The Rockfort Express (16178/16177) is the most popular night express train that connects Trichy and Chennai Egmore in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and extends till Kumbakonam. The train numbered 16178 departs from Kumbakonam at 19:55 Hours and reaches Trichy at 21:55 Hours as a link Express. From Trichy it departs as an Express by 22:20 hours and reaches Chennai Egmore at 5:30 the next day. The parallel train numbered 16177 starts around 22:30 Hours from Chennai Egmore and reaches Trichy around 05:30 hours the next day.
This train also had the livery changed twice, first it was signal-green livery, separated by yellow-lines between the upper & lower part of the windows and later it was changed to Maroon-livery when it was run on the MG.
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The eponymous train is named after the famous 12th century fortress Rockfort temple in the heart of Tiruchirapalli. The train originally ran between Chennai and Trichy on the chord line track, later extended to Kumbakonam as Rockfort link express during the meter gauge track conversion of the main line between Thanjavur - Kumbakonan - Chennai. There is a persistent demand for restoring the train to its original route between Trichy and Chennai.
Rockfort Express is one of the very few trains in the Indian Railways having coaches of all the six classes. There are 24 coaches covering A/C First Class, A/C 2-Tier, first class, A/C 3-tier, sleeper class, and general compartments. The train usually runs to full capacity.
The Route of the Rockfort Express (16178) from Kumbakonam to Chennai:
| Station Code | Station Name | Arrival | Departure | Distance | Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KMU | Kumbakonam | --- | 19:55 | 0 | 1 |
| PML | Papanasam | 20:09 | 20:10 | 15 | 1 |
| TJ | Tanjavur | 20:25 | 20:30 | 40 | 1 |
| BAL | Budalur | 20:44 | 20:45 | 57 | 1 |
| TRB | Tiruverumbur | 20:59 | 21:00 | 80 | 1 |
| TPJ | Tiruchchirapalli Junction | 21:55 | 22:20 | 90 | 1 |
| GOC | Ponmalai (Golden Rock) | 22:28 | 22:30 | 92 | 1 |
| TPTN | Tiruchchirapalli Town | 22:38 | 22:40 | 98 | 1 |
| SRGM | Srirangam | 22:48 | 22:50 | 101 | 1 |
| LLI | Lalgudi | 23:03 | 23:05 | 116 | 1 |
| KKPM | Kallakkudi PLGH | 23:18 | 23:20 | 135 | 1 |
| ALU | Ariyalur | 23:43 | 23:45 | 159 | 1 |
| PNDM | Pennadam | 00:17 | 00:18 | 194 | 2 |
| VRI | Vridhachalam JN | 00:38 | 00:40 | 212 | 2 |
| VM | Villupuram JN | 02:25 | 02:30 | 267 | 2 |
| TMV | Tindivanam | 03:08 | 03:10 | 304 | 2 |
| MLMR | Melmaruvattur | 03:39 | 03:40 | 335 | 2 |
| CGL | Chengalpattu | 04:03 | 04:05 | 370 | 2 |
| TBM | Tambaram | 04:33 | 04:35 | 401 | 2 |
| MBM | Mambalam | 04:53 | 04:55 | 419 | 2 |
| MS | Chennai Egmore | 05:30 | --- | 425 | 2 |
Note: All the Times are in IST(Indian Standard Time - GMT+5.30).
The route of the Rockfort Express (16177) from Chennai to Kumbakonam:
| Station Code | Station Name | Arrival | Departure | Distance | Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | Chennai Egmore | --- | 22:30 | 0 | 1 |
| MBM | Mambalam | 22:40 | 22:41 | 7 | 1 |
| TBM | Tambaram | 22:59 | 23:00 | 25 | 1 |
| CGL | Chengalpattu | 23:28 | 23:30 | 56 | 1 |
| MLMR | Melmaruvattur | 00:01 | 00:02 | 092 | 2 |
| TMV | Tindivanam | 00:19 | 00:20 | 122 | 2 |
| VM | Villupuram JN | 01:00 | 01:05 | 159 | 2 |
| VRI | Vridhachalam JN | 01:38 | 01:40 | 213 | 2 |
| ALU | Ariyalur | 02:19 | 02:20 | 267 | 2 |
| KKPM | Kallakkudi PLGH | 03:31 | 03:32 | 291 | 2 |
| LLI | Lalgudi | 03:49 | 03:50 | 310 | 2 |
| SRGM | Srirangam | 04:05 | 04:06 | 325 | 2 |
| TPTN | Tiruchchirapalli Town | 04:14 | 04:16 | 328 | 2 |
| GOC | Ponmalai (Golden Rock) | 04:24 | 04:25 | 334 | 2 |
| TPJ | Tiruchchirapalli Junction | 05:30 | 05:40 | 336 | 2 |
| TRB | Tiruverumbur | 05:55 | 05:56 | 346 | 2 |
| BAL | Budalur | 06:03 | 06:04 | 369 | 2 |
| TJ | Tanjavur | 06:15 | 06:20 | 386 | 2 |
| PML | Papanasam | 06:41 | 06:42 | 411 | 2 |
| KMU | Kumbakonam | 07:40 | --- | 425 | 2 |
Note: All times are in IST (Indian Standard Time: GMT+5.30).
Please refer to the Southern Railway Timetable for the latest timings and updates.