The 12617 / 12618 Mangala Lakshadweep Superfast Express previously called : Mangala Express , is a Daily Superfast Express train in India that runs between in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

via the

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Konkan Railway line from Roha to Thokur is operated and maintained by Konkan Railway co ...

route. It is operated by Southern Railway with 12617 / 12618 train numbers. In 1973, the earlier version of this train (Jayanti Janata Express (131/32)) was the first direct train to

and

Coastal Karnataka Kanara or Canara, also known as Karāvali, is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern Konkan coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The subregion comprises thr ...

from the national capital. In its renewed form as Mangala Lakshadweep Express, it became the 1st daily train connecting North, Central Kerala and New Delhi after Kerala Express (1977). It is also regarded as the 1st daily direct access train to the national capital for the Malabar (North Kerala) districts, Coastal Karnataka districts and

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...

The train's name and history

The train was started on 26 January 1973 when T. A. Pai was the

Minister of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

. It was started as the first direct train from

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. Till then the people of Kerala and Karnataka relied on Grand Trunk Express that operated between

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

and

for travel to the capital. The train then was composed of only second class as Janata Express trains introduced then envisaged a classless society and upheld principles of socialism. It was called Jayanti Janata Express since 1972–73 was the Silver Jubilee (''Rajatha Jayanthi'') of Indian Independence. The train had two slips one that bifurcated at and travelled to and other to . The Jayanti Janatha Express was discontinued in the 1980s & by the late '80s Mangala Express ran as a slip train, for Kerala Exp which bifurcated/amalgamated at . The train number was 2625A/2626A and was christened Link Mangala Exp (MAQ–PGT–MAQ). Since the Konkan Railway was not yet constructed, the train was earlier running between

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

and

in a roundabout route through , . Later in 1993, the slip service got discontinued & this train was made independent & officially renamed as 2617/18 Mangala Express. Since the train was running till Mangalore, the name Mangala was derived from

Mangaladevi The Mangaladevi Temple is a Hindu temple at Bolar (Location), Bolara in the city of Mangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is situated about three kilometres southwest of the city centre. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Sha ...

, the most important deity of Mangalore city. In 1998–99 when Konkan Railway was opened this train got rerouted to Mangaluru via Konkan. Later,

Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the First Modi ministry, first and Second Modi ministry, second Modi ministries. Pasw ...

extended this train to Ernakulam Junction in Kochi for the purpose of providing rail connection to

passengers who arrive at Kochi via ship. The booking facilities were opened at

Kavaratti Kavaratti (, ) is the capital of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India. Kavaratti is a census town as well as the name of the atoll upon which the town stands. It is well known for its pristine white sand beaches and calm lagoons, which m ...

. Subsequently, the train got renamed as Mangala Lakshadweep Express.

Traction

As the route is completely electrified a Royapuram Loco Shed / Erode Loco Shed-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 ...

electric locomotive hauls the train throughout its entire journey.

Timings

Current timings

This train leaves at 13:30 hrs to reach at 13:30 hrs on the 3rd day. Return this train leaves Hazrat Nizamuddin at 05:40 to reach Ernakulam Junction at 07:10 on the 3rd day. It covers a distance of in about 48 hrs 45 mins at an average of . The monsoon timings of the train are different and takes 2 hrs 15 minutes more to complete the journey.

Timings before Konkan Railway

This train left

at 16:10 hrs to reach at 20:25 hrs on the 3rd day. Return this train left Hazrat Nizamuddin at 08:50 hrs to reach Mangaluru at 13:05 hrs on the 3rd day. It covered a distance of in about 52 hours 15 mins at an average of .

Incidents

*On 22 February 2013, 4 coaches of the 12618 Hazrat Nizamuddin–Ernakulam Mangala Express derailed near Nashik, leaving 20 persons injured. *On 15 November 2013, 10 coaches including all the AC coaches of the 12618 Hazrat Nizamuddin–Ernakulam Mangala Express derailed near Nashik again at 6:40 a.m., leaving 5 persons dead and 50 injured. In both cases, track rupture is suggested as cause of the accident. *On 1 March 2015 3 coaches of 12617 ( S9, S10 & Pantry car) Hazrat Nizamuddin–Ernakulam derailed near Pen, Raigad district with no casualties reported since the train was just outbound on the station and picking up speed.

Route and halts

* *

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

* Agra Cantt. * Gwalior Junction *

Jhansi Junction Jhansi Junction railway station (officially Virangana Lakshmibai Jhansi Railway Station, station code: VGLJ) is a major railway junction in the city of Jhansi in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the busiest and largest railwa ...

* Bina Junction * Bhopal Junction * Itarsi Junction *

Khandwa Junction Khandwa Junction is on the Jabalpur–Bhusaval section of Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line. It lies in Khandwa district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. History The Great Indian Peninsula Railway opened Bhusawal–Khandwa section in 1866. ...

Burhanpur Burhanpur is a historical city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River and northeast of city of Mumbai , southwest of the state's capita ...

* Bhusaval Junction * Manmad Junction * Nasik Road * Kalyan Junction * Panvel Junction * Khed Station * Chiplun Station *

Ratnagiri Ratnagiri (IAST:Ratnāgirī ; �ət̪n̪aːɡiɾiː is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in southwestern Maharashtra, India. The district is part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. The city is known for the Hapus or ...

* Madgaon Junction * Karvar Station * Kumta Station * Bhatkal Station * Kundapura Station * Udupi Station * Mangaluru Junction *

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and the administrative headquarters of the Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kera ...

* Nileshwar Station * Payyanur Station *

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

* Vadakara Station * Koyilandi Station *

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

* Tirur Station * Pattambi Station * Shoranur Junction *

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

Aluva Aluva () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality and a northern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is located about north of the city centre. Aluva is known for the Aluva Sivarathri festival, Sivarathri festival, which is celebra ...

Rake composition

Source: The Train started running with upgraded

LHB coach Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coach is a passenger coach of Indian Railways that is developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany and produced by rail coach manufacturing units at Kapurthala, Chennai and Raebareli. They have been used since 2000 on ...

es starting from 12 December 2021 from Ernakulam and 15 December 2021 from Nizamuddin. * 2 AC II Tier * 4 AC III Tier * 2 AC III Tier Economy * 9 Sleeper coaches * 3 General * 1 Generator van * 1 General coach Divyangjan Friendly * 1 Pantry car *(Coach Position of 12617 ERS NZM Mangala Express ) No rake sharing.

References

External links

*
Konkan Railway

Mangala Express route map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangala Lakshadweep Express Transport in Kochi Transport in Delhi Named passenger trains of India Express trains in India Rail transport in Kerala Rail transport in Uttar Pradesh Rail transport in Madhya Pradesh Rail transport in Karnataka Rail transport in Goa Rail transport in Maharashtra Rail transport in Haryana Rail transport in Delhi Railway services introduced in 1998