Vivek Express is a chain of express trains on the Indian Railways network. These trains were announced in the Railway Budget of 2011-12 [1] by the then Railway Minister. These trains were started to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, to be held in 2013. One of the Vivek Express trains, the one from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari, is the longest route on the Indian Railways network, in terms of distance and time, and is currently the 28th longest in the world. [2]
As of June 2024, there are 4 pairs of Vivek Express trains.
This Biweekly Superfast train, numbered 15905/15906, is currently the longest train route in the Indian Subcontinent. It joins Dibrugarh in Assam, North-East India to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu which is the southernmost tip of Indian mainland. It covers a total of 4160 km from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari. It takes 79 hours to cover this distance with 57 intermediate stoppages.
This too, is a weekly train, numbered 19567/19568. It connects Okha, Gujarat (which is the westernmost tip of India) to Thoothukudi, the "Pearl City", in Tamil Nadu in South India. This train covers 3043 km in 54:25 hours. It travels through the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
This train is also religiously important, as it joins two places of religious significance, namely Lord Krishna's Dwarka and Rameswaram, which lies close to Thoothukudi.
The train covers important cities en route, namely Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Mumbai Vasai Road, Kalyan, Pune, Gulbarga, Adoni, Bangalore (Krishnarajapuram), Salem, Karur and Madurai. [3]
This train seeks its origin from Bandra Terminus, one of the main stations in Mumbai. This train, 19027/19028, like other Vivek Expresses, is also a weekly train from Bandra Terminus, Mumbai to Jammu Tawi in North India. However, unlike other typical North Indian trains, this train bypasses New Delhi or Delhi NCR. It goes via Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Abu Road, Jodhpur, Degana, Churu, Sadulpur, Hisar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Chakki Bank, thus bypassing Delhi NCR.
The 22851/22852 Vivek Express links Santragachhi, a town in the vicinity of Howrah, Kolkata in West Bengal to Mangalore Central in Karnataka. This is also a weekly train, which comes under the Superfast category of the Indian Railways, unlike other Vivek Expresses. This train passes through the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Important cities en route are Odisha {Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur}, Andhra Pradesh {Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Vijayawada, Nellore, Tirupati}, Tamil Nadu {Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore}, Kerala {Palakkad, Tirur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod}.
Owing to the positive response to Vivek Express trains by the masses, the Railway Ministry was at one point considering starting a new Vivek Express in the North to East Corridor, between Jammu Tawi and North East India. Vivek Express trains currently run from East to South, South to West, West to North and again East to South India respectively. The proposed fifth North to East Vivek Express would have completed the quadrilateral.
The 16317 / 16318 Himsagar Express is a weekly Express train of the Indian Railways running between India's southern most operational railway station of Kanyakumari to India's Northern Most Operational and connected railway station(as of March 2024) of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra in Jammu and Kashmir. It is currently the 35th longest running train service of world and third-longest-running train on the Indian Railways in terms of distance and time, surpassed by the 22503/04 Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express and 12507/08 Aronai Superfast Express. In 73 hours, the train covers a distance of 3790 km at a speed of 52 km/h, and transverses twelve of India's states halting at a total of 73 stations.
New Cooch Behar junction railway station is the main railway station in the district of Cooch Behar.
Thalassery railway station is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Palakkad railway division of Southern Railway zone. It 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.
Kottayam railway station is an NSG–3 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It is located in Kottayam, Kerala state, India. 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
Jammu Tawi is a railway station in the city of Jammu in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kishanganj railway station serves Kishanganj city in Kishanganj district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is one of the important railway station, as it lies on the important railway lines, they are Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line, Katihar–Siliguri line, and Barauni–Guwahati line. The famous Gaisal train disaster occurred at Gaisal railway station near Kishanganj.
MGR Chennai Central – New Jalpaiguri SuperFast Express is a superfast express of Southern Railway connecting Indian cities Chennai the capital of Tamil Nadu and Siliguri the largest metropolis of North Bengal. This is the first direct train service originating from MGR Chennai Central and terminating at New Jalpaiguri (Siliguri). The train connects Eastern and Southern part of India covering the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu. It also passes through Sahibganj district & Pakur district of Jharkhand but does not have any stoppages there.
New Bongaigaon Junction is a railway junction station of Barauni–Guwahati line, and New Bongaigaon–Jogihopa–Kamakhya line of Northeast Frontier Railway. The one and only railway station in India which is located over a river named Tunia. It is the largest railway station with Carriage & Wagon Workshop in Rangiya railway division.
Dibrugarh railway station is a railway junction station on the Lumding–Dibrugarh section. Rated as an A Category railway station in Northeast Frontier Railway. It is located in Dibrugarh the 3rd largest city in the Indian state of Assam. Dibrugarh railway station (DBRG) is the second railway station of the historic city of Dibrugarh after Dibrugarh Town railway station (DBRT). It is the Largest railway station in Northeast India in terms of area covering approx 400 Bighas of Land. Nearest to the India's longest rail-cum-road Bogibeel Bridge which connects Southern Bank to Northern Bank of Assam.
Okha railway station is a railway station in Okha, Gujarat. It belongs to Rajkot Division of Western Railway in India.
The 19027 / 19028 Bandra Terminus - Jammu Tawi Vivek Express is an express train of the Vivek Express series belonging to Indian Railways that runs between Bandra Terminus and Jammu Tawi in India.
Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari Vivek Express is a weekly express train of the Vivek Express series belonging to Indian Railways and operated by Northeast Frontier Railway which runs from Dibrugarh in India's north eastern state Assam to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu the southernmost state of India. In 74 hours 35 minutes the train covers a distance of 4,189 kilometres (2,603 mi) and traverses through eight states in India. This train is currently the longest train route in India by both distance and time, as well as the 28th-longest train service in the world. The train has 57 halts across its route.
New Alipurduar is one of the four railway stations that serve Alipurduar city in Alipurduar district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Its station code is NOQ. The other three adjacent railway stations are Alipurduar Junction, Alipurduar Court and Alipurduar .
The 12552/12551 Kamakhya–SMVT Bengaluru AC Superfast Express is a Superfast Express train operated by Northeast Frontier Railway of Indian Railways which connects Bangalore the capital of Karnataka and Guwahati the capital city of Assam, that runs between Kamakhya Junction and Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal, Bengaluru in India.
Falna railway station is a railway station serving Falna, a town in Pali district, Rajasthan. Its code is FA.
The 19567 / 19568 Okha - Tuticorin Vivek Express is an express train belonging to Indian Railways - Western Zone that runs between Tuticorin and Okha in India.
The 12504/12503 Agartala–SMVT Bengaluru Humsafar Express is the longest-running Humsafar Express and 7th longest train service of Indian Railways, It is a fully air conditioned express train, connecting Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal, Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka and Agartala railway station, Agartala, the capital city of Tripura. It is currently being operated with 12503/12504 train numbers on a weekly basis. The train runs through states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Tripura. On its journey the train also touches some parts of Jharkhand in Pakur district but does not have the stoppage there.
The Guwahati–SMVT Bengaluru Superfast Express is a Superfast express train operated by Northeast Frontier Railway zone that runs between Guwahati the capital city of Assam and Bangalore the capital of Karnataka in India. It is currently being operated with 12509/12510 train numbers on tri-weekly basis.