Netaji Express
The 12311 / 12312 Netaji Express, formerly known as the Kalka Mail, is one of the oldest running trains in India, with a history spanning over 150 years. It operates between Howrah in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, and Kalka in Haryana via Gaya, Delhi & Chandigarh. Kalka serves as the railhead for the Kalka–Shimla Railway, a narrow-gauge line that connects to Shimla, which was the summer capital during the British Raj.
Timings
- 12311 departs Howrah at 21:55 IST and reaches Kalka at 03:00 IST on the third day.
- 12312 departs Kalka at 23:55 IST and reaches Howrah at 08:05 IST on the third day.
Coach Composition
Coach position of 12311
| 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 | S1 | S2 | S3 | PC | B1 | A1 | A2 | B3 | B2 | B3 | B4 | H1 | S4 | S5 | S6 | S7 | GEN | GEN | EOG |
Coach position of 12312
| 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 | S7 | S6 | S5 | S4 | H1 | B4 | B3 | B2 | B1 | A3 | A2 | A1 | PC | S3 | S2 | S1 | GEN | GEN | EOG |
The first nine coaches of the bound 12311 consist of the slip service to. They are detached from the train at Chandigarh and a seating cum luggage coach is attached infront of A2. On the train's return journey to as 12312, these coaches are re-attached and the SLR coach is removed. This is done as the platforms at Kalka are too short to accommodate the full 22 coach rake. Passengers are advised to check the coach position indicator at the station before boarding.
Traction
The train is hauled by a Howrah Loco Shed based WAP-5 / WAP-7 electric locomotive on its entire journey.History
In the late 1850s, the British Government in India decided to relocate their capital from Calcutta to Shimla during the summer months to protect the European population from the intense heat of the Bengal plains. To facilitate the annual migration of British officials, their families, and accompanying staff between the imperial capital at Calcutta and the summer capital in Shimla, the East Indian Railway Company inaugurated a train service on July 1, 1866. Departing from Howrah Railway Station, the service was designated as 1 UP / 2 DN, known as the East Indian Railway Mail. Initially, this service operated exclusively between Howrah and Delhi.The extension of the Ambala – Kalka railway line in 1891 enabled the East Indian Railway Mail to extend its route to Kalka. The subsequent opening of the Kalka – Shimla route on November 7, 1903, facilitated the further extension of the train service to Shimla, involving a gauge change at Kalka. Passengers traveling to Shimla from Kalka transitioned from a broad gauge train to a narrow gauge East Indian Railway Mail for the final leg of the journey. Notably, both Howrah and Kalka stations featured internal carriageways along the platforms to allow the Viceroy and other dignitaries to access their rail coaches directly. The carriageway at Howrah remains in use between Platforms 8 and 9, while the carriageway at Kalka has been repurposed into a platform.
The revered freedom fighter Netaji Subash Chandra Bose boarded this train from Gomoh on the night of 17 January, 1941 while escaping the British Raj to Peshawar. With the rationalisation of train numbering system in the 1990s, the iconic designation 01 UP / 02 DN was discontinued. On July 10, 2011 this train was involved in a derailment at Malwan station in Fatehpur district that killed 70 and injured 300. Utkrisht rakes were introduced on the train on October 2, 2018, making it the first train in Indian Railways to do so. The train was renamed to Netaji Express on January 21, 2021, in honor of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's 125th birth anniversary. On July 14, 2025, the train was upgraded with modern Linke-Hoffman Busch coaches, making it the first passenger train to continue its slip service with LHB coaches.