Netaji Express

One of the oldest train in India

Legend

				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

The 12311 / 12312 Howrah - Kalka Netaji Express (formerly known as Kalka Mail) is one of the oldest running train in India. This train connects Howrah in Kolkata, capital of the State of West Bengal to Kalka in the North-Western state of Haryana. Kalka is the railhead for the Kalka-Shimla Railway which connects to Shimla, the one time summer capital of the British Raj.

Overview

Netaji Express (formerly known as Kalka Mail) at present is one of the oldest trains running in the country, it has a total of 24 coaches (eleven Sleeper Class coaches, two SLR coaches, two General Class coaches, one First AC-cum-AC Two Tier coach, three AC Three Tier coaches , three AC Two Tier coaches , one Second class-seating and one Pantry Car) and has total four Rakes. This train is categorized as superfast-mail and runs at a maximum speed of 110 km/hrs. The train stops at 37 stations in its entire route, thus 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.

Due to the passenger demand, one AC Two Tier Coach, one AC Three Tier Coach, five Sleeper Class coach, one General Class coach, the RMS coach, one SLR coach and the Pantry Car is separately reserved for the passengers boarding from Chandigarh Junction only. Hence these eleven coaches are attached during the journey towards Howrah in Chandigarh and is detached during its journey towards Kalka in Chandigarh itself.

History

In the late 1850s, the British Government in India decided to relocate their capital from Calcutta to Shimla during the summer months to protect the European population from the intense heat of the Bengal plains. To facilitate the annual migration of British officials, their families, and accompanying staff between the imperial capital at Calcutta and the summer capital in Shimla, the East Indian Railway Company inaugurated a train service on July 1, 1855. Departing from Howrah Railway Station, the service was designated as 1 UP (Up Line) / 2 DN (Down Line), known as the East Indian Railway Mail. Initially, this service operated exclusively between Howrah and Delhi.^[1]

The extension of the Ambala – Kalka railway line in 1891 enabled the East Indian Railway Mail to extend its route to Kalka. The subsequent opening of the Kalka – Shimla route on November 7, 1903, facilitated the further extension of the train service to Shimla, involving a gauge change at Kalka. Passengers traveling to Shimla from Kalka transitioned from a broad gauge train to a narrow gauge East Indian Railway Mail for the final leg of the journey. Notably, both Howrah and Kalka stations featured internal carriageways along the platforms to allow the Viceroy and other dignitaries to access their rail coaches directly. The carriageway at Howrah remains in use between Platforms 8 and 9, while the carriageway at Kalka has been repurposed into a platform.^[2]

Over time, as railway services evolved across British India and the capital permanently shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, the East Indian Railway Mail experienced a decline in its patronage. Consequently, during the railway system's modernization in the 1990s, the iconic designation 01 UP / 02 DN was discontinued. In 2021, the train service was renamed the "Netaji Express" in tribute to the revered Indian freedom fighter, Subhas Chandra Bose, who utilized this train to escape from Gomoh to Peshawar.^[3]

Traction

As the route is fully electrified, it is hauled by a Howrah Loco Shed based WAP-7 electric locomotive from end to end.

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.^[4] The story was also made into a radio play and a film.

Renaming

Kalka Mail was renamed to Netaji Express in honour of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose to commemorate his 124th Birth Anniversary on 23 January 2021.^[5]

Accidents

Fatehpur derailment, 2011

15 coaches of the Kalka Mail derailed on the Kanpur-Fatehpur line near the Fatehpur railway station on the afternoon of 10 July 2011. Causation is unsolved 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.^[6]^[7]

References

^ https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020420/windows/main2.htm
^ https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020420/windows/main2.htm
^ Livemint (20 January 2021). "Indian Railways renames iconic Howrah-Kalka Mail as 'Netaji Express'". mint. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
^ "The Feluda Films of Satyajit Ray". h2g2. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
^ indianexpress.com (20 January 2021). "Railways renames Howrah-Kalka Mail as Netaji Express".
^ indianexpress.com (12 July 2011). "Toll climbs to 70, 300 injured". Retrieved 28 January 2014.
^ "Kalka Train Accident by OneIndia". OneIndia. Retrieved 28 January 2014.

Historical trains in India

Active

Express	Deccan Queen Flying Ranee Grand Trunk Express
Mails	Amritsar Mail Barauni–Gwalior Mail Brahmaputra Mail Darjeeling Mail Golden Temple Mail Gujarat Mail Howrah–Chennai Mail Howrah–Mumbai Mail Jammu Mail Kalka Mail Kolkata Mail Lucknow Mail Mangalore Mail Mumbai–Chennai Mail Punjab Mail Saurashtra Mail Thiruvananthapuram Mail

Defunct

Railways in Eastern India

National network/
trunk lines

Other lines/sections

Interstate	Asansol–Gaya section Asansol–Patna section Asansol–Tatanagar–Kharagpur line Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines Barkakana–Son Nagar line Barsoi–New Farakka section Barsoi–Radhikapur branch line Dumka–Bhagalpur line Gaya–Mughalsarai section Hatia–Rourkela line Jasidih–Dumka–Rampurhat line Jharsuguda–Vizianagaram line Katihar–Siliguri line Kharagpur–Puri line Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam section Kothavalasa–Kirandul line New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section Tatanagar–Bilaspur section
Bihar	Bakhtiyarpur–Tilaiya line Barauni–Katihar section Barauni–Samastipur section Fatuha–Tilaiya line Gaya–Kiul line Mokama–Barauni section Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur line (via Hajipur, Raxaul and Sitamarhi) Muzaffarpur–Gorakhpur main line Muzaffarpur–Sitamarhi section Muzaffarpur–Hajipur section Narkatiaganj–Bhikhna Thori branch line Neora–Jatdumari–Daniyawan–Bihar Sharif–Sheikhpura line Patna–Gaya line Patna–Mughalsarai section Patna–Sonepur–Hajipur section Raxaul–Sagauli line Samastipur–Muzaffarpur section
Jharkhand	Barkakana–Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh line Barkakana–Muri–Chandil line Dhanbad–Chandrapura line Railways in Jharia Coalfield Koderma–Hazaribagh–Barkakana–Ranchi line Madhupur–Giridih–Koderma line Netaji S.C.Bose Gomoh–Hatia line
Odisha	Khurda Road–Bolangir line Cuttack–Sambalpur line
West Bengal	Ahmadpur–Katwa line Alipurduar–Bamanhat branch line Andal–Sainthia branch line Andal–Sitarampur loop line Bandel–Katwa line Bankura–Masagram line Bardhaman–Asansol section Bardhaman–Katwa line Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Eklakhi–Balurghat branch line Haldibari–New Jalpaiguri line Howrah–Barddhaman main line Howrah–Bardhaman chord Howrah–Kharagpur line Kharagpur–Bankura–Adra line New Mal–Changrabandha–New Cooch Behar line Santragachi–Amta branch line Sealdah Main and North section Calcutta Chord link line Kolkata Circular Railway Sealdah–Bangaon line Sealdah–Ranaghat–Gede line Ranaghat–Krishnanagar City–Lalgola line Sealdah South section Sheoraphuli–Bishnupur branch line

Suburban
rail transport

Monorail

Defunct lines

Revived/ Under revival	Ahmedpur–Katwa Railway Bankura–Damodar Railway Barasat–Basirhat Light Railway Burdwan–Katwa Railway Bakhtiarpur–Bihar Light Railway Futwah–Islampur Light Railway
Inactive	Bengal Provincial Railway East Coast State Railway Kalighat Falta Railway Mayurbhanj State Railway Dehri Rohtas Light Railway Patna–Digha Ghat line Parlakimedi Light Railway

Zones & Divisions

Eastern	Asansol Howrah Malda Sealdah
East Central	Danapur Dhanbad Mughalsarai Samastipur Sonpur
East Coast	Sambalpur Khurda Road Waltair
North Eastern	Varanasi
Northeast Frontier	Katihar Alipurduar
South Eastern	Adra Chakradharpur Kharagpur Ranchi

Production units/
workshops

Transit points
with Bangladesh

Active	Haldibari–Chilahati Singhabad–Rohanpur Radhikapur–Biral Gede–Darshana Petrapole–Benapole
Defunct	Mahisasan–Shahbajpur Changrabandha–Burimari Gitaldaha–Mogalhat

Indian railheads
near India–Nepal border

Railway companies

See also

Bholu (mascot)
Suburban rail in India

v t e Railways in Northern India
National network/ trunk lines	Howrah–Delhi main line New Delhi–Chennai main line New Delhi–Mumbai main line Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line Delhi–Jaipur line Jaipur–Ahmedabad line
Branch lines/ sections	Agra–Bhopal section Ahmedabad–Udaipur line Allahabad–Mau–Gorakhpur main line Ambala–Attari line Amritsar–Khem Karan line Amritsar–Pathankot line Aunrihar–Jaunpur line Barauni–Gorakhpur, Raxaul and Jainagar lines Bathinda–Rewari line Bathinda–Rajpura line Bikaner–Rewari line Bhanupli–Leh line Chandigarh–Sahnewal line Delhi–Fazilka line Delhi–Kalka line Delhi–Meerut–Saharanpur line Delhi–Moradabad line Jalandhar–Firozpur line Jalandhar–Jammu line Jammu–Baramulla line Jodhpur–Bathinda line Jodhpur–Jaisalmer line Kanpur–Delhi section Laksar–Dehradun line Lucknow–Gorakhpur line Lucknow–Moradabad line Ludhiana–Fazilka line Ludhiana–Jakhal line Marwar Junction–Munabao line Mathura–Vadodara section Mau–Ghazipur–Dildarnagar main line Merta Road–Rewari line Moradabad–Ambala line Mughalsarai–Kanpur section Rewari–Rohtak line Shri Ganganagar–Sadulpur line Suratgarh–Bathinda line Varanasi–Chhapra line Varanasi–Lucknow main line Varanasi–Rae Bareli–Lucknow line Varanasi–Sultanpur–Lucknow line
Urban and suburban rail transport	Delhi Suburban Railway Delhi Metro (Blue Green Grey Magenta Orange Pink Red Violet Yellow) Rapid Metro Gurgaon Lucknow–Kanpur Suburban Railway Barabanki–Lucknow Suburban Railway Delhi–Meerut RRTS
Heritage railways	Kalka–Shimla Railway
Monorails	Patiala State Monorail Trainways
Defunct lines	Jammu–Sialkot line
Manufacturing units and workshops	Banaras Locomotive Works Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli
Railway companies	Northern Railway North Eastern Railway North Central Railway North Western Railway East Indian Railway Company Kangra Valley Railway Rajputana–Malwa Railway Tirhut Railway Oudh and Tirhut Railway Indian Branch Railway Company Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Cawnpore–Burhwal Railway Cawnpore–Barabanki Railway Lucknow–Bareilly Railway Bengal and North Western Railway Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Mashrak–Thawe Extension Railway Lucknow–Sitapur–Seramow Provincial State Railway Bareilly–Pilibheet Provincial State Railway Segowlie–Raxaul Railway Delhi Metro Rail Corporation National Capital Region Transport Corporation
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) 1974 railway strike in India Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor