Top 10 Longest train routes in India
Covering over 115,000 kilometres, Indian Railways is one of the largest rail networks in the world. It includes some extraordinarily long routes that span the length and breadth of India. Here is the list of10 longest train journeys in India one can make in a single train.
1. Vivek Express – Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari
Distance covered: 4,233 kilometres.
With a running time of 80 hours and 15 minutes and about 55 scheduled stops, the Vivek Express covers the longest train route in India. It originates in northern Assam and goes all the way to the southern tip of India to Kanyakumari. Named after Swami Vivekananda, this weekly train was introduced on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of the Indian philosopher and seer. It is also the ninth longest train route in the world and passes through eight states of the country.
2. Himsagar Express – Jammu Tawi to Kanyakumari
Distance covered: 3,709 kilometres.
This weekly train, plying between Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra in Jammu & Kashmir, travels across 12 of the 29 states in the country and is scheduled to stop at 67 stations. It has a scheduled running time of about 70 hours and 50 minutes. This train is a favourite among the Indians down south who want to make the pilgrimage to the shrine at Vaishno Devi.
3. Ten Jammu Express – Tirunelveli Jammu
Distance covered: 3,631 kilometres.
The Ten Jammu Express runs between Tirunelveli, deep south in Tamil Nadu, and goes right up to Katra in Jammu & Kashmir covering a distance of some 3,631 kilometers. Of the 523 stations en route, it stops at 62 stations and has a running time of about 71 hours and 20 minutes. The train goes through 11 states and runs once a week.
4. Navyug Express – Mangalore to Jammu
Distance: 3,607 kilometres.
Going from Mangalore Central in Karnataka to Katra in Jammu & Kashmir, the Navyug Express runs for over 68 hours and 10 minutes and stops at 58 scheduled stations en route. Navyug, meaning New Era, was introduced to improve Jammu & Kashmir’s connectivity with the rest of the country. This weekly express passes through 15 states.
5. Guwahati Express – Thiruvananthapuram to Guwahati
Distance covered: 3,553 kilometres.
The Guwahati Express leaves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, and traverses the breadth of the country to reach Guwahati, the capital of Assam in the far east. Running for about 65 hours, the train halts at 48 stations. Like most other long-distance trains this express is also scheduled to run once a week and travels through seven states.
6. Dibrugarh Express – Yeshwantpur (Bengaluru) to Dibrugarh
Distance covered: 3,547 kilometres.
Though this train is named Dibrugarh Express, it starts off at New Tinsukia, about 15 kilometres away from Dibrugarh city in Assam. It has a total running time of 70 hours and 45 minutes. Some of the important cities that this train goes through, include Dimapur, Guwahati, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Bengaluru covering about seven states and 35 halts in all.
7. Raptisagar Express – Eranakulam (Kochi) to Barauni
Distance covered: 3,438 kilometres.
The Raptisagar Express runs between Ernakulam Junction in Kerala to Barauni in Begusarai district of Bihar. The train’s scheduled running time is 60 hours and 35 minutes covering eight states of the country. The train is a weekly express and stops at about 60 stations on its route from the south western corner of the country to its eastern destination.
8. Amritsar Kochuveli Express – Amritsar to Kochuveli (Thiruvananthapuram)
Distance covered: 3,295 kilometres.
Amritsar is one of the main pilgrimage places of the country. The Amritsar Kochuveli Express leaves the north western frontier of the country and traverses seven states to make it to the southern end of the country. With a running time of about 57 hours and 20 minutes and 24 halts in between, this weekly train covers one of the longest routes in the country.
9. Dehradun Kochuveli Superfast Express – Dehradun to Kochuveli (Thiruvananthapuram)
Distance covered: 3,154 kilometres.
Halting at 24 stations and covering nine states, the Dehradun Kochuveli express travels from the capital of Uttarakhand right up to the capital of Kerala in the south. It covers a distance of about 3,154 kilometres with a running time of some 57 hours and 25 minutes.
10. Kerala Sampark Kranti Express – Chandigarh to Kochuveli (Thiruvananthapuram)
Distance covered: 3,090 kilometres.
The last train on our list is the Kerala Sampark Kranti express that runs between Kochuveli Junction in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The train has a scheduled running time of about 53 hours and 50 minutes and halts at 19 stations. This bi-weekly train travels across nine states of the country.
