Ajanta Express

The 17063 / 17064 Ajanta Express is an Express train belonging to the South Central Railway Zone that runs between Kacheguda in Telangana and Manmad in Maharashtra in India.

History
Ajanta Express runs through eastern Maharashtra (Marathwada region) and the north-western region of Telangana. It was known as Kacheguda Express very often by the people travelling on Kacheguda–Nizamabad–Nanded–Parbhani–Aurangabad route on former Hyderabad–Godavari Valley Railways.

The train was introduced on 1 April 1967 as a metre-gauge train between Kacheguda and Manmad via Nizamabad, Nanded, Parbhani and Aurangabad. The train became popular in a short time as Manmad on broad gauge was the point to take broad gauge trains to other destinations.

After the track from Manmad to Parbhani was converted to broad gauge in 1992–95 and the track from Parbhani to Mudkhed and Nizamabad was still not converted, the train was re-routed between Kacheguda and Manmad via Bidar and Parbhani in 1995–1996 because the metre gauge had been converted between Vikarabad and Parbhani by then. In 2007, the train again diverted to its old route which had been converted into broad gauge in 2002–2003.

Ajanta Express (Kacheguda–Manmad) was the fastest metre-gauge train in India with an average speed of 42.5 kph in 1967.

Overview
The train is named after the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad. It runs daily and connects important stations such as Nizamabad, Nanded, Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad and Nagarsol.

The 17063 Manmad–Kacheguda Ajanta Express has an average speed of 48 km/h and covers 624 km in 12 hours 55 minutes. The 17064 Kacheguda–Manmad Ajanta Express has an average speed of 47 km/h and covers 624 km in 13 hours and 25 minutes.

Timings
The train departs from Kacheguda at 6:40 p.m. and arrives at Manmad Junction at 8:05 a.m. the next day. It departs from Manmad Junction at 8:50 p.m. and arrives at Kacheguda at 9:45 a.m. the next day.

Route and halts

 * Manmad Junction
 * Nagarsol
 * Aurangabad
 * Jalna
 * Parbhani Junction
 * Purna Junction
 * Hazur Sahib Nanded
 * Mudkhed Junction
 * Umri
 * Dharmabad
 * Basar
 * Nizamabad Junction
 * Malkajgiri
 * Kacheguda

Classes
The train usually consists of 24 standard ICF coaches:


 * 1 AC first cum II tier
 * 2 AC II tier
 * 5 AC III tiers
 * 12 sleeper classes
 * 2 second sittings
 * 2 SLR

As it is customary with most other train services in India, coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways, depending on demand.

Rake sharing

 * Previously it shared its rake with 12703/12704 Falaknuma Express (1 January 2018 to 14 December 2023).
 * From 20th Dec 2023 The Train started sharing its rake with 12785/12786 Kacheguda–Mysuru Express and the Terminal is shifted back to Kacheguda With Primary Maintenance.

Traction
As the route is fully electrified, it is hauled by a Lallaguda Loco Shed based WAP-7 electric locomotive on its entire journey.