The 12703 / 12704 Falaknuma Express is a

Superfast Express Express trains are express rail services of India. Express trains make a small number of stops, unlike ordinary passenger or local trains. Because of their limited stops, these trains are able to obtain the highest speeds of any trains in In ...

train belonging to South Central Railway zone that runs between

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

and

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

, ( Kolkata) in India. It is currently being operated with 12703/12704 train numbers on daily basis.

Overview

The train is named after the world-famous Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad. "Falaknuma" is a Persian word (Persian—فلک ا نمایش), which means "Reflections of Sky/Heaven". It runs daily and connects important stations such as , , Eluru, Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Bhubaneswar and Kharagpur. It is a fast alternative to other trains such as East Coast Express, Guwahati–Secunderabad Express,

Shalimar–Secunderabad AC Superfast Express The ''Secunderabad–Shalimar Express'' is a Superfast AC Express train of the Indian Railways connecting Secunderabad (SC) to Kolkata Shalimar (SHM). It is handled by the South Central Railway zone (SCR). The train was announced in the 2012 ...

and Shalimar–Secunderabad Superfast Express. Compared to the other trains from Secunderabad to Kolkata, it covers lesser distance as it runs via the Nalgonda, Guntur Junction route. It is the fastest Superfast Express between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam other than

Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Duronto Express The Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad ''Duronto Express'' is a superfast AC express train of the Indian Railways, announced in 2011-12 Railway Budget by Mamata Banerjee, the then Minister of Indian Railways, connecting Secunderabad (SC) to Visak ...

& Visakhapatnam–Secunderabad Garib Rath Express. The train runs jampacked throughout the year because people prefer this train as it has lesser halts than other trains on this route. Besides being Superfast, the train is most neat and clean after trains like Shatabdi Express, Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express and other Superfast trains in India. The 12703/Howrah–Secunderabad Falaknuma Express has an average speed of 60 km/h and covers 1544 km in 25h 40m. The 12704/Secunderabad–Howrah Falaknuma Express, with the same average speed, covers the same distance in 25h 50m.

Timings

The train departs from Platform #21 of Howrah Junction at 08:35 IST and arrives in Platform #9 of Secunderabad Junction at 10:10 IST, the next day. From Platform #2 of Secunderabad, the train departs at 15:55 IST and arrives in Platform #20 of Howrah at 17:45 IST, the next day.

Route & Halts

The train runs from Secunderabad via , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , to Howrah.

Classes

The train usually consists of a massive load of 24 standard ICF coach: * 1 AC First Cum Two Tier * 1 AC Two Tier * 5 AC Three Tiers * 13 Sleeper classes * 1 Pantry car * 3 General (unreserved) * 2 Seating (Disabled/Ladies) cum Luggage Rakes As is customary with most other train services in India, coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways, depending on demand.

Coach composition

Gallery

File:Falaknuma - Ajantha Express Name Boards.jpeg, 12703/12704 Falaknuma Express name boards File:Falaknuma - Ajantha Express Nane Plates on SLRD.jpg, 12703/12704 Falaknuma Express name plate on SLRD File:Falaknuma Express.jpg, Falaknuma Express at Nalgonda with Kazipet Junction-based twin WDG-3A loco

Loco link

* A Lallaguda-based WAP-7 electric locomotive pulls it from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam. * The train reverses direction at Vishakhapatnam and gets a or

-based WAP-7 electric locomotive for the rest way up to .

Rake sharing

The 12703/12704 Falaknuma Express previously used to share its rakes with 12733/12734 Narayanadri Express (Secunderabad– Tirupati), but now, it shares its rakes 17063/17064 Ajanta Express (Secunderabad– Manmad).

Accident and incident

1.On October 16, 2013, the link between the train bogies and the engine broke at Mangalagiri in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. 2.on 26th March 2022,3 bogies separated from the train while running. The engine separated from the bogies. 3.on 8 july 2023,While coming to Secunderabad at 10:20 in the morning, a fire broke out in S4 coach. The.

References

External links

Falaknuma train status
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falaknuma Express Rail transport in Howrah Named passenger trains of India Transport in Secunderabad Express trains in India Rail transport in Telangana Rail transport in Andhra Pradesh Rail transport in West Bengal Rail transport in Odisha