Dear Indian Railways: Thank you for the fast life, read an advertisement from Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Tiruchi, celebrating the launch of the Tamil Nadu Express on August 7, 1976.
The State-owned power equipment manufacturer welcomed the new superfast express, noting, “After all, it will get BHEL men to their Head Office in New Delhi faster.”
The Tamil Nadu Express, connecting Madras (now Chennai) with the national capital, was one of the three fastest trains in the country at the time, alongside the Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Expresses.
Painted in sleek Red and Yellow, the Tamil Nadu Express covered the 2,188-km in less than 30 hours, with stops only at Vijayawada, Nagpur, Bhopal, and Jhansi. The train addressed a long-standing demand from passengers in Southern India for a faster connection to New Delhi.
The announcement of the Tamil Nadu Express was met with great enthusiasm, with then Railway Minister Kamalapati Tripathi joining the inaugural run, accompanied by Minister of State for Railways Mohammed Shafi Qureshi, Chairman of the Railway Board G.P.A. Warrier, and other top railway officials.
Tri-weekly service initially
Initially launched as a tri-weekly service, the train featured several unique amenities for its time, including a mobile library, water coolers in every coach, a public address system for announcements, channeled music, closed-circuit television sets for entertainment, and a pantry car. A Train Superintendent was also on board to manage passenger amenities and address complaints.
In an article titled ‘A new era dawns’, then General Manager of Southern Railway R.M. Sambamoorthi described the introduction of the Tamil Nadu Express as the start of a new era in rail transportation. The train offered the Delhi-based population of Tamil Nadu and neighboring states the opportunity to reach the national capital in just a night’s journey.
It was another step towards realizing the long-cherished dream of the railways to shorten the distance between Kanniyakumari and Kashmir.
Before the Tamil Nadu Express, the Grand Trunk Express was the first direct connection between Madras and Delhi. Launched on April 1, 1929, it connected Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province (now in Pakistan) to Mangalore, with part of the rake attached to the Mangalore-Madras Mail. Both the TN and GT, as they are popularly known as, superfast expresses remain prestigious trains for the Southern Railway.
Inspired by Bullet Trains
The push for faster trains in India was inspired by Japan’s revolutionary Bullet Trains and other high-speed trains in Europe. In the 1960s, the visionary Chairman of the Railway Board, B.C. Ganguly, aimed to usher Indian Railways into the high-speed era. The Research Development and Standards Organisation (RDSO), the railways’ research arm, was tasked with increasing the speeds of Broad-Gauge express trains from 100 kmph to 160 kmph in increments of 10 kmph over five years, says V. Anand, former General Manager of Southern Railway.
Rajdhani Express
A multidisciplinary team of engineers was formed to develop standards for tracks and rolling stock. These efforts culminated in the introduction of the Rajdhani Express from Howrah to New Delhi in 1969, which operated at a maximum speed of 130 km/h, and the Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani at 120 km/h. The high-speed project achieved an increase of 30 km/h in just three years.
“Had this momentum been maintained, the target of 160 km/h could have been attained by 1971. However, with the ouster of Mr. Ganguly, the high-speed project was abandoned primarily because passenger traffic was considered a losing proposition and the existing design of diesel locomotives did not permit speeds exceeding 120 km/h. The only locomotives capable of higher speeds were the Diesel Electric WDM4 class imported from the USA and the WAM2/WAM3 electric locomotives imported from Japan. Indian Railways lacked the funds to invest in the development of new locomotive designs, passenger coaches, and signaling,” he said.
Recalling his experiences travelling on the Tamil Nadu Express, Mr. Anand noted that the train featured First AC, Two-Tier AC, and Chair Car coaches with a movie projector. To meet growing demand, the train length was increased to 21 coaches and was hauled by twin engines.
“This was done against the advice of RDSO, which predicted that the screw couplings would break. Although the problem was resolved by fitting stronger couplers, additional halts gradually turned the Tamil Nadu Express into just another train—it has since been overshadowed by the Rajdhani Express,” Mr. Anand said.
History of derailments
According to railway data, the Tamil Nadu Express has a history of derailments, mainly attributed to its speed. A derailment at Asifabad Road Station in 1981 resulted in 15 deaths and 39 injuries. In 2012, a fire broke out in one of the Sleeper Class coaches near Nellore, leading to the death of about 32 passengers.
Currently, the Tamil Nadu Express takes 32 hours and 30 minutes to reach Delhi, while the Grand Trunk Express takes 35 hours and 25 minutes. Chennai is now connected to the national capital by at least three trains daily, as well as the bi-weekly Rajdhani and Duronto Express trains, which take 28 hours and 25 minutes, and 28 hours and 5 minutes, respectively, to reach Hazrat Nizamuddin.
The ride quality, safety and comfort in these trains have been enhanced with the advent of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches.
Published - September 10, 2024 11:58 pm IST
