Akal Takht Express

The 12317 / 12318 Akal Takht Express is an Indian Railways Express train connecting eastern Indian city of Kolkata with northern Indian city of Amritsar. It is named after the Akal Takht, a central Sikh shrine in Amritsar.

Akal Takht Express

Overview
Service type	Superfast
First service	14 April 2000; 25 years ago (2000-04-14)
Current operator(s)	Eastern Railway
Route
Termini	Kolkata (KOAA) Amritsar (ASR)
Stops	21
Distance travelled	1,899 km (1,180 mi)
Average journey time	33 hours 40 minutes
Service frequency	Bi-Weekly
Train number(s)	12317 / 12318
On-board services
Class(es)	AC first, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper class, General Unreserved
Seating arrangements	Yes
Sleeping arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	On board catering, E-catering
Observation facilities	Rake sharing with 12315/12316 Ananya Express
Baggage facilities	No
Other facilities	Below the seats
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB coach
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	56 km/h (35 mph) average including halts.
Route map

Background

Originally started from Asansol. In 2004 it was extended up to Sealdah, its terminus got changed to Kolkata in 2014. It is a Express-class train travelling 1,900 kilometres (1,200 mi) at an average speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). It has sleeper, third AC, second AC, first AC, and unreserved types of coaches along with 2 EOG for power. This train has modern LHB coach, however, pantry car facility is not available with this train but on-board catering and e-catering is available.^[1][2]

Route & halts

Station Code	Station Name	Arrival	Departure
KOAA	Kolkata	---	07:40
ASN	Asansol Junction	10:32	10:37
MDP	Madhupur Junction	11:41	11:43
JSME	Jasidh Junction	12:08	12:10
JAJ	Jhajha	13:12	13:17
KIUL	Kiul Junction	13:57	13:59
MKA	Mokama	14:28	14:30
PNC	Patna Saheb	15:17	15:22
PNBE	Patna Junction	15:55	16:05
DDU	Pt DD Upadhyaya Junction	19:35	19:45
BSB	Varanasi Junction	20:30	20:40
SLN	Sultanpur Junction	22:46	22:48
LKO	Lucknow Charbagh NR	02:43	02:53
BE	Bareilly Junction	06:13	06:15
MB	Moradabad Junction	07:50	07:58
NBD	Najibabad Junction	09:23	09:25
SRE	Saharanpur Junction	11:30	11:40
UMB	Ambala Cantt Junction	12:45	12:50
SIR	Sirhind Junction	13:31	13:33
LDH	Ludhiana Junction	14:28	14:38
JUC	Jalandhar City Junction	15:35	15:40
BEAS	Beas Junction	16:12	16:14
ASR	Amritsar Junction	17:20	---

Coach composition

The train has standard LHB rakes with max speed of 130 km/h. The train consists of 22 coaches:

• 1 AC I cum AC II Tier
• 1 AC II Tier
• 6 AC III Tier
• 10 Sleeper coaches
• 2 General
• 2 EOG

Loco	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22		EOG	GEN	GEN	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7	S8	S9	S10	S11	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	A1	HA1	EOG

Traction

As the route is fully electrified, train is hauled by an Howrah / Sealdah-based WAP-7 electric locomotive from Kolkata to Amritsar, and vice versa.

Rake sharing

The train shares its rake with 12315/12316 Ananya Express.