The 12669 / 12670 Ganga Kaveri Express is a bi-weekly

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

train service operated by

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

, connecting

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

Chhapra Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River. Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when th ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. Inaugurated on 16 February 1977 by Kamalpati Tripathi, between

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(now

) and

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, was terminating at

Chennai Beach Station Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Subur ...

, from where MG Ganga Kaveri Express used to run to

Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 40 kilo ...

through the Kaveri river basin. From May 2, 2022, it will run with the new highly refurbished LHB coach.

Etymology

It is named after two Indian Rivers;

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

(which flows in the holy city of

, also

) and

Kaveri river The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

(a River which flows in the Southern states of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

History

The Superfast of train number 139/140 started its service to

from Madras Beach station, from the opposite platform where an '' MG Ganga Kaveri Express'' used to run to

since

Chennai Beach Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Suburb ...

–

Chennai Egmore Chennai Egmore, formerly known as Madras Egmore, also known as Chennai Elumbur (station code: MS), is a railway station in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Situated in the neighborhood of Egmore, it is one of the four intercity railway terminals in t ...

–Rameswaram line was still in metre gauge. Later the Superfast status was erased, made to terminate at Madras Central (now

Chennai Central Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...

instead of

Madras Beach Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Suburb ...

(now

) as an

and connection with Madras–Rameswaram Express removed and name changed from Ganga Kaveri Exp to Madras–Varanasi Express. Thus increased halts at some stations, 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 Challakere Kareem Jaffer Sharief (3 November 1933 – 25 November 2018) was an Indian politician. He was one of the senior most Indian National Congress leaders. He was the Railways Minister of the Government of India from 1991 until 1995. Po ...

introduced the train which is running currently as Ganga Kaveri Express for the benefit of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

n tourists, willing to travel to holy city of

. This train was extended to

in December 2006 despite a stiff opposition from the Local

ns in

, who alleged that quota may be reduced for

bound passengers.
''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'',11 April 2015. Currently, this train is under criticism since the name of the train currently running wasn't suitable (because this train originates in

not in

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

where

is running and in Chennai only

Coovum river The Cooum river, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal. This river is about in length, flowing in the city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly polluted ...

is there and hence reason).Also passengers are requesting to change these old, rusting coaches(this train was running still with old ICF rakes for 40+ years) to new LHB rakes since this train is highly preferred for local tourist organisations and senior citizens following

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

for doing last rites such as Funeral ceremony and ceremonies to the deceased ancestors and also it is the only straight train from Chennai to Varanasi.

Route and halts

The train runs from MGR Chennai Central via

Gudur Gudur is a town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Gudur mandal and Gudur revenue division. Demographics census of India, the town had a population of . The total popula ...

Ongole Ongole is a city in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Prakasam district and also the mandal headquarters of Ongole mandal in Ongole revenue division. Ongole cattle, an indigenous breed of oxen, d ...

, ,

Khammam Khammam formally (Khammam Mettu) is the city in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the headquarters of the Khammam district and Khammam mandal also. It is located about east of ...

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal ser ...

Ramagundam Ramagundam is a city and municipal corporation in Peddapalli district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the most populous city in the district and falls under the Peddapalli revenue division. It is located on the banks of the Godavari R ...

, , ,

Itarsi Itarsi is a city and municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India in Narmadapuram District. Itarsi is a key hub for agricultural goods and is the biggest railway junction in Madhya Pradesh. Rail services from all 4 major metropolitan cities of India ...

, , , , , and to Chhapra.

Traction

It is hauled by a Royapuram Loco Shed-based

WAP-7 The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 Volt, kV Alternating current, AC Electric locomotive, electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 ...

electric locomotive from MGR Chennai Central to Prayagraj Junction. And then handing over to an Kanpur Loco Shed-based

electric locomotive from Prayagraj Junction to Chhapra Junction and vice versa.

Coach composition

The train runs with LHB coach. It has 1 AC First Class, 3 AC Two Tier, 2 AC Three Tier, 11 Sleeper class, 2 General Unreserved, 2 Luggage cum Generator Car and 1 pantry car (a total of 22 coaches). It shares its rake with, 12691/12692 - Chennai Central - Sri Sathya Sai Prashanti Nilayam SSPN Weekly SF Express.

References

External links

Ganga Kaveri Express
at India Rail Info
Ganga Kaveri Express
at India Rail Info {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganga Kaveri Express Transport in Chennai Transport in Chhapra Named passenger trains of India Railway services introduced in 1977 Express trains in India Rail transport in Tamil Nadu Rail transport in Andhra Pradesh Rail transport in Telangana Rail transport in Maharashtra Rail transport in Madhya Pradesh Rail transport in Uttar Pradesh Rail transport in Bihar