Neelachal Express

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Neelachal Express
Overview
Service typeExpress
LocaleOdisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar Uttar Pradesh & Delhi
First service31 March 1980; 44 years ago (1980-03-31) (initial service between Puri and New Delhi)[1]
Current operator(s)East Coast Railways
Route
TerminiPuri (PURI)
Anand Vihar Terminal (ANVT)
Stops37
Distance travelled1,914 km (1,189 mi)
Average journey time34h 50m
Service frequencyTri-weekly
Train number(s)12875 / 12876
On-board services
Class(es)AC First Class, AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesAvailable
Observation facilitiesRake sharing with 12815/12816 Nandan Kanan Express
Technical
Rolling stockLHB coach
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge
Operating speed55 km/h (34 mph) average including halts
Route map

The 12875 / 12876 Neelachal Express is a tri-weekly train which runs between Puri in Odisha and Anand Vihar Terminal railway station. It is one of the oldest trains that connect Puri to Anand Vihar Terminal. The main towns along the route are Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore, Hijili, Tatanagar, Bokaro Steel City, Muri, Gomoh, Gaya, Mughalsarai, Varanasi, Bhadohi, Rae Bareli, Lucknow, Unnao and Kanpur. It operates three times per week and covers a distance of 1,912 kilometres (1,188 mi) from Puri to Anand Vihar Terminal. Neelachal Express consists of 1 AC First Class coach, 2 Second AC coach, 6 Third AC coaches, 7 Sleeper Class coaches, 2 General (Un-Reserved) coaches, 1 Pantry Car, 1 Divyangjan Coach and 1 EOG.[2]

Coach composition[edit]

The 12875/ 12876 Puri–Anand Vihar Terminal Neelachal Express presently has 1 AC First Class, 2 AC 2 tier, 6 AC 3 tier, 7 Sleeper Class, 2 Second Class seating, 1 Divyangjan Coach and 1 EOG coach. Also, it does have a pantry car.

As with most train services in India, coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways depending on demand.

Service[edit]

12875 Puri–Anand Vihar Terminal Neelachal Express covers the distance of 1914 kilometers in 24 hours 50 mins (57.20 km/h) and in 24 hours 25 mins as 12876 Anand Vihar Terminal–Puri Neelachal Express (59.48 km/h).

It takes around 34 hours and 50 minutes to cover 1,914 kilometres (1,189 mi) at an average speed of 54 kilometres per hour (34 mph) with 39 halts.

Neelachal Express was moved from New Delhi to Anand Vihar Terminal in May 2018.[3]

Timetable[edit]

From Puri to Anand Vihar Terminal - 12875. The train starts from Puri every Sunday, Tuesday & Friday.[4]

Station code Station name Arrival Departure
PURI Puri Terminus -- 11:00
KUR Khurda Road Jn 11:45 11:50
BBS Bhubaneswar 12:15 12:20
CTC Cuttack 12:50 12:55
JJKR Jajpur Keonjhar Road 13:44 13:46
BHC Bhadrak 14:43 14:45
SORO Soro 15:06 15:08
BLS Balasore 15:32 15:37
JER Jaleswar 16:14 16:16
HIJ Hijili Jn 17:10 17:20
GTS Ghatsila 18:34 18:36
TATA Tatanagar 19:22 19:30
MURI Muri Jn 22:00 22:02
BKSC Bokaro Steel City 23:10 23:20
CRP Chandrapura 23:55 23:57
GMO NSC Bose Gomoh Jn 00:20 00:25
PNME Parasnath 00:37 00:39
KQR Koderma 01:24 01:27
GAYA Gaya Jn 03:03 03:08
RFJ RafiGanj 03:32 03:34
AUBR Anugraha Narayan Road 03:55 03:57
DOS Dehri On Sone 04:12 04:14
SSM Sasaram 04:28 04:30
BBU Bhabua Road 04:58 05:00
DDU Pt DD Upadhyaya Jn 06:05 06:15
KEI Kashi 07:01 07:03
BSB Varanasi Jn 07:20 07:30
BOY Bhadohi 08:08 08:10
PBH Pratapgarh Jn 09:46 09:51
AME Amethi 10:26 10:28
GNG GauriGanj 10:40 10:42
RBL Rae Bareli Jn 11:23 11:28
LKO Lucknow Charbagh 13:25 13:35
ON Unnao Jn 14:43 14:45
CNB Kanpur Central 15:15 15:20
ETW Etawah 16:48 16:50
FZD Firozabad 17:35 17:37
HRS Hathras Jn 18:43 18:45
ALJN Aligarh Jn 19:08 19:10
GZB Ghaziabad 20:38 20:40
ANVT Anand Vihar Terminal 21:15 --

From Anand Vihar Terminal to Puri – 12876. The train starts from Anand Vihar Terminal every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday.[5]

Station code Station name Arrival Departure
ANVT Anand Vihar Terminal -- 07:30
ALJN Aligarh Jn 09:05 09:07
HRS Hathras Jn 09:27 09:29
FZD Firozabad 10:40 10:42
ETW Etawah 11:34 11:36
CNB Kanpur Central 13:20 13:30
ON Unnao Jn 13:57 13:59
LKO Lucknow Charbagh 15:00 15:10
RBL Rae Bareli Jn 16:25 16:30
GNG GauriGanj 17:06 17:08
AME Amethi 17:21 17:23
PBH Pratapgarh Jn 18:15 18:20
BOY Bhadohi 20:11 20:13
BSB Varanasi Jn 21:40 21:50
KEI Kashi 22:03 22:05
DDU Pt DD Upadhyaya Jn 22:40 22:50
BBU Bhabua Road 23:26 23:28
SSM Sasaram Jn 00:01 00:02
DOS Dehri On Sone 00:16 00:18
AUBR Anugraha Narayan Road 00:32 00:34
RFJ RafiGanj 00:54 00:56
GAYA Gaya Jn 01:50 01:55
KQR Koderma 03:05 03:07
PNME Parasnath 04:04 04:06
GMO NSC Bose Gomoh Jn 04:25 04:30
CRP Chandrapura 04:58 05:00
BKSC Bokaro Steel City 05:45 05:50
MURI Muri Jn 06:53 06:55
TATA Tatanagar Jn 08:57 09:07
GTS Ghatsila 09:48 09:50
HIJ Hijili Jn 11:25 11:35
JER Jaleswar 12:26 12:28
BLS Balasore 13:05 13:15
SORO Soro 13:40 13:42
BHC Bhadrak 14:23 14:25
JJKR Jajpur Keonjhar Road 14:56 14:58
CTC Cuttack Jn 15:55 16:00
BBS Bhubaneswar 16:35 16:40
KUR Khurda Road Jn 17:05 17:10
PURI Puri Terminus 18:15 --

Background[edit]

This train is given name on The abode of Hindu deity Jagannath at Puri is known as the Nilachal or Niladri, [Nila (Blue) + Achal (Mountain)] meaning, The Blue Mountain. The Nilachal is a place of high religious significance in Hinduism and is one of the four Char Dhams. Religious teachers like Shri Ramanuja Acharya, Swami Vishnuswami visited Nilachal in the twelfth century and established a mathas. Shri Nimbarka Acharya also visited Puri, as also Guru Nanak Dev and many other Acharyas. Shri Chaitanya spent 18 years at Nilachal dhama.

Coach composition[edit]

The train has Mordern LHB rakes with a maximum speed of 130 km/h.

  • 1 AC First Class
  • 2 AC II Tier
  • 6 AC III Tier
  • 1 Pantry Car
  • 7 Sleeper Coaches
  • 2 General
  • 1 Divyanjan cum Guard Coach
  • 1 EOG
Loco 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
SLRD GEN H1 B1 B2 B3 B4 A1 A2 B5 B6 PC S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 GEN EOG

Route and halts[edit]

The train runs from Puri via Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore, Hijli, Tatanagar, Bokaro Steel City, Gomoh, Gaya Junction, Mughalsarai Junction, Varanasi, Pratapgarh Junction, Rae Bareli Junction, Lucknow Charbagh, Unnao Junction, Kanpur Central, Hathras Junction, Aligarh Junction to Anand Vihar Terminal.

As the route is fully electrified, Ghaziabad-based WAP-7 locomotive powers the train from Puri to Anand Vihar Terminal.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Railway Budget speech 1980-81 (Final)" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Government of India, Ministry of Railways. 16 June 1980.
  2. ^ "Neelanchal SF Express/12875 SuperFast Puri/PURI to New Delhi/NDLS - India Rail Info - A Busy Junction for Travellers & Rail Enthusiasts". India Rail Info. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Change In Terminal Station For Neelachal & Nandankanan Express". Odisha Bytes. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  4. ^ SHARMA, GOVIND. "12875/Neelachal Express (PT) - Puri to Anand Vihar Terminal ECoR/East Coast Zone - Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  5. ^ Swain, Shashank Shekhar. "12876/Neelachal Express - Anand Vihar Terminal to Puri ECoR/East Coast Zone - Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com. Retrieved 16 October 2022.

External links[edit]