Netaji Express

Kalka Mail

East Indian Railway Mail leaving Kalka Station circa 1906
Overview
Service type	Super fast Mail train
Locale	West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana
First service	1866 as the "East Indian Railway Mail".
Current operator(s)	Eastern Railways
Route
Termini	Howrah Kalka
Distance travelled	1,713 kilometres (1,064 mi)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	12311/12312
On-board services
Class(es)	Sleeper, General, First A/C, 3Tier A/C, 2Tier A/C
Seating arrangements	Yes
Sleeping arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	Pantry Car and Catering available
Observation facilities	Large Windows
Baggage facilities	yes
Technical
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	115 km/h (71 mph) maximum 57 km/h (35 mph) (average with halts)

km 267 Kalka Delhi–Kalka line 252 Chandi Mandir 253 Chandigarh 198 Ambala Cantonment 156 Kurukshetra 123 Karnal 89 Panipat 72 Samalkha 59 Ganaur 43 Sonipat 10 Adarsh Nagar 3 Sabji Mandi 0 Delhi Junction Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line 20 Ghaziabad Kanpur–Delhi section 83 Khurja 126 Aligarh Junction 156 Hathras Junction 204 Tundla Junction 221 Firozabad 241 Shikohabad 296 Etawah Junction 352 Phaphund 435 Kanpur Central Mughalsarai–Kanpur section 513 Fatehpur 630 Allahabad Junction 719 Mirzapur 783 Mughalsarai Junction Grand Chord 837 Bhabua Road Gaya–Mughalsarai section 885 Sasaram 902 Dehri-on-Sone 987 Gaya Junction Asansol–Gaya section 1064 Koderma 1112 Hazaribagh Road 1139 Parasnath 1157 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Gomoh 1187 Dhanbad Junction Railways in Jharia Coalfield 1245 Asansol Junction Bardhaman–Asansol section 1287 Durgapur 1351 Barddhaman Junction Howrah–Bardhaman chord 1446 Howrah Junction

Source: Google and 12312 Kalka Mail

Kalka Mail is the name of a train in India connecting Howrah near Kolkata in the Eastern Indian state of West Bengal to Kalka, Haryana, the railhead for Kalka-Shimla Railway. This connects it to Shimla, the hill station capital of Himachal Pradesh and one-time summer capital of India.

Details

Kalka Mail at present is among the longest trains running in the country, it has a total of 25 coaches (12 Sleeper, 2 SLR, 4 General, 1 First A/C, 2 3Tier A/C, 3 2Tier A/C) and has total 4 rakes. One A/C 3 tier coach gets attached in Mugalsarai to the train from train and its detached at Mugalsarai on the return journey. It is the longgest train in the Indian Railways. This train is categorised as super-fast and runs at a maximum speed of 115 km/hrs. The engine attached to this train is the modern 6350 HP, WAP-7 based in Ghaziabad. In between Howrah and Kalka, the train stops at 37 stations. Passengers boarding the train have to abide by distance restriction: the minimum travel distance is 160 km in all AC classes and 480 km in Sleeper and 2S. However, it carries all passengers on the Delhi-Kalka route.

History

Run by the East Indian Railway Company, the train (originally numbered 1 Up / 2 Dn) began operation between Calcutta and Delhi in 1866 as the "East Indian Railway Mail". Its run was extended from Delhi to Kalka in 1891. The train was the principal mechanism by which British civil servants moved to their summer capital in Simla from Calcutta with the entire government machinery traveling on the train at the start of the summer months and returning by it at the end of summer. Both stations, Howrah as well as Kalka, had internal carriageways running along the platform so that the Viceroy and other high-ranking officers could drive right up to their rail coaches. The carriageway at Howrah is still used and runs between Platforms 8 and 9 but the carriageway at Kalka has been converted into platform. With the rationalization of train numbering in the 1990s, the Kalka Mail lost its 1 Up /2 Dn numbering and is now the 12311 from Howrah and the 12312 from Kalka.

Timings

The train leaves Howrah at 19:40 hrs and arrives at Kalka after two nights at 04:30 hrs. It leaves Kalka at 23:55 hrs and arrives at Howrah after two nights at 07:55 hrs. The journey takes 32 hrs 50 mins for the Howrah-Kalka journey but takes 32 hrs for the Kalka-Howrah journey.

In popular culture

Kalka Mail is featured in a short story by Satyajit Ray, the Indian film director and writer. In the story, The Mystery of the Kalka Mail (Baksho Rahasya), the three main characters travel from Calcutta to Delhi and on to Kalka on the train. The plot involves a stolen diamond and an unpublished manuscript. The story was also made into a radio play.

Accidents and Incidents

13 coaches of the Kalka Mail derailed on the Kanpur-Fatehpur line near the Fatehpur railway station on the afternoon of 10 July 2011. The cause is unknown though poor maintenance of the locomotive is suspected because the engine had begun swaying sideways just before the accident. More than 69 persons died and 200 were injured. The injured were taken to hospitals in Kanpur, Lucknow and Allahabad.