Akal Takht Express

Last updated

12317/12318 Akal Takht Express
Overview
Service type Superfast
First service14 April 2000;25 years ago (2000-04-14)
Current operator(s) Eastern Railway
Route
Termini Kolkata (KOAA)
Amritsar (ASR)
Stops21
Distance travelled1,899 km (1,180 mi)
Average journey time33 hours 15 minutes (Average Time)
Service frequencyBi-Weekly
Train number(s)12317 / 12318
On-board services
Class(es) AC first, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper class, General Unreserved
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesOn board catering,
E-catering
Observation facilitiesRake sharing with 12315/12316 Ananya Express
Baggage facilitiesNo
Other facilitiesBelow the seats
Technical
Rolling stock LHB coach
Track gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed57 km/h (35 mph) average including halts.
Route map
Akal Takht Express Route map.jpg

The 12317 / 12318 Akal Takht Express is an Indian Railways Express train connecting eastern Indian city of Kolkata with northern Indian city of Amritsar. It is named after the Akal Takht, a central Sikh shrine in Amritsar.

Contents

Background

Originally started from Asansol as 2319/2320 Superfast in 1998, in 2000 it was extended to start from Sealdah as 2317/2318 & in 2009, 2317/2318 & 2319/2320 became same train. In 2015, its terminus got changed to Kolkata Terminus. It is a Superfast-class train travelling 1,899 kilometres (1,180 mi) in 33 hrs 40 mins at an average speed of 56 kilometres per hour (35 mph) as 12317 Akal Takht Express & in 32 hrs 50 mins at an average speed of 58 kilometres per hour (36 mph) as 12317 Akal Takht Express. It has sleeper, third AC, second AC, first AC, and unreserved types of coaches along with 2 EOG for power. This train has modern LHB coach, however, pantry car facility is was not available with this train until 2020. Now pantry car, on-board catering and e-catering are available. [1] [2]

12317 Route & halts

Station CodeStation NameArrivalDeparture
KOAAKolkata Terminus---07:40
ASNAsansol Junction10:3510:45
MDPMadhupur Junction12:0012:02
JSMEJasidh Junction12:2912:31
JAJJhajha13:1113:13
KIULKiul Junction13:5713:59
MKAMokama14:2814:30
PNCPatna Saheb15:1715:22
PNBEPatna Junction15:5516:05
DDUPt DD Upadhyaya Junction19:3519:45
BSBVaranasi Junction20:3020:40
SLNSultanpur Junction22:4622:48
LKOLucknow Charbagh NR02:4302:53
BEBareilly Junction06:1306:15
MBMoradabad Junction07:5007:58
NBDNajibabad Junction09:2309:25
SRESaharanpur Junction11:3011:40
UMBAmbala Cantt Junction12:4512:50
SIRSirhind Junction13:3113:33
LDHLudhiana Junction14:2814:38
JUCJalandhar City Junction15:3515:40
BEASBeas Junction16:1216:14
ASRAmritsar Junction17:20---

12318 Route & Halts


Station CodeStation NameArrivalDeparture
ASRAmritsar Junction---05:55
BEASBeas Junction06:3206:34
JUCJalandhar City Junction07:1007:15
LDHLudhiana Junction08:1208:22
SIRSirhind Junction09:2209:24
UMBAmbala Cantt Junction10:0510.10
SRESaharanpur Junction11:3011:40
NBDNajibabad Junction13:0813:10
MBMoradabad Junction14:5515:05
BEBareilly Junction16:3516:40
LKOLucknow Charbagh NR20:3520:50
SLNSultanpur Junction23:0523:10
BSBVaranasi Junction01:4001:50
DDUPt DD Upadhyaya Junction02:2002:40
PNBEPatna Junction05:5506:05
PNCPatna Saheb06:1706:22
MKAMokama07:2407:26
KIULKiul Junction08:0508:07
JAJJhajha08:5809:00
JSMEJasidh Junction09:4009:42
MDPMadhupur Junction10:1010:12
ASNAsansol Junction11:3311:43
KOAAKolkata Terminus---14:45

Coach composition

The train has standard LHB rakes with max speed of 130 km/h. The train consists of 22 coaches:

Loco12345678910111213141516171819202122 BSicon LDER.svg EOGGENGENS1S2S3S4S5S6S7S8S9S10PCB1B2B3B4B5A1HA1EOG

Traction

As the route is fully electrified, train is hauled by an Howrah / Sealdah-based WAP-7 electric locomotive from Kolkata to Amritsar, and vice versa.

Rake sharing

The train shares its rake with 12315/12316 Ananya Express.

References

  1. "Akal Takht Express/12317 SuperFast Kolkata Sealdah/SDAH to Ambala Cantt./UMB". India Rail Info. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  2. "Akal Takht Express/12318 SuperFast Amritsar/ASR to Kolkata Sealdah/SDAH". India Rail Info. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.