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Howrah Rajdhani Express

Howrah Rajdhani Express
হাওড়া রাজধানী এক্সপ্রেস
हावड़ा राजधानी एक्सप्रेस
Howrah Rajdhani Express.jpg
Overview
Service type Rajdhani Express
Status Operating
Locale West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh & Delhi
First service 3 March 1969
Current operator(s) Eastern Railways
Route
Start Howrah Junction (HWH)
Stops Dhanbad (DHN), Parasnath (PNME), Gaya (GAYA), Mughalsarai (MGS), Allahabad Junction (ALD), Kanpur Central (CNB)
End New Delhi (NDLS)
Distance travelled 1,447 km (899 mi)
Average journey time 16 hrs 55 mins (for 12302) , 17 hrs 5 mins(for 12301) , 19hrs 55 mins(for 12305), 19 hrs 20 mins(for 12306)
Service frequency Daily
Train number(s) 12301/12302; 12305/12306
On-board services
Class(es) AC 1st Class, AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier
Seating arrangements No
Sleeping arrangements Available
Auto-rack arrangements No
Catering facilities Available (included in the ticket)(IRCTC)
Observation facilities Large Windows
Entertainment facilities Onboard WiFi Service
Baggage facilities Available
Technical
Track gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed
  • 130 km/h (81 mph) maximum
    85 km/h (53 mph), including halts (for 12301/12302)
  • 130 km/h (81 mph) maximum
    79 km/h (49 mph), including halts (for 12305/12306)
Route map
(New Delhi - Howrah) Rajdhani Express (via Gaya) Route map.png
Route map
(New Delhi - Howrah) Rajdhani Express (via Gaya) Route map.png

Howrah Rajdhani is the most prestigious Rajdhani class train in India which connects New Delhi to Howrah, Kolkata. The Howrah Rajdhani was the first Rajdhani Express in India, thereby becoming the first fully air-conditioned train in the country. The train is one of the fastest in India with an average speed of 88 km/h (55 mph). Howrah Rajdhani gets highest priority on Howrah-Delhi Grand Chord Line. It connects two big metropolis of India.

The Howrah Rajdhani Express began operations on March 3, 1969. The train departed from the New Delhi railway station to reach the Howrah Junction railway station in 17 hours 20 mins, covering a distance of 1,451 km (902 mi) .The express train reduced the travel time from Delhi to West Bengal from an earlier 24 hours to 17 hours. The Howrah Rajdhani is amongst few trains which are fully served by IRCTC, while others are Sealdah Duronto, Mumbai Rajdhani Express and Ahmedabad Rajdhani. Howrah Rajdhani is affectionally called the King by Railfans. Howrah Rajdhani is also the country's first WiFi enabled Rajdhani

The idea of introducing Rajdhani express as a set of superfast express trains met with consternation and criticism due to both political reasons and the fear of the proposed speed leap from the then maximum permissible speed of express trains of 100 km/h (62 mph) to 140 km/h (87 mph) for trial runs of the train. The planning team behind the idea of such express trains made proposals to the zonal railways whose territories the Rajdhani express would be crossing but was met with opposition. The team was however, able to materialise its plan. The civil aviation in India was back then at its inception which made it was necessary to introduce high speed railway connectivity between metropolitan cities to allow faster travel. The introduction of such fast passenger express trains in the country was an important step for the Indian Railways to take the railway network in India closer to the advanced and high speed railways around the world.


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Wikipedia

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