Darjeeling Mail

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Darjeeling Mail
Darjeeling Mail at New Jalpaiguri Junction.
Overview
Service typeSuperfast
First service1 January 1878; 147 years ago (1878-01-01)
Current operator(s)Eastern Railway
Route
TerminiSealdah (SDAH)
New Jalpaiguri (NJP)
Stops4
Distance travelled573 km (356 mi)
Average journey time9 hrs 35 min
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)12343 / 12344
On-board services
Class(es)AC First Class, AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesOn-board catering,
E-catering
Observation facilitiesLarge windows
Baggage facilitiesAvailable
Other facilitiesBelow the seats
Technical
Rolling stockLHB coach
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed130 km/h (81 mph) maximum
Route map
Darjeeling Mail route map

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]

History

[edit]

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 2002, when Darjeeling Mail was renumbered as 2343/2344 & made Super Fast. 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

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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

[edit]
  • 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

[edit]

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

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ PATRANABIS, SREERUP. "12343/Darjeeling Mail (PT) - Sealdah to New Jalpaiguri ER/Eastern Zone - Railway Enquiry". India Rail Info. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "India: the complex history of the junctions at Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri". IRFCA. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  3. ^ Chowdhury, Sifatul Quader (2012). "Hardinge Bridge". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. ^ Joydeep Dutta and Harsh Vardhan. "Trains of Fame and Locos with a Name, part 2". IRFCA. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Geography – International". IRFCA. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  6. ^ "my school i wish". Madhyamgram Re-visited after 15 years. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  7. ^ Salman, Salman M. A.; Uprety, Kishor (2002). Conflict and cooperation on South Asia's international rivers: a legal perspective. World Bank Publications. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-0-8213-5352-3. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  8. ^ Saxena, R. P. "Indian Railway History timeline". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Darjeeling Mail Slip". indiarailinfo.com.
  10. ^ "Ire over Darjeelig Mail's route extension". The Telegraph. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  11. ^ "12343/Darjeeling Mail (PT) - Sealdah to Haldibari ER/Eastern Zone - Railway Enquiry". India Rail Info. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
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External videos
video icon Darjeeling Mail-WDP4 magic with 8 AC coaches
video icon Darjeeling Mail at Kamarkundu Junction