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The 12961 / 12962 Avantika Express is a Superfast train belonging to Indian Railways that runs between Mumbai Central and Indore Junction in India. It is a daily service. It operates as train number 12961 from Mumbai Central to Indore and as train number 12962 in the reverse direction.

Avantika Express

Overview
Service type	Superfast
Locale	Maharashtra, Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh
First service	1 May 1985; 37 years ago (1985-05-01)
Current operator(s)	Western Railways
Route
Termini	Mumbai Central (MMCT) Indore Junction (INDB)
Stops	18
Distance travelled	830 km (516 mi)
Average journey time	13 hours
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	12961 / 12962
On-board services
Class(es)	AC 1st Class, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper, Unreserved
Seating arrangements	Yes
Sleeping arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	Available but no pantry car
Observation facilities	Rake sharing with 12927/12928 Dadar Western-Kevadia Express
Baggage facilities	Available
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB coaches
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	130 km/h (81 mph) maximum, 64 km/h (40 mph) average including halts
Route map

Gallery

• 
  AC COACHES
• 
  SLEEPER COACHES
• 
  GENERATOR CAR

Background

When this train was introduced back in 1985 it was called as Bombay–Indore Superfast. Later it was renamed as Avantika Superfast Express.

The name Avantika is from 'Avanti', the former name of Ujjain, a historical city located near Indore. This is one of the two Superfast train connections between Indore and Mumbai, the other train is Indore Duronto Express.

In February 2019, it was upgraded to LHB coaches.[1][2][3]

Coaches

Coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways depending on demand. In February 2019, it was upgraded to LHB coaches from ICF coaches.

Loco	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
WAP7	EOG	GS	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7	S8	S9	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	B6	A1	HA1	GS	GS	EOG

*Note – The coach composition shown here is for 12961 (Mumbai to Indore).For 12962 (Indore to Mumbai) the composition will be flipped.

Service

It is a daily train & covers the distance of 829 kilometres in 13 hours mins as 12961 Avantika Express (64 km/hr) & 13 hours 30 mins as 12962 Avantika Express (62 km/hr).

Schedule

Train number	Station code	Departure station	Departure time	Departure day	Arrival station	Arrival time	Arrival day
12961	MMCT	Mumbai Central	20:55 PM	Daily	Indore Junction	09:55 AM	Daily
12962	INDB	Indore Junction	17:00 PM	Daily	Mumbai Central	06:30 AM	Daily

Locomotive link

When Avantika Superfast was first introduced it was hauled by WDM-2 for whole journey.

After some time, WCAM-1 became its regular link from Mumbai Central till Ujjain, After Ujjain WDM-2 hauled it complete its journey to Indore.

When Mumbai's WR was converted into AC current, WAP-4 took incharge of Avantika till Ujjain. After sometime Ujjain–Indore line got electrified and WAP-4 hauled it for whole journey.

After some years, Avantika SuperFast got India's fastest locomotive WAP-5 for its regular link.

When Avantika SuperFast got upgraded into LHB coaches in 2018 February, its regular link also got upgraded into WAP-7 (usually HOG mode).

• All the diesel locomotives were provided by Ratlam Loco Shed (RTM)
• All the DC-traction electric locomotives were provided by Valsad Loco Shed (BL)
• All the AC-traction electric locomotives are provided by Vadodara Loco Shed (BRC)

References

External links

• Avantika Express India Rail Info
• https://expresstrainroute.com/trains/12961-avantika-sf-express

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