Indian Railways’ first Rajdhani completes 53 years! 1st March marks a proud day for the national transporter as on this day, in the year 1969, the first Rajdhani Express train was operated between Delhi and Howrah. Even after so many years of service, the Rajdhani Express is considered to be one of the premium trains on the Indian Railways network. Train Number 12301 Howrah Junction – New Delhi Rajdhani Express departs from Howrah at 4:50 PM and reaches NDLS at 10:05 AM. While Train Number 12302 New Delhi – Howrah Junction Rajdhani Express departs from New Delhi at 4:50 PM and reaches Howrah at 9:55 AM. En route, the train halts at Asansol Junction, Dhanbad Junction, Parasnath, Gaya Junction, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Prayagraj Junction and Kanpur Central railway stations.
In 2019, the train turned 50 years. To mark the occasion, railway passengers of the Kolkata Rajdhani Express received greetings message vis SMS. Passengers were also welcomed by brand new linen and disposable napkins with greetings of the 50 Years of the Rajdhani Express train. Besides, there was a special cake cutting ceremony. The railway staff deployed on the train were provided with a special badge to wear. Moreover, greeting messages were displayed on the video wall of the railway station, the destination boards of the train and were communicated through the Public Address System at the railway station and in the train.
Earlier, PM Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given its nod to the national transporter’s ambitious project of 160 km per hour train journeys on the Delhi-Mumbai route and Delhi-Howrah route. While the work on the Delhi-Mumbai route would require Rs 6,806 crore investment, the Delhi-Howrah route would cost Rs 6,685 crore. It was said that the ambitious project would be most likely completed by the year 2022-23.
