Indian Railways

There are a lot of fascinating things to know about Indian Railways. While most of them will be pretty well-known to you, such as: it’s the world’s ninth largest railway networks with 115,000 km of track, it employs approximately 1.5 million people and counting, etc., few will definitely come to you as an eye-opener. For instance, consider this: the Kashmir to Kanyakumari railway route is not the longest rail route in India.

In case that didn’t come as a life-altering revelation and you already knew about it, I suggest you move on and read something else. However, if you are recovering from the shock that you just felt, read on..

I know that we have been hearing this phrase over and over and whenever we hear it, we picture the map of India where a straight line starts from the far end of the Northern point (Kanyakumari) and travels straight to the top (Kashmir).

The phrase “Kashmir to Kanyakumari” is used metaphorically in various other pretexts, not to mention its recent and most popular use in the song “Kashmir mai, tu Kanyakumari” from the blockbuster Bollywood movie Chennai Express.

Well, firstly let me clarify that it ain’t your fault. Secondly, let’s find out which one is the longest rail route in the Indian Railways and has a direct train for its ever-grateful passengers.

Vivek Express

Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari – 4236 km
Travel Time – 82 hrs 5 mins
Avg. Speed – 51 km/hr
Stops – 56
Frequency – Weekly
Name of the Train – Vivek Express/15906

And, our beloved Kashmir to Kanyakumari rail route comes second in the list. Here are the rest of the details:

Himsagar Express

Kashmir to Kanyakumari – 3714 km
Travel Time – 70 hrs
Avg. Speed – 53 km/hr
Stops – 72
Frequency – Weekly
Name of the Train – Himsagar Express/16318

Simply glad to have these and many other trains that aid us cover far-off distances at really affordable prices. Thank you so much, Indian Railways!