Service type Superfast | Start Guwahati | |
 | ||
First service 1985 - 12516 / 15 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express [1] [2]. 1 October 2013 – 12508 / 07 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express [3] Current operator(s) Northeast Frontier Railways Stops 48 as 12508 / 12516 / 15 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express, 50 as 12507 Thiruvananthapuram Guwahati Express. End Thiruvananthapuram Central | ||
The 12508 / 07 / 16 / 15 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express is a Superfast express train belonging to Indian Railways - Northeast Frontier Railway zone that runs between Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram Central in India.
Contents
It operates as train number 12508 / 16 from Guwahati to Thiruvananthapuram Central and as train number 12507 / 15 in the reverse direction serving the 8 states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Coaches
The 12508 / 07 / 16 / 15 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express has 1 AC 2 tier, 4 AC 3 tier, 13 Sleeper Class, 2 General Unreserved & 2 Sitting cum Luggage Rack Coaches. It carries a Pantry car coach [4].
As is customary with most train services in India, Coach Composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways depending on demand.
Service
The 12508 / 16 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express covers the distance of 3,552 km (2,207 mi) in 64 hours 00 mins (55.50 km/hr), in 65 hours 00 mins as 12515 Thiruvananthapuram Guwahati Express (54.65 km/hr) and in 62 hours 55 mins as 12507 Thiruvananthapuram Guwahati Express (56.46 km/hr).
As the average speed of the train is above 55 km/h (34 mph), as per Indian Railway rules, its fare includes a Superfast surcharge.
It holds the record of being the most delayed train on the Indian Railways network, being delayed by an average of 10 – 12 hours.
Routeing
The 12508 / 07 / 16 / 15 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express runs from Guwahati via New Alipurduar, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Howrah Junction, Kharagpur Junction, Balasore, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada Junction, Chennai Central, Erode Junction, Coimbatore Junction, Ernakulam Town to Thiruvananthapuram Central [5].
It reverses direction of travel thrice during its journey at Howrah Junction, Visakhapatnam and Chennai Central [6].
Traction
As the route is partly electrified, a Howrah based WDM 3A hauls the train from Guwahati up to Howrah Junction handing over to a Howrah based WAP 4 which powers the train up to Visakhapatnam following which Visakhapatnam based WAM 4 takes over until Chennai Central after which a Royapuram or Erode based WAP 4 which powers the train for the remainder of its journey [7].
Operation
12508 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express runs from Guwahati every Friday reaching Thiruvananthapuram Central on the 3rd day [8].
12507 Thiruvananthapuram Guwahati Express runs from Thiruvananthapuram Central every Tuesday reaching Guwahati on the 4th day.
12516 Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express runs from Guwahati every Wednesday reaching Thiruvananthapuram Central on the 3rd day [9].
12515 Thiruvananthapuram Guwahati Express runs from Thiruvananthapuram Central every Sunday reaching Guwahati on the 4th day.