Gitanjali Express

The 12859/60 Gitanjali Express is a daily train running between two metro cities, Kolkata, (Howrah Junction) in West Bengal and Mumbai, (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) in Maharashtra connecting the East with the West. Numbered 12859/60 this train belongs to the Superfastcategory. This train takes 30½ hrs to cover the distance of 1968 km between Mumbai and Howrah while the return takes 31.5 hrs. This is first train which depart behind pure AC Loco from Mumbai CST after conversion of Mumbai CST to Thane from DC to AC. It has the top most priority in Howrah Mumbai route.

Sleeper Class coach of 12859 Gitanjali Express
This article is about Indian Railways train between Howrah and Mumbai. For other uses, see Geetanjali (disambiguation).

Gitanjali Express
Overview
Service typeSuperfast
First serviceNovember 1977 (1977-11)[1]
Current operator(s)South Eastern Railway zone
Route
StartChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
Stops26 as 12860 Howrah Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Gitanjali Express, 27 as 12859 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Howrah Gitanjali Express (additional halt at Santragachi Junction)
EndHowrah Junction
Distance travelled1,968 kilometres (1,223 mi)
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)12859 / 12860
On-board services
Class(es)AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper Class, Unreserved/General
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesPantry car attached
Technical
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed110 km/h (68 mph) maximum
63.34 km/h (39 mph) including halts
Route map
Gitanjali Express Route map

Relevance

Rabindranath Tagore a famous poet of India wrote the book Gitanjali.[2] Since this train, too, starts from Bengal this train has the same name. People love the train as much the book. This is the first Classless train in India introduced by Ex Railway Minister Prof. Madhu Dandvate on 26 December 1977.[3]

Route

12859/60 Gitanjali Express runs from Howrah Junction via Kharagpur Junction, Tatanagar Junction, Rourkela Junction, Bilaspur Junction, Raipur Junction, Durg, Nagpur,Wardha Junction Badnera Junction, Akola Junction, Bhusaval Junction, Jalgaon Junction, Nasik Road, Igatpuri to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and vice versa.

Arrival And Departure

Train No.12859 Leaves source point, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) at 6:00 am and reach its destination station Howrah Junction at 12:30 noon the next day.[4] Train No.12860 leaves Howrah Junction at 1:40 pm and reach its destination, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus at 9:20 pm next day.[5]

Traction

Prior to 8 June 2015, a Santragachi based WAP 4 or Howrah based WAP 7 would haul the train from Howrah Junction up to Igatpuri handing over to a Kalyan based WCAM 3 which powered the train up to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

Since the changeover to AC traction, a Santragachi based WAP 4 or Howrah based WAP 7 powers the train for its entire journey.

It has been allotted with LHB coaches from January 2019

Coach composition
Loco 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
EOGGENS1S2S3S4S5S6S7S8S9S10S11S12S13PCB1B2A1A2GENEOG

References
  1. "Railway Budget speech 1978-79" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Government of India, Ministry of Railways. 21 February 1978.
  2. "Rabindranath Tagore wrote the book Geetanjali". sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  3. Dandavate, Madhu (2005). Dialogue with Life by Madhu Dandvate. ISBN 9788177648560. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  4. "Gitanjali Express 12859 Schedule". cleartrip.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  5. "Gitanjali Express/12859 Live Train Running Status".

[1] [2]

Dedicated Intercity trains of India

  1. "Gitanjali Express".
  2. "Gitanjal Express".
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