Hirakud Express

The 20807 / 20808 Hirakud Superfast Express is a tri-weekly express train which runs between Amritsar and Visakhapatnam. It passes through the cities of Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Jhansi, Bilaspur, Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar and Brahmapur. It was initially introduced between Sambalpur and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station (Delhi) in 1992. Later in 2002 it was extended to Bhubaneswar and thereafter up to Visakhapatnam and Amritsar in the coming years.

Etymology
Hira means diamond and Kud means island in Sambalpuri language spoken in Western Odisha. Sambalpur was famous as an ancient diamond mine and reference about it can be found in the works of Claudius Ptolemy, Edward Gibbon, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. Hirakud Express is named after the famous Hirakud Dam in Sambalpur, Odisha which is one of the longest dams of India.

Coach composition
The coach composition of the 18507/18508 train is:

From Visakhapatnam to Amritsar From Amritsar to Visakhapatnam
 * 1 AC 2 Tier
 * 4 AC 3 Tier
 * 6 Sleeper Class
 * 4 Second Class(Unreserved)
 * 1 Pantry Car
 * 1 EOG
 * 1 SRL

Timetable

 * 20807- Starts from Visakhapatnam every Saturday,Tuesday and Friday reaches Amritsar Junction on 3rd day.
 * 20808- Starts from Amritsar Jn every Wednesday,Saturday and Sunday and reaches Visakhapatnam on 3rd day.

Route & halts

 * Visakhapatnam Junction
 * Vizianagaram Junction
 * Brahmapur
 * Khurda Road Junction
 * Bhubaneswar
 * Talcher
 * Sambalpur Junction
 * Jharsuguda Junction
 * Champa Junction
 * Bilaspur Junction
 * Anuppur Junction
 * Katni Murwara Junction
 * Saugor
 * Jhansi Junction
 * Agra Cantonment
 * New Delhi
 * Ambala Cantonment Junction
 * Ludhiana Junction
 * Jalandhar City Junction
 * Amritsar Junction.

Rake sharing
The train shares its rake with 20811/20812 Visakhapatnam–Hazur Sahib Nanded Superfast Express.

Traction
It is hauled by a Visakhapatnam Loco Shed based WAP-7 electric locomotive on its entire journey.