Poorva Express (via Patna)

The 12303 / 12304 Poorva Express are daily superfast express trains of Indian Railways running between Howrah, West Bengal, and New Delhi, the capital city of India. The name Poorva signifies the eastern part of India, and the train attracts travellers from Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal.

History
Prior to the introduction of the Rajdhani Express, the Deluxe Express was the premium category superfast trains of India. Fully air conditioned and superfast, they were given the highest priority in Indian Railways. There were two of them. One use to ply between Amritsar and Bandra Terminus, and another from Amritsar to Howrah. Both of them use to carry the ICF Rajdhani liveried coaches. Later with due course of time the Deluxe Express till Bandra was renamed as Paschim Express while the Deluxe Express till Howrah was renamed as Poorva Express. The Poorva Express was launched on the 2nd of October, 1956 and ran as the first fully air conditioned train of India.

With due course of time, the "fully Air Conditioned" was stripped off from its name to accommodate additional Non-AC sleeper Coaches and was subsequently terminated till New Delhi. And with the launch of Howrah Rajdhani Express, it lost its grandeur and subsequently its priority. It was relegated to Maroon-cream coloured Coaches with no tubelights only bulbs inside the coach first and then to Standard Blue ICF Coaches with tubelights inside the coach. But later getting refurbished to LHB coach in April 2013, being the first superfast category train to receive them.

Though it suffered with time, its popularity never ceased. Due to its huge demand, Indian Railways introduced a second pair of Poorva Express on 1 August 1971 via Patna. Not only that, during its peak time it was one of the longest trains with a load of 24 coaches and was used to be hauled by twin WDM-2 engines between Mughalsarai and Chittaranjan.

Coach composition
The train has standard LHB rakes/ICF rakes with a max speed of 130 km/h. The train consists of 22 coaches:
 * 1HA (1st AC cum 2A)
 * 2 AC II Tier
 * 5 AC III Tier
 * 9 Sleeper Coaches
 * 1 Pantry Car
 * 2 General Unreserved
 * 2 HOG

Route and halts

 * Howrah Junction
 * Bardhaman
 * Durgapur
 * Asansol Junction
 * Madhupur
 * Jamtara
 * Jasidih
 * Jhajha
 * Kiul
 * Patna Junction
 * Danapur
 * Ara Junction
 * Mughalsarai Junction
 * Prayagraj Junction
 * Kanpur Central
 * Etawah
 * Tundla
 * Aligarh Junction
 * New Delhi

Traction
It is regularly hauled by a Howrah Loco Shed based WAP 7 (HOG) equipped locomotive on its entire journey.

Rake sharing
The train shares its rake with 12381/12382 Poorva Express (via Gaya).

Accidents and incidents
On 14 December 2014 the 12381 UP Howrah - New Delhi Poorva Express derailed at 8.27 am after leaving Howrah at 8.15 am. 11 sleeper coaches and a pantry car (AC Hot Buffet Car) of the New Delhi-bound Poorva Express derailed at Liluah shortly after leaving Howrah station. There were no casualties or injuries to any passengers, railway officials said. The train was moving at a slow speed when it derailed, the officials said, adding that the reasons for the mishap were being examined. What saved the passengers was the speed of the train. "The Poorva Express was moving at 10 to 15 km/h when the accident occurred. The average speed of the train is 63 km/h, though it can travel at 120 km/h. Derailment at higher speeds would have been catastrophic," an official said.