Rameswaram–Bhubaneswar Express

The 18495 / 96 Rameswaram–Bhubaneswar Expressis an Express train belonging to Indian Railways – East Coast Railway zone that runs between Rameswaram and Bhubaneswar in India.

It operates as train number 18495 from Rameswaram to Bhubaneswar and as train number 18496 in the reverse direction serving the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & Odisha.

Coaches
The 18495 / 96 Rameswaram–Bhubaneswar Express has one AC 2 tier, Four AC 3 tier, 11 Sleeper Class, 4 General Unreserved & 2 EOG Coaches. It carries a pantry car.

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

Service
The 18495 Rameswaram–Bhubaneswar Express covers the distance of 1896 km in 35 hours 00 mins (55 km/h) and in 35 hours 40 mins as 18496 Bhubaneswar–Rameswaram Express (54 km/h).

As the average speed of the train is lower than 55 km/h, as per Indian Railways rules, its fare includes a Express surcharge.

Routeing
The 18495 / 96 Rameswaram–Bhubaneswar Express runs from Rameswaram via, Manamadurai Junction, Sivaganga, Devakottai Road, Karaikkudi Junction, Tiruchirappalli Junction, Thanjavur Junction, Kumbakonam, Viluppuram Junction, Chennai Egmore, Vijayawada Junction, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar.

Traction
As large sections of the route are yet to be fully electrified, a Tondiarpet-based WDM-3A locomotive powers the train from Rameswaram up to Tiruchirappalli Junction, later Trichirapalli Jn to Visakhapatnam WAP-7 pulls the train to its destination. This train gets reversed in Visakhapatnam in both the directions.