Gorakhdham Express

The 12555 / 12556 Gorakhdham Express is a daily Superfast class train service of Indian Railways, which runs between the cities of Gorakhpur and Hissar via basti station, state capital of Uttar Pradesh; Lucknow, city of Kanpur and national capital New Delhi.
It is considered as one of the important trains of North Eastern Railway and Indian Railways as well. recently the train is running with the new LHB rake.

Gorakhdham Superfast Express
Overview
Service typeSuperfast
LocaleDelhi, Uttar Pradesh & Haryana
First service12 July 2001 (2001-07-12)
Current operator(s)North Eastern Railways
Route
StartGorakhpur (GKP)
Stops13
EndHisar (HSR)
Distance travelled969 km (602 mi)
Average journey time16 hrs 55 mins
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)12555 / 12556
On-board services
Class(es)AC 1st Class
AC 2 Tier
AC 3 Tier
Sleeper Class
Unreserved
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Auto-rack arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesOn-board Catering
E-Catering
Observation facilitiesLarge windows
Entertainment facilitiesYes
Baggage facilitiesYes
Technical
Rolling stockLHB Coaches
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Broad Gauge
Operating speed64 km/h (40 mph) average with halts

Overview

This train is named after Guru Gorakhnath. Gorakhdham means Place of Guru Gorakhnath.
It is ISO 9001:2015 certified train of Indian Railways.
Cleanliness and safety of passengers is the first motive of this train. This train is claimed to have cleanest and hygienic accommodation and toilets among the trains plying on the same route.
Regular security inspection of train is performed on-board by police personnel. Sniffer dogs inspect the train before the commencement of journey from Gorakhpur Junction.
On-Board Housekeeping service regularly & on-demand cleans the toilets and coaches with feedback authorization from passengers.

Train got LHB Coaches from 14 March 2019.

History

Earlier this train used to run combined with Vaishali Express between Gorakhpur Junction & New Delhi.
Independent operation of this train was demanded and Indian Railways foresaw the possibility of this. North Eastern Railway was assigned with the responsibility of presenting report on the practicality of this train. Project report was presented before the Railway Board and it was allowed.
Hence in the year of 1998, Gorakhdham Express commenced its first independent operation from Gorakhpur Junction to New Delhi as an express train having bi-weekly frequency. Soon after its first journey, this train was extended up to Rohtak Junction, it was declared Superfast and its frequency was made daily service.
Few months later this train was again extended to Bhiwani Junction and this train operated between Gorakhpur Junction & Bhiwani Junction via New Delhi.
Again after few years of service this train was extended till Hisar Junction and from then this train operates between Gorakhpur Junction & Hisar Junction till today.
This is the first Superfast train of Hisar Junction.

Facilities

This train has facility of E-catering [1] for providing food from Domino's Pizza etc. & on-board catering, for providing Snacks, Foods, Tea/Coffee, Beverages.
On-demand housekeeping service is provided, which maintains the cleanness of coaches, as well as of toilets.

Route & Halts

Schedule
Train NumberStation CodeDeparture StationDeparture TimeDeparture DayArrival StationArrival TimeArrival Day
12555GKPGorakhpur4:35 PMDailyHisar10:00 AM(Daily) Next Day
12556HSRHisar4:15 PMDailyGorakhpur9:45 AM(Daily) Next Day

Accommodation

This train consists of 22 coaches - 8 Sleeper Coaches, 5 Air Conditioned Coaches , 2 Chair-Car Coaches & 5 Unreserved Coaches and 2 EOG.
5 Air Conditioned coaches consists of 1 First Class, 1 Second Class & 3 Third Class Coaches.

Management

This train is owned, operated & maintained by Lucknow Division of North Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways.
Being prioritized & important train, North Eastern Railway Headquarters Gorakhpur Junction itself monitors this train for better quality & services.
This train is one of the most important trains of Hissar, as well as of Gorakhpur Junction.

Locomotive

It is hauled by an Ajni / Kalyan based WAP 7 locomotive between Gorakhpur Junction & Hisar Junction and vice versa.

Accidents

In dense fog on 2 January 2010, the Gorakhdham Express and Prayagraj Express collided near the Panki railway station in Kanpur, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) southwest of Lucknow. Ten people died and about 51 were injured.[2]

On 26 May 2014, it rammed into a stationary goods train near Khalilabad station in Sant Kabir Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, on its way to Gorakhpur.[3] More than 40 people were killed and over 150 were injured.

When I was travelling from Fzr to amritsar in 2004, this train number 14621 hit a truck which was standing on tracks. Luckily the truck was driverless

  • HA1 Coach Of Gorakdham Express
  • Sleeper Coach Of The Train
  • AC 3 Tier, B2 Coach Of The Train

References
  1. https://www.ecatering.irctc.co.in/eCatering/
  2. "At least 10 killed in train crashes in northern India". Reuters. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. "Gorakhdham Express derails in Sant Kabir Nagar UP killing at least 6". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  • Indian Railways
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