Island Express (train)

Last updated

Kanyakumari Bengaluru Express
16525 Kannyakumari-KSR Bengaluru Express.jpg
Island Express
Overview
Service type Express
Locale Karnataka, Kerala & Tamil Nadu
First service1 August 1864;159 years ago (1 August 1864) (Initial run from Bangalore to Coimbatore together with Bangalore Mail till Jolarpet & Nilgiri till Coimbatore [1]
1 July 1940;83 years ago (1 July 1940) (Extended to Cochin Harbour Terminus as Separate train in Bangalore to Coimbatore & slip coach afterwards)
1960s (as separate train till Cochin Harbour Terminus)
1976;47 years ago (1976) (extended to Thiruvananthapuram Central)
1988;35 years ago (1988) (extended to Nagercoil Junction)
1992;31 years ago (1992) (extended to Kanniyakumari) [2]
Current operator(s) South Western Railways
Route
Termini Bangalore City (SBC)
Kanyakumari (CAPE)
Stops44
Distance travelled944 km (587 mi)
Average journey time19 hours 15 minutes
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)16525 / 16526
On-board services
Class(es) First AC, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper class, General Unreserved
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesE-catering
Observation facilitiesLarge windows
Technical
Rolling stock LHB coach
Track gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed49.04 km/h (30.47 mph) average including halts

The 16525 /16526 IslandExpress is an Indian Railways train running between Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bangalore City railway station, Bangalore and Kanyakumari railway station, Kanyakumari. Train no. 16526 runs from Bengaluru to Kanyakumari, and Train No. 16525 runs in the reverse direction. The train runs daily through the state of Kerala (via Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kottayam and Palakkad Junction) and covers the 944 km journey in about 19 hours 15 minutes.

Contents

About the name of the train

No part of the train's route is on an island; the name was given because the predecessor of this train used to end its journey at the Cochin Harbour Terminus station in Willingdon Island, Cochin, until the mid-1970s. At that time, it was the only train that connected Bengaluru (Karnataka state) to Kerala. This train is hauled by the WAP-7, a 6,350 HP AC Passenger Locomotive.

Significance

Train number 16526 covers the 944 km journey in 19 hours while train 16525 takes close to 21 hours for the return journey. Due to the extremely slow speed of the train and the large number of stops in Kerala, this train has earned the moniker of being known as the "Supercrawler Express of Kerala", Despite this, the Island Express is still one of the most preferred trains by Keralites residing in Bengaluru for traveling to Kerala. This was the only daily train between Bengaluru and Trivandrum until early 2006.

Coach composition

Island Express has 22 coaches which includes 7 sleeper class coaches (S1–S7), six A/C 3 tier coaches (B1, B2, B3,B4,B5,B6), two A/C 2 tier coaches (A1, A2), one first A/C cum A/C two tier(HA1) and the rest been unreserved coaches . Season ticket holders can travel in selected sleeper class coaches for a specified duration. [3]

Coach position

Coach position for 16525 Kanyakumari-KSR Bengaluru Express

Loco123456789101112131415161719202122
BSicon LDER.svg EOGURURHA1A2A1B6B5B4B3B2B1S7S6S5S4S3S2S1UREOG

Coach position for 16526 KSR Bengaluru-Kanyakumari Express

Loco123456789101112131415161719202122
BSicon LDER.svg EOGURS1S2S3S4S5S6S7B1B2B3B4B5B6A1A2HA1URUREOG

Routes and halts

History

The exact history of the Island Express is somewhat hazy as surprisingly there are no accurate reports available about the early origins of the train. Legend passed down word of mouth has it that the train that is called the Island Express [2] today started its run in the 1940s as some 3 or 4 slip coaches attached to an ancient 562/561 Cochin–Madras Express which ran out of Cochin Harbor Terminus (CHTS). The slip coaches attached to this would then be detached at Jolarpettai and attached to another train (Bangalore Mail) which would take them to Bangalore. Years passed by and sometime in the 1960s, these slip coaches grew into a separate train which was christened the 25/26 Cochin–Bangalore–Cochin Island Express. It continued to run between Cochin Harbor and Bangalore until 1976 when the Ernakulam–Kottayam–Thiruvananthapuram route was converted to broad gauge. The Island then had to say goodbye to its island as it was extended to Trivandrum. As new lines were commissioned it was extended to Nagercoil in 1988 and subsequently to Kanyakumari in 1992.

The Island Express briefly had through coaches to Mangalore Cntrl where It used to be attached/detached to the Link Mangala Exp (2625A/26A) at Palakkad Jn. This continued until 1993 when Mangala Exp was made an Independent Train. From 1993 onwards until 2000, The coaches were linked to the newly started 387/388 Coimbatore Mangalore Coimbatore Fast Passengers at Palakkad Jn.

The erstwhile 19/20 Cochin–Madras Express is today's illustrious 12624/12623 Chennai–Trivandrum Mail (Madras Mail) and the 25/26 Island Express is today officially, the 16525/16526 Kanyakumari–Bangalore "Island" Express.

The Island Express derives its name from the Willingdon Island, on which the CHTS station is situated and from where the train started its journey. The Express that goes to an Island, so very obviously brilliant. The name got so entrenched with the public, that even though it is no longer the official name of the train, it is still called so. The train lost Island as its official railways-recognized name once its destination was moved from Willington Island to TVC, NCJ and CAPE. Its official name today is Kanyakumari Express and Bangalore Express for the respective destinations. But the traveling public still calls the train The Island Express, reminiscent of its old name almost two generations ago, popularly and lovingly. Maybe no one uses the official names as there are other Bangalore and Kanyakumari Expresses and destination place names are not popular as train names anyway.

Accidents

Island Express was involved in an accident in July 1988 while crossing the Perumon railway bridge near Perinadu, Kollam, Kerala. 10 coaches of the train fell over Ashtamudi Lake, 105 people lost their lives and 200 people were injured.

It also met with another accident at Kuppam on 21 May 1967. The train, which left Bangalore at 6 pm, did not stop at the railway station and went on to hit the buffers at the end of the loop line around 9 pm. Several lives were lost.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernakulam Junction railway station</span> A1 classified railway station in Kerala, India

Ernakulam Junction railway station is the biggest railway station in the city of Kochi in Kerala, India. The station is renamed to Rajarshi Rama Varma Kochi Station after Rajarshi Rama Varma, the king of erstwhile kingdom of Cochin. Controlling 376 train routes at a time, it is the busiest railway junction station in South India. At 158 crore in financial year 2018–19, it is the second largest in terms of passenger revenues in Kerala and the fifth largest in Southern Railway. It is an A1 classified station operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and comes under the Thiruvananthapuram railway division. Ernakulam Junction is also the first fully disabled-friendly railway station in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala Express</span> Indian Railways train

The 12625 / 12626 Kerala Superfast Express is a daily superfast express train of the Indian Railways that runs between New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala state. It is currently the longest-running daily Superfast train of Indian Railways (3027 km) and second-longest daily train in country after Avadh Assam Express. It is the second direct train to Kerala (1977) from the national capital Delhi after Jayanti Janata Express (1973) and first direct train connecting the state capital and Southern Kerala with New Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thalassery railway station</span> Railway station in Kerala, India

Thalassery railway station(Code:TLY) is a railway station serving the City of Thalassery in Kerala. It lies in the Shoranur–Mangalore section of the Southern Railways. It is the third largest station in Kerala in terms of number of passengers under Palakkad division. The station has two platforms and three tracks. Though no trains originate from this station, trains halting at the station connect the city to prominent cities in India such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Coimbatore, Quilon, New Delhi, Mangalore, Pune, Jaipur, Jammu Tawi, Okha and so forth.

Tirunelveli City being the district headquarters of Tirunelveli District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has a very extensive transport network. Tirunelveli district is a vital tourist destination with lot of religious places, monuments and hill stations. Tirunelveli is also a major junction for transportation around Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari Districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochin Harbour Terminus</span> Railway station in Kochi, Kerala

Cochin Harbour Terminus (CHTS) is one of the railway stations in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is located on the Willingdon Island. During the peak time of the station, 17 trains operated from here to different parts of the country and served as the principal station providing rail connectivity to the southern segment of the Port of Kochi located on the Willingdon Island. The station, which has not been in use after the commissioning of Vallarpadam container terminus is now locked and all the train service to the station from Ernakulam Junction were completely stopped in 2013. Since then, only occasional tourist trains carrying passengers will arrive at the station – notably the Golden Chariot in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kochuveli railway station</span> Railway station in Kerala, India

Trivandrum Kochuveli railway station, formerly known as Thiruvananthapuram North railway station is a satellite passenger railway terminus of Thiruvananthapuram. It is being developed to ease congestion at Thiruvananthapuram Central. The

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kannur railway station</span> Railway station in Kerala, India

Kannur Railway Station, also formerly known as Cannanore, is the largest railway station serving the City of Kannur in Kerala. It lies in the Shoranur–Mangalore section of the Southern Railways of the Indian Railways. It is the largest railway station in terms of area and number of tracks in North Malabar region. At 62 crore in financial year 2018–19, it is the fifth largest in terms of passenger revenues in Kerala, and second largest under Palakkad division. Almost all major trains connecting the other parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and North India halt here. Kannur and Kannur South are two different stations which serve Kannur city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiruvananthapuram railway division</span> Railway division of India

Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division (TVC) or Trivandrum Railway Division(TVC) is one of the six administrative divisions of the Southern Railway, Indian Railways. It has its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala, India. Thiruvananthapuram Division was formed on 2 October 1979 which serves the eight districts of southern part of the Kerala, Kanniyakumari district and some parts of Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu. With 104 stations in its territorial jurisdiction, it is the fourth largest out of six divisions in Southern Railway. It is the southernmost railway division of India and manages 625 km of route track and 108 railway stations in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The major stations of the division are Thiruvananthapuram Central, Ernakulam Junction, Kollam Junction, Thrissur, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Chengannur, Kayamkulam, Aluva, Nagercoil Junction, Kanniyakumari, Alappuzha, Changanasseri, Tiruvalla, Kochuveli, Varkala,Mavelikara,Karunagappally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiruvananthapuram–Chennai Mail</span> Train in India

Chennai Central–Thiruvananthapuram Central Mail is a daily Superfast Express mail train running between Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai Central under Southern Railway zone that connects the Capital city of Tamilnadu with the Capital City of Kerala. It is one of the prestigious train of the Indian Railways. This train runs via Kottayam. This train connects Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram along with six big cities in South India – Salem, Erode, Coimbatore, Thrissur, Kochi and Kollam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tea Garden Express</span>

Tea Garden Express is a overnight regional rail connecting Karaikal in Union Territory of Puducherry with Ernakulam in Kerala via Thanjavur Junction, Tiruchirappalli Junction,Karur Junction, Coimbatore Junction, Palakkad Junction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angamaly railway station</span> Railway station in Kerala, India

Angamaly for Kalady is a railway station Located at Angamaly in Ernakulam district of Kerala state in India operated by Southern Railway Network. It lies in the Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section of Trivandrum division. Angamaly is the halting point for 46 trains including Express and all Passenger trains passing through this station. The railway station is located about 26 km from Ernakulam Town and 10 km from Aluva stations. It Is the nearest railway station of Cochin International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kottayam railway station</span> Railway station in Kerala, India

Kottayam railway station is located in Kottayam, Kerala state, India. Kottayam railway station is managed by Southern Railway. Kottayam lies on the busy rail route between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. It is an NSG 3 category station. The station is served by several long-distance trains connecting most major cities in the country on a daily basis like New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Bhopal, Pune and Mangalore. Trains connecting extreme ends of india also passes through the station like Jammu tawi, Dibrugarh etc. It is one of the busiest station in Thiruvananthapuram central - Ernakulam route due to ease in accessibility of Sabarimala temple. Kottayam railway station is the halt station for passengers to Sabarimala temple, Vagamon, Kumarakom, Illickal kallu - high range, St. Alphonsa's tomb, Pala and so on. Station currently has 2 by-passing platforms -, and 3 terminal platforms. All platforms are able to accommodate locomotives with 24 coaches. Station is currently under construction of 1A Platform along with a new entrance. By completing double line from Chingavanam to Ettumanoor, southern railway has achieved its complete stretch of double rail line from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kanyakumari–Mumbai CSMT Express</span> Express service between Kanyakumari and Pune

The Kanyakumari-Pune or Jayanti Janata Express is an Express train belonging to Indian Railways that used to run between Kanyakumari and Pune Junction, Pune in India. It was the first and oldest train service from Mumbai to South India. Initially the service was from Victoria terminus Bombay to Cochin Harbour Terminus, later it was extended to Trivandrum,Then to Nagercoil then to Kanyakumari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kollam Junction railway station</span> Railway station in Kerala, India

Kollam Junction railway station is a junction station situated in the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. It is the second largest railway station in Kerala in terms of area and largest in terms of number of tracks and one of the oldest railway stations in the state. It is also the second busiest railway station in Kerala in terms of trains handled per day. World's third longest railway platform is situated at Kollam railway station.

Punalur railway station is the second-largest Railway Station In Kollam District located at Nedumkayam, Punalur on the Kollam–Sengottai branch line. It is the Gateway of Sabarimala. For Sabarimala devotees from Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Telangana and Karnataka, SCT–PUU is the easy way. The temples related to Sabarimala like Achankovil, Aryankavu, and Kulathuppuzha are Located near Punalur. The Kollam–Shencottah railway line is the first railway line in erstwhile Travancore state and is more than a century old. The Kollam–Sengottai section is part of the Kollam–Chennai metre-gauge rail route commissioned by the British during 1904. The line which was metre gauge has been completely converted into broad gauge and train services started.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mavelikara railway station</span> Mavelikara railway station

Mavelikara railway station is a railway station (NSG 5 Category) in Alappuzha district, Kerala and falls under the Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway zone, Indian Railways. The station is served by several long-distance trains connecting most major cities in the country like Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Madurai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Madgaon, Nagpur, Nagercoil, Pune, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai and New Delhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Kannur district</span>

Kannur has a good road network connecting to Bangalore, Mangalore, Kodagu and Cochin. The railway station is also well connected to all parts of India. There is new International airport from Kannur opened on 9 December 2018, other nearest airports are at Calicut and Mangalore. Thalassery, Payyanur, Taliparamba and Iritty are the other transport hubs.

The Mysore–Kochuveli Express is an Express train belonging to Southern Railway zone that runs between Mysore Junction and Kochuveli of Thiruvananthapuram the capital of Kerala in India. It is currently being operated with 16315/16316 train numbers on a daily basis. The train was extended from Bangalore City to Mysore Junction w.e.f. from 29 September 2019. This train was introduced as a result of many protests by Kerala passengers for a second train between TRIVANDRUM and BANGALORE.This train is the successor of TRIVANDRUM CENTRAL BANGALORE WEEKLY EXPRESS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiruvananthapuram Central–Mangalore Central Express</span>

The Trivandrum Central–Mangaluru Central Express is an Express train belonging to Southern Railway zone that runs between Thiruvananthapuram Central and Mangaluru Central in India. It is currently being operated with 16347/16348 train numbers on a daily basis. It first began operations as Ernakulam/CHTS Kannur express and then was extended to Trivandrum on the Southside and ran as Trivandrum Kannur Express,This train was then again extended to Mangaluru Central to provide connectivity to the people of Kasaragod with the state capital.In the Southern Railway Timetable Conference 2020,It has been decided to extend this train to Nagercoil as People of Nagercoil,Kanyakumari want an Overnight train to Mangaluru and north Kerala.

References

  1. "4987589-15: Pic 3: Bypore Mail: 1863-64 Through as G - Railway Enquiry".
  2. 1 2 "The Legend of the Island Express". 24 coaches. 16 September 2013.
  3. "Directive on rail travel using season tickets". The Hindu. 23 February 2012.