| Kerala Express | |
| Type: | Superfast |
| Operator: | Southern Railway |
| Start: | (NDLS) |
| Stops: | 41 |
| End: | (TVC) |
| Distance: | 3031km (1,883miles) |
| Journeytime: | 49 hours 25 minutes |
| Frequency: | Daily |
| Class: | AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, AC 3 tier Economy, Sleeper class, General Unreserved |
| Seating: | Yes |
| Sleeping: | Yes |
| Catering: | Available |
| Observation: | Large windows |
| Baggage: | Available |
| Otherfacilities: | Below the seats |
| Trainnumber: | 12625 / 12626 |
| Speed: | 130km/h maximum, 61km/h average including halts. |
| First: | [1] [2] |
The 12625 / 12626 Kerala Express is a daily superfast express train of the Indian Railways that runs between and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala state. It is currently the longest-running daily Superfast train of Indian Railways (3027 km) and second-longest daily train in country after Avadh Assam Express (3115 km).[3] It is the second direct train to Kerala (1977) from the national capital Delhi after Jayanti Janata Express (1973) and first direct train connecting the state capital and Southern Kerala with New Delhi.
The Kerala Express was introduced in 1977 as a split train named Kerala–Karnataka (KK) Express.[4] The composition of Karnataka–Kerala Express has been increased from 14 coaches to 21 coaches with effect from 29 January 1981.[5]
Kerala Exp briefly also had a link portion to Mangalore between 1987-1992, where a portion of this train used to bifurcate/amalgamate at Palakkad Junction. It was Christined 2625/2626A Link Mangala Exp. This arrangement continued until Mangala Exp was made an independent train in 1993.
The train is running with LHB rakes with effect from 4 November 2018.[6]
On 10 June 2019, during the 2019 Indian heat wave, four pilgrims from Tamil Nadu died due to heat exposure in the Kerala Express as it traveled south through the Bundelkhand, before the train arrived at Jhansi Junction.[7] [8]
It is hauled by a Royapuram / Erode based WAP 7 locomotive from end to end.