Kalka Mail

Kalka Mail

East Indian Railway Mail leaving Kalka Station circa 1906.
Overview
Service type	Super fast Mail train
Locale	West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana
First service	1866 as the "East Indian Railway Mail".
Current operator(s)	Eastern Railways
Route
Start	Howrah
End	Kalka
Distance travelled	1,713 kilometres (1,064 mi)
Service frequency	Daily
On-board services
Class(es)	Sleeper, General, First A/C, 3Tier A/C, 2Tier A/C
Seating arrangements	Yes
Sleeping arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	Pantry Car and Catering available
Observation facilities	Large Windows
Baggage facilities	yes
Technical
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	115 km/h (71 mph) maximum 57 km/h (35 mph) (average with halts)

Kalka Mail

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 Old Delhi Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line 20 Ghaziabad Kanpur-Delhi section 83 Khurja 126 Aligarh 156 Hathras Junction 204 Tundla 221 Firozabad 241 Shikohabad 296 Etawah 352 Phaphund 435 Kanpur Central Mughalsarai-Kanpur section 513 Fatehpur 630 Allahabad 719 Mirzapur 783 Mughalsarai Grand Chord 837 Bhabua Road Gaya-Mughalsarai section 885 Sasaram 902 Dehri-on-Sone 987 Gaya Asansol-Gaya section 1064 Koderma 1112 Hazaribagh Road 1139 Parasnath 1157 Netali SC Bose Gomoh 1187 Dhanbad Jharia Coalfield rail network 1245 Asansol Bardhaman-Asansol section 1287 Durgapur 1351 Bardhaman Howrah-Bardhaman chord 1446 Howrah Source: Google and 12312 Kalka Mail

Kalka Mail is the name of a train in India connecting Howrah near Kolkata in the Eastern Indian state of West Bengal to Kalka, Haryana, the railhead for Kalka-Shimla Railway. This connects it to Shimla, the hill station capital of Himachal Pradesh and one-time summer capital of India.

Details

Kalka Mail at present is among the longest trains running in the country, it has a total of 25 coaches (12 Sleeper, 2 SLR, 4 General, 1 First A/C, 2 3Tier A/C, 3 2Tier A/C) and has total 4 rakes. One A/C 3 tier coach gets attached in Mugalsarai to the train from train and its detached at Mugalsarai on the return journey. It is the longest train in the Indian Railways. This train is categorized as super-fast and runs at a maximum speed of 115 km/hrs. The engine attached to this train is the modern 6350 HP, WAP-7 based in Ghaziabad. In between Howrah and Kalka, the train stops at 37 stations. 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.

History

Run by the East Indian Railway Company, the train (originally numbered 1 Up / 2 Dn) began operation between Calcutta and Delhi in 1866 as the "East Indian Railway Mail". Its run was extended from Delhi to Kalka in 1891. The train was the principal mechanism by which British civil servants moved to their summer capital in Simla from Calcutta with the entire government machinery traveling on the train at the start of the summer months and returning by it at the end of summer. Both stations, Howrah as well as Kalka, had internal carriageways running along the platform so that the Viceroy and other high-ranking officers could drive right up to their rail coaches. The carriageway at Howrah is still used and runs between Platforms 8 and 9 but the carriageway at Kalka has been converted into platform.^[1] With the rationalization of train numbering in the 1990s, the Kalka Mail lost its 1 Up /2 Dn numbering and is now the 12311 from Howrah and the 12312 from Kalka.

Timings

The train leaves Howrah at 19:40 hrs and arrives at Kalka after two nights at 04:30 hrs. It leaves Kalka at 23:55 hrs and arrives at Howrah after two nights at 07:55 hrs. The journey takes 32 hrs 50 mins for the Howrah-Kalka journey but takes 32 hrs for the Kalka-Howrah journey.^[2]

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.^[3] The story was also made into a radio play.

Accidents and Incidents

Fatehpur derailment, 2011

13 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.^[4][5]

References

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 Ambala–Attari line Amritsar–Pathankot line Bathinda–Rewari line Bilaspur–Mandi–Leh railway Chandigarh–Sahnewal line Delhi–Fazilka line Delhi–Kalka line Delhi–Meerut–Saharanpur line Delhi–Moradabad line Delhi–Shamli–Saharanpur line Jalandhar–Firozpur line Jalandhar–Jammu line Jammu–Poonch railway line Jodhpur–Bathinda line Kanpur–Delhi section Kashmir Railway Lucknow–Moradabad line Ludhiana–Fazilka line Ludhiana–Jakhal line Marwar Junction–Munabao line Moradabad–Ambala line Mughalsarai–Kanpur section Rewari–Rohtak line Srinagar-Kargil-Leh railway Varanasi–Lucknow main line Varanasi–Rae Bareli–Lucknow line
Urban and suburban rail transport	Delhi Suburban Railway Blue Line (Delhi Metro) Green Line (Delhi Metro) Red Line (Delhi Metro) Violet Line (Delhi Metro) Yellow Line (Delhi Metro) Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Lucknow–Kanpur Suburban Railway Barabanki–Lucknow Suburban Railway Delhi Panipat RRTS Delhi Meerut RRTS Delhi Alwar RRTS
Narrow-gauge railways	Kalka–Shimla Railway Kangra Valley Railway
Abandoned lines	Jammu–Sialkot Line
Monorails	Patiala State Monorail Trainways (abandoned)
Named trains	Ajmer–Hyderabad Meenakshi Express Ajmer Jammu Express Dayodaya Ajmer–Jabalpur Superfast Express Akal Takht Express Amritsar Mail Ananya Express Andaman Express Andhra Pradesh Express Anand Vihar Muzaffarpur Garib Rath Express Assam Mail Bagh Express Lucknow Bhopal Garibrath Express Bhopal–Jaipur Express Bhopal–Jodhpur Passenger Bhopal–Lucknow Express Bhopal–Lucknow–Pratapgarh Express Brahmaputra Mail Chambal Express Chennai Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express Chhattisgarh Express Chitrakoot Express Damoh–Kota Passenger Dayodaya Express Doon Express Durgavati Express Faizabad Delhi Express Faizabad Superfast Express Ganga Kaveri Express Goa Express Godaan Express Golden Temple Mail Gondwana Express Grand Trunk Express Pune–Manduadih Gyan Ganga Express Himalayan Queen Himsa Express Himsagar Express Hirakud Express Howrah – New Delhi Duronto Express Howrah New Delhi Yuva Express Indore Express Indore–Chandigarh Express Indore–Dehradun Express Indore–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express Indore–Patna Express Indore – Rajendra Nagar Via. Faizabad Express Indore–Ajmer Express Indore–Ajmer Link Express Indore–Amritsar Express Indore–Jaipur Express Indore–Jaipur Express via Ajmer Indore–Kota Intercity Express Indore–Udaipur City Express Jabalpur–Jammu Tawi Express Jabalpur–New Delhi Express Jaipur Superfast Express Jammu Tawi – Indore Express Jhelum Express Kaifiyat Express Kalinga Utkal Express Kalka Mail Kanpur Allahabad Intercity Kanpur Varanasi InterCity Kashi Vishwanath Express Kerala Express Kongu Express Kushinagar Express Lashkar Express Lucknow Mail Magadh Express Mahabodhi express Mahakoshal Express Mahanagari Express Mahananda Express Malwa Express Mandore Express Mangala Lakshadweep Express Secunderabad Express Marusagar Express Matsyaganda Express Mewar Express Mithila Express Muzaffarpur Anand Vihar Garib Rath Express Navyug Express Neelachal Express Kalka New Delhi Shatabdi Express New Jalpaiguri - New Delhi SF Express North East Express Patalkot Express Patna–Kota Express Poorva Express Pratham Swatrantata Sangrm Express Prayagraj Express Punjab Mail Purushottam Express Pushpak Express Rajendra Nagar Patna – Indore Express Rajendranagar Express Ranthambore Express Raptisagar Express Sabarmati Express Sachkhand Express Saket Express Samata Express Samjhauta Express Sampoorna Kranti Express Sanghamithra Express Sapt Kranti Express Sealdah Rajdhani Express Sealdah – New Delhi Duronto Express Shaan-e-Bhopal Express Shalimar Express Shipra Express Shiv Ganga Express Shram Shakti Express Shramjeevi Express Taj Express Tamil Nadu Express Thar Express Thirukural Express Tirhut Express Udhna Varanasi Express Ujjaini Express Utsarg Express Uttar Sampark Kranti Express Vaishali Express Vikramshila Express West Bengal Sampark Kranti Express
Manufacturing units and workshops	Diesel Locomotive Works Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory, Raebareli
Railway companies	Northern Railway North Eastern Railway North Central Railway North Western Railway East Indian Railway Company 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
Railways in India portal