Darjeeling Mail

The 12343/12344 Darjeeling Mail is one of the oldest running trains in India. It connects Kolkata with Siliguri. This is a major train for Kolkata–Siliguri route.^[1]

Darjeeling Mail

Darjeeling Mail at New Jalpaiguri Junction.
Overview
Service type	Superfast
First service	1 January 1878; 147 years ago (1878-01-01)
Current operator	Eastern Railway
Route
Termini	Sealdah (SDAH) Haldibadi (HDB)
Stops	6
Distance travelled	629 km (390 mi)
Average journey time	11 hrs 25 min
Service frequency	Daily
Train number	12343 / 12344
On-board services
Classes	AC First Class, 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	Large windows
Baggage facilities	Available
Other facilities	Below the seats
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB coach
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	130 km/h (81 mph) maximum
Route map

v t e Darjeeling Mail route
Legend
km to Darjeeling on DHR to Fakiragram Bagdogra 17 11 Matigara to Katihar Bagdogra Airport 7 Siliguri Change to DHR 5 Siliguri Town Change to DHR 573/508/0 New Jalpaiguri Change to DHR Jalpaiguri main line 500 Ambari Falakata 490 Belakoba 482 Raninagar Jalpaiguri Kishanganj 486 to New Bongaigaon 478 Mohitnagar 474 Jalpaiguri 452 Haldibari Malda Town 338 India Bangladesh 442 Chilahati Farakka Barrage Across Ganges Chilahati–Darshana line Bolpur 154 374 Parbatipur Junction Barddhaman 102 278 Santahar Hardinge Bridge across Padma Chord line 118 Darshana and Main line Bangladesh India 114 Gede Gede Branch line Vivekananda Setu across Hooghly River to Howrah Sealdah–Ranaghat line 0 Sealdah Main Sealdah South to Sealdah South lines
Notes: 1. The left side of a line is the post-partition route, Whereas, the right side of the line is the pre-partition route as it stands today. 2. The Siliguri/New Jalpaiguri–Haldibari Line is common to both the old and new routes.

History

During the British period all connections to North Bengal were through East Bengal. From 1878, the railway route from Kolkata, then called Calcutta, to Siliguri was in two laps. The first lap was a 184.9 kilometres (114.9 mi) long journey along the Eastern Bengal State Railway from Calcutta Station (later renamed Sealdah) to Damookdeah Ghat on the southern bank of the Padma River. The passengers would then avail a ferry across the river. The second lap of the journey was a 363.1 kilometres (225.6 mi) metre-gauge line of the North Bengal Railway that linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri.^[2]

The 1.8 kilometres (5,900 ft) long Hardinge Bridge across the Padma came up in 1912.^[3] In 1916 the metre-gauge section north of the bridge was converted to broad gauge, and so the entire Calcutta – Siliguri route became broad-gauge.^[2] The route thus roughly ran: Sealdah–Ranaghat–Bheramara–Hardinge Bridge–Iswardi–Santahar–Hili–Parbatipur–Nilphamari–Haldibari–Jalpaiguri–Siliguri. The train ran on this route in pre-partition days. Even after the partition of India it ran on this route for some years.^[4][5] So before Partition: The train's pre-partition route was roughly: Sealdah–Ranaghat–Bheramara–Hardinge Bridge–Iswardi–Santahar–Hili–Parbatipur–Nilphamari–Haldibari–Jalpaiguri–Siliguri.

With the partition of India in 1947, the major hurdle in connecting Kolkata and Siliguri was that there was no bridge across the Ganges in West Bengal or Bihar. A generally acceptable route to Siliguri was via Sahibganj loop to Rajmahal, then across the Ganges by ferry to Manihari Ghat on the other side, then to Kishanganj via Manihari, Katihar and Barsoi and finally through narrow gauge to Siliguri.^[6] In 1949 Kishanganj–Siliguri section too was converted to metre gauge, thus making the entire route a uni-gauge one.^[2]

From 1947 to 1965, the Darjeeling Mail ran from Sealdah to Siliguri, passing through stations like Ranaghat, Gede, Darsana, Santahar, Parbatipur, Nilphamari, and Jalpaiguri, before crossing the border to reach the destination. This route was used after the partition before the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 disrupted the passenger services. Even after the partition of India, the Darjeeling Mail initially continued to operate on a similar route. The Gede and Darsana stations in India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) served as custom checkpoints. The services were halted after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, severing the route.

From 1965-1971, Darjeeling Mail was made to run via 2 phases. The train used to depart Sealdah at 12.50 pm & reach Barauni at 23.30 pm crossing the Rajendra Setu spanning 2,025 metres (6,644 ft) across the Ganges. Then it was a Meter Gauge journey of 364.8 kilometres (226.7 mi). The whole journey of 923.2 kilometres (573.6 mi) used to take 19 hrs 15 mins. In 1970, Barauni - New Jalpaiguri section was converted to Broad Gauge, speeding up the Darjeeling Mail & reduced time. New Jalpaiguri station was constructed in 1960-1965 period on a greenfield site south of Siliguri Town.

In the early 1970s, when Farakka Barrage was being constructed, a more radical change was made. Indian Railways created a new broad-gauge rail link from Kolkata, and connected New Jalpaiguri via New Farakka, Malda Town, Barsoi joining the Barauni - New Jalpaiguri section.^[2] The 2,256.25 metres (7,402.4 ft) long Farakka Barrage carries a rail-cum-road bridge across the Ganges. The rail bridge was thrown open to the public in 1971, thereby linking the Barharwa–Azimganj–Katwa loop & Sahibganj loop to Malda Town, Barsoi, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri and other railway stations in North Bengal.^[7][8] Since then Darjeeling Mail has been using the Howrah–New Jalpaiguri line. The train was numbered 3143 Up/3144 Down with Timings as follows: 3143 used to depart Sealdah at 19.15 pm, reaching New Jalpaiguri at 06.30 am next morning & 3144 used to depart New Jalpaiguri at 18.45 pm, reaching Sealdah at 06.00 am in next morning. This timings was prevalent until 2004, when Darjeeling Mail was renumbered as 2343/2344 & made Superfast by withdrawing some halts and journey time reduced. A slip train was introduced; consisting of a sleeper class and an AC-3 Tier coach. This service continued further to Haldibari from New Jalpaiguri.^[9] With the upgradation to LHB coaches, it was cancelled permanently and the entire train was extended till Haldibari. However this decision was met with apprehension as it was thought that it would reduce the importance of New Jalpaiguri station.^[10]

Coach composition

This train runs with 22 Linke-Hoffman Busch coaches. It has two dedicated rakes with primary maintenance at Sealdah. It is an ISO 9001:2008 certified train. ^[11]

Legends

EOG/SLR	PC	MIL	H	A	HA	B	AB	G	K	E	C	S	D	GEN/UR
Generator cum luggage van	Pantry car or Hot buffet car	Military coach	First AC (1A)	Second AC (2A)	First AC cum Second AC	Third AC (3A)	Third AC cum Second AC	Third AC economy (3E)	Anubhuti coach (K)	Executive chair car (EC)	AC Chair car (CC)	Sleeper class (SL)	Second seating (2S)	General or Unreserved
	Loco and other service coach
	AC coach
	Non-AC coach

Coach Position of 12343 (ex. Sealdah)

Loco	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
	SLR	GEN	GEN	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	B6	B7	A1	A2	H1	GEN	GEN	EOG

Coach Position of 12344 (ex. Haldibari)

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	H1	A2	A1	B7	B6	B5	B4	B3	B2	B1	S6	S5	S4	S3	S2	S1	GEN	GEN	SLR

Passengers are advised to check the coach position indicators at the station before boarding.

Service

• The 12343 Sealdah - Haldibari Darjeeling Mail leaves Sealdah at 22:05 hrs everyday and reaches Haldibari the next day at 09:25 hrs, covering 630 kilometres (390 mi) distance in 11 hrs 20 mins averaging at 55.60 km/h (34.55 mph).
• The 12344 Haldibari – Sealdah Darjeeling Mail leaves Haldibari at 18:15 hrs every Saturday and reaches Sealdah the next day at 05:35 hrs, covering 630 kilometres (390 mi) distance in 11 hrs 20 mins averaging at 55.60 km/h (34.55 mph).
• On its route, the train stops at Barddhaman Junction, Bolpur Shantiniketan, Malda Town, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri Junction and Jalpaiguri stations.

Traction

Since the route is completely electrified, this train is hauled entirely by a Howrah or a Sealdah based WAP-7 locomotive.

See also

• Sealdah railway station
• New Jalpaiguri railway station
• Darjeeling Himalayan Railway