Introduced in 1929, Grand Trunk Express (often referred to by the abbreviation, GT Express) is a prestigious train with 24 coaches. The name is suggestive of the famous Grand Trunk Road. The train was one of the few to have the early methods of air cooling by ice blocks. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, it used to run with a completely air-conditioned rake (First A/C and A/C Chair Car) on two days of the week and with its usual rake on other days. So the express was sometimes known as AC/GT Express.
At first, Grand Trunk Express ran from Peshawar to
Mangalore and took about 104 hrs for the journey. Since 1930, it has been running between New Delhi and Chennai covering a distance of 2,188 km. Its first class coaches are connected by corridors. The train also carries a parcel van for urgent consignments. Major cities on the way are Agra, Gwalior, Bhopal, Nagpur, Warangal, Nellore and Gudur.
Train number 2615: Chennai to New Delhi, leaves Chennai at 16:30 hrs.
Train number 2616: New Delhi to Chennai, leaves New Delhi at 18:40 hrs.
Base fare:
Class IA – Rs 4353.00
Class IIA – Rs 2279.00
Class IIIA – Rs 1455.00
