The 12853 / 12854 Amarkantak Express is a daily
Superfast Express train which runs between the railway station in
Bhopal
Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...
, the capital city of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
and
Durg
Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg- Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg- Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Rai ...
, a city in
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
state in central India. This train replaced the 8225/8226 Bhopal–Bilaspur
Mahanadi Express along with the 8291/8292 Bhopal–Raipur Express and the 1235/1236
Bhopal–Jabalpur Express.
Background
The name of the train comes from the name of the city
Amarkantak
Amarkantak ( NLK ''Amarakaṇṭaka'') is a pilgrim town and a Nagar Panchayat in Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Amarkantak region is a unique natural heritage area. It is the meeting point of the Vindhya and the Satpura Ranges, with the ...
, which is a pilgrim town in the Anuppur District from the state of Madhya Pradesh. The
Narmada River
The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...
, which is the largest river in Central India originates near the city.
Arrival and departure information
Train no. 12854 departs from Bhopal Junction daily at 4.00 pm, reaching Durg the next day at 08.05 am. Train no. 12853 departs daily from Durg at 6.25 pm reaching Bhopal Junction the next day at 10:30 am. This train takes in all 27 halts before reaching its destination
Route and halts
The important stations along the train route are:
*
*
*
*
Obeidullaganj
*
*
Sohagpur
*
*
*
*
*
*
Katni South
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Coach composition
The train normally consists of 22 LHB coaches:
* 1 AC 1 cum II Tier (HA1)
* 2 AC II Tier (A1 A2)
* 7 AC III Tier (B1-B7)
* 1 AC III Tier economy (M1)
* 6 Sleeper coach (S1-S6)
* 3 General coach
* 1 EOG/Power Car
* 1 Seating cum luggage rake/SLR
As is customary with Indian Railways, coaches are added/removed as per the demand.
Average speed and frequency
This is a daily train service in each direction. The trains operate at an average speed of 54 km/hour.
Loco links
The trains are hauled by the following locomotives;
*
Itarsi-based
WAP-4
The Indian locomotive class WAP-4 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1993 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic (P) l ...
/
WAP-7
The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic ...
locomotive between
Bhopal Junction and
Itarsi Junction.
*
Itarsi-based
WAP-7
The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic ...
locomotive between Itarsi Junction and
Bilaspur Junction.
*
Bhilai
Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city Durg, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-larges ...
-based
WAP-7
The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic ...
locomotive between Bilaspur Junction and .
Direction reversal
The train reverses its direction twice at;
*
* .
Other trains from Bhopal to Bilaspur
* 12441/12442
Bilaspur Rajdhani Express
* 18233/18234
Narmada Express
* 18235/18236 Bhopal–Bilaspur Passenger cum Express
* 18237/18238
Chhattisgarh Express
* 18473/18474 Puri–Jodhpur Express
* 12409/12410
Raigarh–Hazrat Nizamuddin Gondwana Express
*22909/22910
Valsad–Puri Superfast Express
References
Indian Railways
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amarkantak Express
Transport in Durg
Transport in Bhopal
Rail transport in Chhattisgarh
Express trains in India
Named passenger trains of India
Rail transport in Madhya Pradesh