#HistoryInnagurated on Feb 16, 1977 by Kamalpati Tripathi between Madras (now Chennai) and Varanasi, was terminating at Chennai Beach station, from where an MG Ganga Kaveri Express used to run to Rameswaram through the Kaveri river basin. Later the superfast status was erased, made to terminate at Madras Central instead of Madras Beach and connection with Madras-Rameswaram Exp removed and name changed from Ganga Kaveri Exp to Madras - Varanasi Express. Thus increased halts at Katni, Pipariya, Betul and Sirpur Kagaz Nagar, converted from one-night to two-nights train, slowed down by more than 3 hours, Green and Yellow colored Rakes withdrawn and AC sleeper service introduced.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 introduced the train which is running currently as Ganga Kaveri Express for the benefit of South Indian tourists, willing to travel to holy city of Varanasi. This train was extended to Chhapra in December 2006.
#Regions:
Bihar - Bhojpuri region
Uttar Pradesh - purvanchal, lower doab
Madhya Pradesh - bagelkhand, Mahakoshal
DECCAN PLATEAU
Maharashtra: Vidarbha
Andhra Pradesh: Telangana, Northern Circars, Velanadu, coastal Andhra (Coromandel Coast)
#Zone #Division: This train belongs to Southern Railway Chennai Division. Enroute it passes through
#SCR: Vijayawada division, Secunderabad division,
#CR: Nagpur division,
#WCR: Bhopal division, Jabalpur division,
#NCR: Jhansi division (no stoppages), Allahabad division,
#NR: Lucknow Charbagh division,
#NER: Varanasi division.
#Base: Basin Bridge (Chennai)
#States: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
#Route:
Chennai - Itarsi: Electrified Double line Broad Gauge
Itarsi - Allahabad: Un-Electrified Double line Broad Gauge
Allahabad - Chhapra: Un-Electrified Single line Broad Gauge
#Loco:
Chennai - Itarsi: WAP4/WAM4
Itarsi - Chhapra: Wdm3A/Wdm3D
#Coach, RSA:
ICF, RSA with 12691/92 Chennai-SSPN Express
#Halts: 22 halts, 319 intermediate Stations
#SpeedAverage Speed: 56 km/hr
Average Moving Speed: 58 km/hr
Highest Average speed: between Nagpur and Pandhurna- 85 km/hr
Lowest Average: Bhadohi and Varanasi- 36 km/hr
#Soil:
bihar: Alluvial soil
Uttar Pradesh: Alluvial soil
Madhya Pradesh: Alluvial Soil, Red and yellow soil
Maharashtra: black-cotton soil
Andhra Pradesh: Red sandy soil (Telangana), Alluvial soil (coastal Andhra )
Tamil Nadu (Chennai): shale soils, sandstone and clay soils
#Mountain ranges:
Vindhya Range
Satpura Range
Eastern Ghats
#Rivers crossing
Suvarnamukhi: Nayudupeta
Pennar: Nellore
Paleru: Singarayakonda
Vijayawada: Krishna
Manair: Bisugirsharif near Karimnagar
Godavari: Mancherial
Penganga: Ballarshah
wardha: Hinganghat, Wardha
Tapti: Multai
Tawa: Bagra Tawa near Itarsi
Narmada: Vikrampur
Satna: Satna
Yamuna : Naini near Allahabad
Ganga: Allahabad
Varuna: Varanasi
Gomti:Rajwari
Ghaghara: Chhapra
#LanguagesIt pases through Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Bhojpuri and Urdu speaking Regions.
#Photo Credits
1. Train Board:
4628092. Chennai Central station
7789393. Ganga-Kaveri Express hauled by ET WDM-3A # 16523R
5323524. Varanasi Cantonment Junction
5314525. Ganga Aarthi (
click here)
6. Gopuram of Kashi Vishwanath Temple (
click here)
7. Kashi Vishwanath (
click here)
8. Dashashwamedh Ghat (
click here )