Coalfield Express

The 12339 / 12340 Coalfield Express is a superfast class Indian Railways day train connecting Kolkata with industrial towns and coal belts of Durgapur, Raniganj, Asansol, Dhanbad[1] as well as between Dhanbad and Howrah railway station.

Coalfield Superfast Express
कोलफिल्ड सुपरफास्ट एक्सप्रेस
Overview
Service typeSuperfast
LocaleWest Bengal & Jharkhand
First service01 October 1958
Current operator(s)Eastern Railways
Route
StartHowrah Junction (HWH)
Stops11
EndDhanbad Junction (DHN)
Distance travelled260 km (162 mi)
Average journey time4 hours 30 minutes
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)12339 / 12340
On-board services
Class(es)AC Chair Car, Chair Car & General Unreserved
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsNo
Catering facilitiesOn-board Catering,
E-Catering
Baggage facilitiesAvailable
Technical
Rolling stockLHB Coaches
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
ElectrificationYes
Operating speedAvg. Speed - 60 km/hr

Schedule

12339 Coalfield express leaves Howrah Junction terminal at 5:20 p.m. from Platform No. 12 every day and reaches Dhanbad Junction at 9:40 p.m. the same day.

12340 Coalfield express departs Dhanbad Junction at 5:55 a.m. every day and arrives at Howrah Junction at 10:25 a.m. the same day.

Rake Sharing

It shares its route with the Agniveena Express and the Shantiniketan Express.

It is the twin train of the Black Diamond Express, which runs from Dhanbad to Howrah as well. It differs in that it runs through the Howrah-Bardhaman Chord line while the Black Diamond Express goes through the Howrah-Bardhaman Main Line.

The train does not stop at Bardhaman and runs non-stop for 132 km from Howrah to Mankar in around 1 hr 15 min, at a top speed of 110 km/hr.

Stoppage
  • Dhanbad
  • Kumardhubi
  • Barakar
  • Kulti
  • Sitarampur
  • Asansol
  • Raniganj
  • Andal
  • Durgapur
  • Panagarh
  • Mankar
  • Howrah

Traction

Both trains are hauled by a WAP 7 of Howrah electric loco shed on its entire journey.

Trivia

In 2011, the train was in travelled several kilometres on the wrong track during a journey. The train took the wrong track at Khana Junction and travelled towards Bolpur instead of Dhanbad. It was sent back on the right track after the staff at the Talit railway station spotted the error.[2]

In 1982 the train had a scheduled stop at Burdwan junction. However, due to overbearing notoriety of the daily commuters in the Burdwan-Howrah section, which often culminated in serious altercations with other passengers, the stoppage had been revoked. An EMU (electric multiple unit) local train was put into the service to cater to the daily passengers travelling from Burdwan to Howrah at that particular hour of the day. The train had few stops in between the two stations.

Since the introduction of the new LHB racks the instances of daily commuters disturbing other commuters have lessened as the sitting space has been increased and standing space decreased.

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References
  1. Coalfield Express/12339
  2. Amitabha Bhattasali (13 December 2011). "Alarm after Indian train takes wrong turn". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
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