Avantika Express
The 12961 / 12962 Avantika Express is a Superfast train belonging to Indian Railways that runs between and in India. It is a daily service. It operates as train number 12961 from Mumbai Central to Indore and as train number 12962 in the reverse direction. Background. When this train was introduced back in 1985 it was called as Bombay–Indore Superfast. Later it was renamed as Avantika Superfast Express. The name Avantika is from 'Avanti', the former name of Ujjain, a historical city located near Indore. This is one of the two Superfast train connections between Indore and Mumbai , the other train is Indore Duronto Express. In February 2019, it was upgraded to LHB coaches. Coaches. Coach composition may be amended at the discretion of Indian Railways depending on demand. In February 2019, it was upgraded to LHB coaches from ICF coaches. <nowiki>*</nowiki>Note – The coach composition shown here is for 12961 (Mumbai to Indore).For 12962 (Indore to Mumbai) the composition will be flipped. Service. It is a daily train & covers the distance of 829 kilometres in 13 hours mins as 12961 Avantika Express (64 km/hr) & 13 hours 30 mins as 12962 Avantika Express (62 km /hr). Locomotive link. When Avantika Superfast was first introduced it was hauled by WDM-2 for whole journey. After some time, WCAM-1 became its regular link from Mumbai Central till Ujjain, After Ujjain WDM-2 hauled it complete its journey to Indore. When Mumbai's WR was converted into AC current, WAP-4 took incharge of Avantika till Ujjain. After sometime Ujjain–Indore line got electrified and WAP-4 hauled it for whole journey. After some years, Avantika SuperFast got India's fastest locomotive WAP-5 for its regular link. When Avantika SuperFast got upgraded into LHB coaches in 2018 February, its regular link also  got upgraded into WAP-7 (usually HOG mode).