Howrah–New Delhi Rajdhani Express (via Gaya)





The 12301 / 12302 Howrah – New Delhi Rajdhani Express (also known as Kolkata Rajdhani Express) is a Rajdhani class train of Indian Railways that connects that capital of West Bengal, Kolkata to the national capital of India, Delhi. This is the first Rajdhani Express of India and is one of the fastest trains of Indian Railways in Kolkata to Delhi route. Not only in Kolkata to Delhi route, it is also the fastest train in Howrah Railways Station.It connects the Howrah Railways Station in Kolkata to the New Delhi Railway Station in Delhi.

History
From 1965 onward Ministry of Railways (India) was looking for options to reduce the time travel between important destinations by implementing new technology. Hence for that very purpose the Howrah–Delhi main line was chosen for the trials owing to its technological superiority in terms of feasibility and others. Thus finally in the Railway Budget of 1969–70, an introduction of a new superfast train was announced which would connect Delhi to Kolkata in less than 18 hours, because until then the fastest trains between these two cities usually took more than 20 hours. Thus, on 1 March 1969 the first Rajdhani Express left from New Delhi to Howrah at 1730 hrs and arrived at its destination at 1050 hrs on the next day, completing 1450 km in a record time of 17 hours 20 minutes. The honor of hauling the first Rajdhani was done by the WDM-4 class locomotive of Indian Railways. The return Rajdhani Express left Howrah Junction on 3 March 1969 at 1700 hrs and arrived at New Delhi on its next day at 1020 hrs. The maximum permissible speed of the Howrah Rajdhani Express was kept 120 km/h for safety reasons, thus making it the fastest train of India at that point of time.

The first train carried nine coaches, which were one Dining Car, one AC First Class, five AC Chair Car and two Generator/Power Car. The price of at that time was set at Rs. 280 for the AC First Class and Rs. 90 for AC Chair Car respectively. The coaches were specially designed and developed by Integral Coach Factory Perambur and had one of its kind vacuum brakes and under-slung air conditioning systems. Additionally the AC First Class was of 3 Cabin + 3 Coupe model while the AC Chair Car was of 2 x 2 seating model. At that time the train use to ply only on Monday and Friday respectively from both ends and had stoppages at Kanpur Central railway station, Mughalsarai Junction railway station and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Gomoh railway station only.

On 1 November 1971 the speed was upgraded to 130 km/h, thus reducing the time of journey by 25 minutes from both ends. At that time the train was hauled by twin WDM-4S locomotive from Mughalsarai Shed of Indian Railways. In 1983, the Research Design and Standards Organisation in association with Chittaranjan Locomotive Works manufactured the 3900 HP WAP-1 class locomotive exclusively for Howrah Rajdhani Express. And with the introduction of the WAP-1 class locomotive, the train length was increased to 18 coaches, by adding additional AC Two Tier Coaches. Incidentally, the locomotives were painted in the same livery as that of the Howrah Rajdhani Express. On the very same year i.e. on 1 April 1983 owing to the high popularity and huge demand the frequency of the Howrah Rajdhani (via Gaya) was increased to 4 days a week, then to 5 days a week from 1 October 1983 and finally to present 6 days a week from 19 May 2003.

In 1992, the coaches were again redeveloped, and the Under-slung Air Conditioning System was replaced by Roof Mounted Air Condition Package Unit (RMPU), thus becoming the only train to have it at that point of time. In 1993, Air Conditioned 3 Tier coaches were added in the train and of 3 July 1993 another service via Patna Junction railway station was also introduced from Howrah on Sunday and from New Delhi on Friday respectively.

On 3 February 2006, both the pairs of Howrah Rajdhani Express were upgraded to the LHB coaches, thus paving the way for the replacement and the end of the glorious era of the ICF coaches of Rajdhani Express. While on 2 April 2013, WiFi service was introduced in the train, thus making it the only train of Indian Railways to have WiFi facility in a moving train. And finally on 23 December 2017, the train was upgraded to the Swarna Standards of Indian Railways, laced with modern amenities and facilities for the passengers.

Schedule and route details
The 12301/12302 Howrah – New Delhi Rajdhani Express follows the Dhanbad – Gaya Grand Chord route as part of its journey between Delhi and Howrah. The 12301 Howrah – New Delhi Rajdhani Express operates daily except on Sundays, while the returning train, 12302 New Delhi – Howrah Rajdhani Express, does not run on Fridays. On these specific days, the Howrah – New Delhi Rajdhani service is provided by the 12305/12306 Howrah – New Delhi Rajdhani Express, which travels via the Asansol – Jasidih – Patna route to connect Delhi and Howrah. The Rajdhani Express bound for New Delhi (train number 12301) departs from Howrah Railway Station at 16:50 hrs and reaches New Delhi at 10:05 hrs the following day, covering a distance of 1452 km in 17 hours and 15 minutes, achieving an average speed of 84 km/hr. On the return journey, the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express (train number 12302) departs from New Delhi at 16:50 hrs and arrives in Howrah at 09:55 hrs the next day, completing its journey in 17 hours and 5 minutes, with an average speed of 85 km/hr.

En-route, the train stops at the following stations;
 * Asansol Junction
 * Dhanbad Junction
 * Parasnath
 * Gaya Junction
 * Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction
 * Prayagraj Junction
 * Kanpur Central

Traction
It is hauled by a Howrah Loco Shed based, head on generation (HOG) enabled WAP-7 electric locomotive from end to end.

Rake sharing
The train is rake sharing with 12305/12306 Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express (via Patna).