Kalinga Utkal Express (18477) :Connects Two Pilgrimage Lands of India

Kalinga Utkal Express is an important train that connects two pilgrimage centers of India, Haridwar and Puri. These two are one of the most important pilgrimage sites of Hindus. Haridwar is popular as one of the seven most holy places for Hindus while Puri is well-known for the Rath –Yatra of Lord Jagannath ji. These two pious spiritual land of India calls the pilgrimage across the country.  Keeping this in mind, Indian Railways has started Kalinga Utkal train between these two religious lands of India. The train originates from Puri and reaches to the land of Gods, Haridwar. Passengers traveling in train can order food in train at Kalinga Utkal Express through RailRestro.   

Train Details

• Train Name: Kalinga Utkal Express
• Train number: 18477
• Service type: Express train
• Start: The train starts from Puri at 20:55 pm
• End: The train completes its journey at Haridwar on the third day at 21:00 pm
• Distance and time: This train travelled the distance of 2,364 km in 48 hours to reach the destination.
• Coaches:  The train has 24 coaches comprising one AC 2 Tier,  Five coaches of Ac 3 Tier (BE 1 Running as an Extra coach), Twelve Sleeper Class, three unreserved general class, two luggage vans (SLR)
• Catering Facility: Train has one compartment of pantry car to serve food to the passengers during journey. However, passengers can book food online in train via e-catering services.

Ticket Prices:
Ticket fares for adult travellers are

• Second AC approximately INR 3,055
• Price of ticket for 3rd AC  is around INR 2,060
• Sleeper class approximately INR 775

Travellers can also book the ticket in Tatkal Quota. Fares for tatkal quota are:

• Second AC approximately  INR 3,575
• Third AC is around INR 2,480
• Sleeper class approximately INR 975

Major Routes of the Train
Train passes through 75 stations to reach the destination. During the journey train crosses some major and important railway stations of India. These are Bhubaneswar, Tatanagar junction, Balasore, Rourkela, Raighar, Bilaspur junction, Agra cant, Mathura Junction, Hazrat Nizzamuddin, Meerut city and Roorkie.

Bhubaneswar Junction
Train reaches Bhubneshawar; the capital city of Orissa at 22:15 pm. Bhubaneswar is the center of economic, educational and cultural importance of east India. The city is a major hub of education and tourism. It attracts the students throughout the country for study. Tourism is its major industry from economic perspective, attracts millions of tourists in a year. It is the best spot for doing business and trade. When the train arrives at Bhubaneswar, it stops there for 5 minutes and after 5 minutes of halting train departed at 22:20.

Balasore
Balasore railway station is situated in the Balasore district of Orissa, the other major railway route of Utkal Express. Train reaches to this station at 1:50 pm during midnight of the journey and halted for five minutes. Train departed from the station at 1:55 pm for the next destination. This station serves around130, 000 passengers every day, the major station in the state of Orissa.

Tatanagar Junction
Tatanagar Junction is one of the major halting stations, located in the state of Jharkhand and falls under South Eastern Railway zone. More than 100 trains ply from this route, one of the busiest trunk route sections of eastern India. The train arrives to this station at 6:00 am in the morning on the second day of journey. The train halted for 10 minutes where people can order food online at Tatanagar junction from Railrestro e- catering services. The train leaves the station at 6:10 am to continue the journey.

Rorkela Junction
This railway station came up with the opening of the Nagpur-Asansol main line of Bengal Nagpur Railway. It is amongst the top hundred booking railway stations of Indian Railway. Raurkela city is also famous as Ispat Nagar and also as the steel of Orissa. The city is also tagged as “smart city”. The train arrives to this station at 9:15 and departed at 9:30. The train stops here for 15 minutes at the time of breakfast. People can get their food online at Rourkela railway station. But, to get the delivery right to their seat, they have to order 1 hour before reaching the station. Railrestro offers the travellers hot and fresh breakfast to start the day. Passengers can also order breakfast in train at Rourkela Junction.

Bilaspur Junction
After covering the distance of 985 km, train reaches Bilaspur Junction at 15:30 on the second day of the journey. Since the train has 15 minutes stoppage on this station, passengers can get down of the train to get fresh and up. They can also explore the station area and can use its amenities. After this mood refreshing halting, train departed from the station at 15:45 and move towards its next stoppage.

Mathura Junction
Mathura junction, one of the important railway route of this train because Mathura is the birth place of Lord Krishna. The city is also famous for its Peda known as “Mathura ka Peda”. Train reaches to this religious spot at 11:52 pm and leaves the station at 11:57 pm. Since the train arrives to the station at night, it is hardly possible to enjoy the sweets of Mathura. The place itself has a charm among the devotees. The train runs on daily basis by crossing all these major stations and reaches to the destination on the third day of journey at 20:55 am. The train has all required facility to comfort the passengers.

Information for passengers
Haridwar is one of the most crowded pilgrimage spot and the tickets for trains are generally booked. It is quite difficult to procure the ticket, especially during summer and festive seasons. It is advisable to book the ticket in advance. Once you book the ticket and it shows that your ticket is in waiting list, you can also check your confirmation status via different railway apps by entering your PNR number. Railrestro gives the fastest service to check the PNR Status of the train. You can get all the information regarding your train like ticket confirmation, berth allotment, schedule, timing train running status.