Service type Inter-city rail Stops 25(↑)26(↓) | Status Operating | |
 | ||
Locale Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat Current operator(s) South Central Railway, Indian Railways Start Rajkot Railway Station, Rajkot | ||
The Rajkot Secunderabad Express (17017/17018) is an express train operated by South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways between Rajkot Railway Station in Rajkot, Gujarat and Secunderabad Railway Station in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Contents
Traction and Rake Sharing
The train uses a twin WDM 3A ALCO Air break diesel locomotive of Kazipet (KZJ) shed that is shared by two other express trains 17001/17002 Sainagar Shirdi Express and 17037/17038 Secunderabad Bikaner Express.
History
The Rajkot Secunderabad Express is a popular train in the South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. It is only one among the three trains connecting Hyderabad with Rajkot in the state of Gujarat, the other two being the Kakinada - Bhavnagar Express and the Rameswaram - Okha Express. Initially the train ran for only once a week. But, due to the increasing rush of passengers the train was made bi-weekly in June 2001 and tri-weekly in April 2003.
Further to this, the train was introduced in the year 1985 arena to run from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad as a weekly super-fast train. The train was later extended to Rajkot and was degraded to Express status as the number of stops were increased.
Route
It passes through the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana. Main towns on the way are Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Solapur, Daund, Pune and Kalyan in Maharashtra and Wadi, Gulbarga in Karnataka. The train operates tri-weekly. It departs from Rajkot Railway Station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 05:00 and arrives at Secunderabad Junction the next day at 10:30 taking 29 and half hours whereas it departs from Secunderabad Railway Station on Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays at 15:00 and arrives at Rajkot Railway Station the next day at 19:00 taking 28 hours for a distance of 1472 km