The Rayalaseema Express

One of the most enigmatic trains running on the Indian Railways is the Rayalaseema Express. Train number 7429 travels between Hyderabad and Tirupati and 7430 does the return.

Kazipet's WDM-2 #16501 leads the Rayalaseema past Hi-Tech City in Hyderabad

That does sound simple enough, right? Hang on..

This train runs combined with the 7416 Kolhapur- Tirupati Haripriya Express.

What.. two trains run combined?

Yes, two trains run combined. Actually, its more complicated than that!

There are basically three origins/destinations. Hyderabad (HYB), Tirupati (TPTY) and Kolhapur (KOP.. new code for Kolhapur is CSMT but I'll use the old one).

Every day, three trains start from these stations. Each of these trains is basically in two parts. In the train starting from HYB, one part is destined for TPTY and one for KOP. In the train originating at KOP, one part is destined for HYB and one for TPTY. Similarly, in the train originating from TPTY, one part goes to HYB and one to KOP.

All these three trains arrive at approximately 2AM at Guntakal, where these three trains are divided into the 6 individual segments. The segments bound to HYB from TPTY and KOP are stitched together and sent to HYB. Segments from TPTY and HYB are joined and sent to KOP and segments from KOP and HYB are coupled and sent to TPTY. So, 6 segments again become three trains and head to their respective destinations.

Each of these three trains get a Kazipet WDM-3A loco. The loco which comes from HYB goes to TPTY, the loco that comes from TPTY goes to KOP and the loco that comes from KOP goes to the shed. The loco that brings in the Dadar-Chennai mail to Guntakal gets cut there and goes to HYB.

So, if you are travelling by these trains, NEVER get down at Guntakal. You never know, where you would turn up next morning !!!



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