Template:Infobox rail service Template:Darjeeling Mail route The 12343/12344 Darjeeling Mail is one of the oldest running trains in India. It connects Kolkata with Haldibari This is a major train for Kolkata–Siliguri route.[1]
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 Template:Convert 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 Template:Convert metre-gauge line of the North Bengal Railway that linked Saraghat on the northern bank of the Padma to Siliguri.[2]
The Template:Convert 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–Template:Stnlnk–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 Template:Stnlnk, 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] On 26 January 1950 Sealdah Siliguri ( BG/MG) North Bank mail via Kishanganj was introduced. In 1964 it was renamed as Darjeeling mail. 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 Template:Stnlnk at 23.30 pm crossing the Rajendra Setu spanning Template:Convert across the Ganges. Then it was a Meter Gauge journey of Template:Convert. The whole journey of Template:Convert used to take 19 hrs 15 mins. In 1970, Template:Stnlnk - Template:Stnlnk section was converted to Broad Gauge, speeding up the Darjeeling Mail & reduced time. Template:Stnlnk 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 Template:Stnlnk via Template:Stnlnk, Template:Stnlnk, Template:Stnlnk joining the Template:Stnlnk - Template:Stnlnk section.[2] The Template:Convert 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 Template:Stnlnk, Barsoi, Kishanganj, Template:Stnlnk 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 Template:Stnlnk at 06.30 am next morning & 3144 used to depart Template:Stnlnk 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 Template:Stnlnk from Template:Stnlnk.[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 Template:Stnlnk. It is an ISO 9001:2008 certified train. [11] Template:Indian Railways coach composition legend 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:BSicon LDER.svg | EOG | 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. New Jalpaiguri)
| Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:BSicon LDER.svg | EOG | GEN | GEN | H1 | A2 | A1 | B7 | B6 | B5 | B4 | B3 | B2 | B1 | S6 | S5 | S4 | S3 | S2 | S1 | GEN | GEN | EOG |
Passengers are advised to check the coach position indicators at the station before boarding.
Service
- The 12343 Sealdah - Haldibari Darjeeling Mail leaves Template:Rws at 22:15 hrs everyday and reaches Haldibari 9:40 am the next day at, covering 629 kms distance in 11 hrs 20 mins averaging at Template:Cvt.
- The 12344 Haldibari – Sealdah Darjeeling Mail leaves Haldibari at 18:15 hrs everyday and reaches Template:Rws the next day at 05:00 hrs, covering 629 kms distance in 10 hrs 25 mins averaging at Template:Cvt.
- On its route, the train stops at Jalpaiguri , New Jalpaiguri Junction , Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, and Template:Rws stations.
Traction
Since the route is completely electrified, this train is hauled entirely by a Howrah or a Template:Stnlnk based WAP-7 locomotive.
See also
- Sealdah railway station
- New Jalpaiguri railway station
- Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
- Haldibari Railway Station
References
- ↑ 12343/Darjeeling Mail (PT) - Sealdah to New Jalpaiguri ER/Eastern Zone - Railway Enquiry, PATRANABIS, SREERUP. India Rail Info. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 India: the complex history of the junctions at Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri. IRFCA.
- ↑ Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh{{#if:Chowdhury|, Chowdhury}. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh(2012)
- ↑ Trains of Fame and Locos with a Name, part 2, Joydeep Dutta and Harsh Vardhan. IRFCA.
- ↑ Geography – International. IRFCA.
- ↑ my school i wish.
- ↑ Conflict and cooperation on South Asia's international rivers: a legal perspective{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. World Bank Publications(2002). ISBN 978-0-8213-5352-3
- ↑ Indian Railway History timeline, Saxena, R. P..
- ↑ Darjeeling Mail Slip. indiarailinfo.com.
- ↑ Ire over Darjeelig Mail's route extension. The Telegraph(16 August 2022). Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ↑ 12343/Darjeeling Mail (PT) - Sealdah to New Jalpaiguri ER/Eastern Zone - Railway Enquiry. India Rail Info. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
External links
Template:Historical trains in India Template:Railways in Eastern India