blog/post/636193 )
Pic-2: Howrah Station ( click here )
Pic-3: Writers’ Building, (The secretariat of WB Govt.) Kolkata ( click here )
Pic-4: Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Jagannath sitting on a Golden throne. Lord Balabhadra is the eldest followed by Lord Jagannath and younger sister Subhadra. ( click here )
Pic-5: Puri Station ( click here )
Pic-6: Jagannath Temple, Puri (click here )
Pic-7: Route Map

#KnowYourTrain
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#Vaigai Express
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~~~ Madurai’s Own Train ~~~
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#Name: The city of Madurai in Southern Tamil Nadu is situated on the banks of the river Vaigai. Since the train connects Chennai with Madurai, it has been aptly named as Vaigai Express.
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#Inauguration: 15th August, 1977 from Madurai
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#Regions (Physical): Eastern Coastal Plain, Kalvarayan Hills, Plains of the Palani Hills, Kaveri Delta
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#Regions of State: The districts of Chennai, Kanchipuram, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Ariyalur, Tiruchchirapalli, Dindigul and Madurai
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#Zone, #Division: The train belongs to #SR Zone, Madurai Division. The train passes through the following divisions: #SR – Chennai, Thiruchirapalli, Madurai
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#Route:
> Madurai – Chennai Egmore Line (via Chord Line)
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#Halts, #States: The train passes entirely through one state and halts at 7 intermediate stations, excluding originating and destination stations.
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#Soils: It crosses through region having Alluvial, Black and Red soil
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#Rivers: Cooum, Adyar, Palar, Gedilam, Pennar, Manimuthar, Kaveri, Vaigai
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#Languages: Tamil
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#Speed: Highest average speed: 95 kmph between Vridhhachalam Jn and Ariyalur
Lowest average speed: 47 kmph between Dindigul Jn and Madurai Jn
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#Trivia:
> The only train on IR (along with Pallavan Exp) to have a PS coach – Half of which is Pantry Car and half is Second Sitting.
> In the days of MG, it used to run with special green and yellow livery, with twin YDM-4 locos.
> MG Locos had Special double tone horn for easy identification
> The locos always ran in Short Hood Forward mode
> It was the only MG train of SR certified to run at 110 kmph
> For the first time on the MG, the ICF manufactured two 40-seat AC chair car coaches exclusively for the Vaigai and Pallavan express.
> The driver and the Guard had corded telephone system to communicate with each other.
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#RSA: 12605/06 MS-TPJ-MS Pallavan SF Express
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#Base: Madurai Jn
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Photo Credits:
Pic-1: Train Board (click here )
Pic-2: MG Vaigai Express of the yesteryears ( /blog/post/668092 )
Pic-3: Chennai Egmore Station (click here )
Pic-4: Kamrajar Salai, Marina Beach, Chennai (click here )
Pic-5: Vaigai River (click here )
Pic-6: Madurai Station (click here )
Pic-7: Meenakshi Temple, Madurai ( click here )

**** #Know ur train 78 ****
#Navjeevan Express
~~~ Connecting Manchester of India to Detroit of India ~~~
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#Name: Navjivan Trust is a publishing house board of Ahmedabad. Initially it was...
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weekly newspaper by Gandhiji in Gujarati language. It was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1928, more than 800 titles have been published English Hindi Gujarati and other languages.
Navjivan means New life, its main motive was to propogate peaceful means for attaining Hind Swaraj by educating people thru cultivated and enlightened worker. Since train is to/from Ahmedabad, it was named as Navjivan Exp.
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#Age: 35years 4months
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#State : soon will serve 5 States - #GJ 8, #MH 17, #Telangana 5, #AP 7, #TN 1
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#Regions: Central and South Gujarat, Khandesh, Vidarbha, Telangana, Coastal Andhra, Tondai Nadu regions
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#Zone and #division: WR Ahmedabad Vadodara Mumbai, CR Bhusawal Nagpur, SCR Hyderabad Vijaywada, SR Chennai divisions.
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#Inaugral: 07 April 78
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#Base: Coimbatore
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#RSA: Cheran Express
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#Rivers and #Lakes: Narmada, Tapi, Ukai Dam, Purna, Wardha, Pranhita, Godavari, Krishna, Penner and Pulicat lake.
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#Physical Regions: Charotar and Bharoch plains, Deccan plateau, Telangana plateau, Eastern Ghats, Coromandel Coast.
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#Soils: Black, Red Alluvial.
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#Zones: Serves 4 Zones WR 11, CR 14, SCR 12, SR 1
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#Speed: Max avg 132 kmph Kavali Nellore. Min avg 21 kmph Chandrapur Balharshah
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#Languages: Travels thru Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil speaking region.
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#Route:
*Adi Brc: Adi Brc main line.
*Brc St: Ndls Bct trunk route.
*Surat Jalgaon: Main line.
*Jalgaon Wardha: Cstm Hwh trunk route.
*Wardha Hinganghat: Minor line (chord line).
*Hinganghat MAS: Ndls Mas trunk route.
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#Trivia: .
¤ Always full and favorite train for travellers.
¤ Nicely maintained, neat and clean train.
¤ Good priority train on whole route.
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#Photos:
Pic 1- Train name board.
Pic 2- Vastrapur Lake, Ahmedabad
Pic 3- Chennai Central Station.
Pic 4- Kapeeleshwar Temple, Chennai

#KnowYourTrain
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#Vananchal Express
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~~~ Connecting Anga with Vananchal ~~~
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#Name: Vananchal is another / traditional name of Jharkhand. Since the train connects Bhagalpur with Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, it has been named as Vananchal Express.
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#Regions (Physical): Ganga River Basin, Rajmahal Hills (Damin-i-Koh), Indo-Gangetic Plains, Part of Chhota Nagpur Plateau, Parasnath Hills
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#Regions of State: Bhagalpur Division, Rajmahal, Burdwan Division, Santhal Pargana
#Zone, #Division: The train belongs to #ER Zone, Malda Town Division. The train passes through the following divisions: #ER-Malda Town, Howrah, Asansol; ECR-Dhanbad; SER-Adra, Ranchi;
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#Route:
> Bhagalpur – Sainthia via Sahibganj Loop
> Sainthia – Andal Branch Line
> Andal – Asansol via Barabani Line
> Asansol - Muri via Asansol-Gaya Section of Grand Chord
> Muri – Ranchi Line
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#Halts, #States: The train stops at 23 intermediate stations (excluding origin and destination) and the statewise breakup is as follows: BR-3, JH-11, WB-9
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#Soils: Red, Black, Sandy and Laterite soils
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#Rivers: Bansloi, Brahmani, Dwaraka, Mayurakshi, Bakreshwar, Hinglo, Ajay, Singaran, Jamunia, Barakar, Subarnarekha (2 times)
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#Languages: Bhojpuri, Maithili, Angika, Hindi, Bengali, Santhali, Mundari
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#Speed: Highest average speed: 81 kmph between Sahibganj Jn and Tinpahar Jn
Lowest average speed: 26kmph between Pandabeshwar and Andal Jn
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#Base: Bhagalpur Jn
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Photo Credits;
Pic-1: Train Pic ( /blog/post )
Pic-2: Bhagalpur Station ( /blog/post/557662 )
Pic-3: Vikramshila University, Bhagalpur ( click here )
Pic-4: Sahibganj Station, Jharkhand of the famous Sahibganj Loop ( click here )
Pic-5: Ranchi Station ( /blog/post/698664 )
Pic-6: Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Ranchi (click here )
Pic-7: Route Map