First Long Haul Train Run on South Western Railway

First Long Haul Train Run on South Western Railway

FIRST LONG HAUL TRAIN RUN on SWR BETWEEN HOSAPETE AND TINAIGHAT

Running a 1.25 km long train on 19th July 2025 on Hubballi Division will go down as one of the first in the history of South Western Railway. Composition of more than one standard goods train formation consists of 59 wagons. Any composition of train more than this is defined as Long Haul train. The constituent trains may be empty or loaded. The running of long haul trains will help in reducing the congestion in busy sections thereby increasing the throughput.

On 19.07.2025 Hubballi division of SWR ran a long haul train equivalent to 2 goods trains with total 117 wagons, 2 brakevans train with 4 Locomotive Engines (2 leading and 2 in the middle) between Hosapete and Tinaighat. Standard goods train formation consists of 59 wagons. Any composition of a goods train more than this is defined as Long Haul train. The constituent trains may be empty or loaded. The running of long haul trains will help in reducing the congestion in busy sections thereby increasing the throughput. The Long haul train left Hosapete at 14.35 hrs and reached Tinaighat at 19.25 hrs. The Long haul train covered a distance of about 250 kms in 4. 50 hrs at an average speed of 56 Kmph.

The success of this pioneer run could help SWR cope with line congestion on rail routes and ever increasing demand of wagons at loading points. It has an added advantage of increasing the speed of rolling stock as a result of reduction in number of trains. This will save a path on this busy section.

Shri A. K. Singh, GM/SWR, informed that this was a major achievement which will boost line capacity and will help in faster train movement also making wagons available at loading/unloading points quickly.

South Western Railway (SWR)’s first long‑haul train run (in the freight/goods context, not a passenger service) took place on 19 July 2025, when the Hubballi division ran a prototype long-haul goods train between Hosapete and Tinaighat, Karnataka

🚆 Key Details of the Pioneer Run

• Date: 19 July 2025
• Route: Hosapete (Ballari district) → Tinaighat (Uttara Kannada district), Hubballi division
• Composition: Equivalent of two standard goods trains, totalling 117 wagons, plus two brake vans and hauled by 4 locomotives (two lead and two mid)
• Length: Approximately 1.25 km (defined as a long-haul formation in SWR)
• Distance & Duration: ~250 km covered in ~4.5 hours (departing at 14:35, arriving at 19:25), average speed ~56 km/h
• Significance: First time SWR operated a formation longer than standard goods trains (defined as >59 wagons) to test capacity, reduce congestion, and improve throughput on busy sections

What It Was — And What It Wasn’t

• ✅ It was the first long-haul freight train in SWR’s operational history.
• ❌ It was not a passenger train—so if you were asking about long-distance passenger services (like mail/express trains), then other trains hold that distinction.

Long-Distance Passenger Trains under SWR

If your interest is in first long-distance passenger trains operated by SWR:

• The Rani Chennamma Express (Bengaluru ↔ Sangli) traces its origins back to 1 April 1966 under SWR, covering ~756 km daily
• However, the Sanghamitra Superfast Express, inaugurated on 1 July 1988, is the longest daily train of SWR (Bengaluru ↔ Patna, ~2,681 km)—so the longest route, but not necessarily the first chronologically for long-distance service
• The Yesvantpur–Kacheguda Express, launched on 1 March 2025, was one of the first inter-state tri-weekly express services by SWR connecting Karnataka with Telangana (~612 km)

✅ Summary Table

Let me know if you meant long-distance passenger services—I can provide details on early inter-state connections under SWR.