New Jalpaiguri–Howrah Shatabdi Express
The Howrah – New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express is a superfast express fully airconditioned train connecting Kolkata and Siliguri, West Bengal's two most important cities. It is the fastest train in the Howrah - New Jalpaiguri section covering a distance of 566 km in a span of 8 hours.[1][2] The train runs at an average speed of 80 km per hour. The train is hauled by a matching WDP4 of New Jalpaiguri Diesel locomotive shed. It always gets LHB Coaches. The train comprises 8 AC Chair Cars, 1 Executive Class coach & 2 End-On-Generation Cars.Recently The train is modified to Swarna standards with advanced features.
HWH-NJP Shatabdi Express running through at Pakur | |||||
Overview | |||||
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Service type | Shatabdi Express | ||||
Status | Operating | ||||
Locale | West Bengal, although it runs through Jharkhand and Bihar during its Journey | ||||
First service | 12 July 2012 | ||||
Current operator(s) | North East Frontier Railway | ||||
Route | |||||
Start | Howrah(HWH) | ||||
Stops | 5 | ||||
End | New Jalpaiguri(NJP) | ||||
Distance travelled | 566 km (352 mi) | ||||
Average journey time | 8 hrs 5 mins | ||||
Service frequency | Except Sunday | ||||
Train number(s) | 12041/12042 | ||||
On-board services | |||||
Class(es) | Executive Chair Car, AC Chair Car | ||||
Seating arrangements | Available | ||||
Catering facilities | Available (included in the ticket) | ||||
Observation facilities | LHB Coaches | ||||
Baggage facilities | Overhead racks | ||||
Technical | |||||
Rolling stock | Standard Indian Railway coaches | ||||
Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||
Operating speed | 145 km/h (90 mph) maximum 80 km/h (50 mph) average, including halts | ||||
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Inaugural
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the then railway minister Mukul Roy flagged it off from Cooch Behar on 12 July 2012 though this train was passed in Railway Budget 2012 - 13 by the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi.[3]
Amenities
This train has state-of-the art LHB coaches, providing unmatched comfort even on speeds such as 140 km/h, large windows provide extraordinary views of landscape, reclining seats (2x2 in EC/3x2 in CC), on-board meals are available and are included in the ticket fare, passengers have option of choosing either Veg or Non Veg.
Route & Halts
The train starts at 5:30 am from Platform 1 of New Jalpaiguri and reaches Platform 11 of Howrah at 1:35 pm.
It departs from Platform 11 of Howrah at 2:15 pm and reaches Platform 1 of New Jalpaiguri at 10:30 pm. The intermediate stations and the stoppage time are as follows-
- Howrah (Starts)
- Bolpur Shantiniketan (2 minutes)
- New Farakka (1 minute)
- Malda Town (5 minutes)
- Barsoi (1 minute)
- Kishanganj (2 minutes)
- New Jalpaiguri (Ends)
Loco Links
This train is Hauled by a Howrah WAP 7 which is capable of taking the train to 150 km/h according to section permissions,as the route between HWH and NJP is fully electrified.
See also
References
- "India Rail Info". Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- "Special train between New Jalpaiguri & Kolkata". Times Of India. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- "First Shatabdi". The Telegraph India. Retrieved 11 July 2011.