VIJAYAWADA: The prestigious Pinakini Express of Vijayawada Division, South Central Railway completed 30 years of its service on Friday. Electric Loco Shed, Vijayawada assigned WAP4 Loco, which was painted in vintage WAM-4 livery fashion, to power the train on its birthday run. Train no. 12711/12712 Pinakini Intercity Express, which derived its name from the Penna or Pinakini River flowing through Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, has been in operation since 1992. The daily superfast train connects Vijayawada Junction under South Central Railway Zone to MGR Chennai Central of the Southern Railway Zone.
The train covers 430 kms on each side and has 12 halts in between. Pinakini Express enjoys a good patronage and occupancy rate of over 100% for most parts of the year. Many employees, students, and season ticket holders from Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore districts choose this train as it is considered to be safe and convenient, and also due to its timings and punctuality.
Inter city services are envisioned by Railways with an objective to connect major railway junctions and state capitals. These act as long-distance unreserved suburban trains with sitting accommodation. These are quite fast and maintain a high average speed for short distances along with priority over other trains.
Initially, the train had 18 coaches, but due to heavy demand the number of coaches was increased to 24. Pinakini Express has a single standard ICF rake, and is being primarily maintained at Vijayawada since its inception. It has 3 AC Chair Car Coaches, 9 reserved & unreserved non AC coaches each, pantry car and 2 SLR (Seating-cum-Luggage Rake) coaches. The rake was upgraded with safer CBC ( Central Buffer Coupler) coupling.
Ch. Dinesh Reddy, Sr.DEE, ELS, Uday Bhaskar, Coaching Depot officer, Nusrat M. Mandrupkar, PRO, Vijayawada and PBN Prasad, Station Director Vijayawada flagged of the inter city service from platform no.1 of Vijayawada Railway Station on Friday.