Service type Superfast Express First service 3-10-1987 Start Kakinada | Status Operating Current operator(s) South Central Railway | |
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Locale Telangana, Andhra Pradesh | ||
Gowthami Express is a train running from the port city of Kakinada to the Secunderabad junction. It is named after the River Gowthami, a tributary to the River Godavari. It runs with train numbers as 12737/12738.
Contents
History
Gowthami superfast Express was introduced on 3/10/1987 and is considered as sister train to Godavari Express which runs between Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious trains of South Central Railway(SCR) which connects the Telangana state capital city of Hyderabad with the port city Kakinada.
The Gowthami superfast express is considered to be one of the best ways to commute to the state capital, In united Andhra Pradesh, now the capital of Telangana Hyderabad from Delta districts of Andhra Pradesh. People of Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Tadepalligudem, Eluru prefer Gowthami Express to travel to Secunderabad. It was upgraded to superfast category in the year July 2007 and is operated with 12737 / 12738 as train numbers and used to be 7047 / 7048 in prior to upgradation.
It is one of the longest trains running with 24 coaches and also runs with full capacity throughout the year. Currently, it has 2 First Class cum Second Class Air Conditioned Coaches, 2 Second Class Air Conditioned Coaches, 2 Third Class Air Conditioned Coaches, 13 Sleeper Class, 3 second class general compartments and 2 Luggage cum brake vans. In total it has 6 Air Conditioned Coaches. It became the first train in South Central Railway to run with Two First Class cum Second Class Air Conditioned Coaches. It has such a huge patronage such that a supplementary train Cocanada AC Express - a fully air conditioned train is introduced between Kakinada and Secunderabad in the year 2012 to cater to the rush and both the trains run jam packed almost through out the year.
Gowthami Express is expected to run with 26 Coaches very soon and it shall be the first train in SCR and one among very few in Indian Railways to run so. It is also known for best maintenance of coaches and is considered as a model rake of South Central Railway, Vijayawada Division.
Loco Links
The train is regularly hauled by a single Bezawada (BZA) based WAP4 locomotive from COA to BZA with loco change at Vijayawada. Thereafter, Lalaguda (LGD) based WAP7 takes charge from BZA to SC.
Incidents
In July, 2008 Gowthami Express supposedly got short-circuited and fire broke out during the midnight. Those wakened by the sounds escaped by pulling the emergency chain to slow down the train and 40 people lost their lives in this incident. It occurred while the train crossed Kesamudram station in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh at around 1:07 am.