Grand Chord is part of the Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line and Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line. It acts as a link between Sitarampur, (Asansol), and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction,, previously known as Mughalsarai Junction, and covers a stretch of 450.7 km (280.1 mi). The Coal India Corridor line that branches off from Dhanbad Junction and rejoins the Grand Chord at Son Nagar Junction is another major coal loading hub. It is a fully electrified, quadruple line section from Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay to Son Nagar and double line section from Son Nagar to Sitarampur. There are plans to triple the lines from Son Nagar to Dhanbad to accommodate the increasing traffic.. The entire line lies under the jurisdiction of three divisions, Mughalsarai railway division, Dhanbad railway division and Asansol railway division. The Grand chord section is the lifeline of the country, 2nd busiest railway section of India after Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction, Uttar Pradesh Main Line section, on which coal, steel and other important goods are moved from Eastern section to Western and Northern sections of the country. In the down direction, the traffic consists of mostly food grains, fertilizers and empty wagons for coal loading in the Jharkhand and West Bengal coal fields. Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction is a transit division and the main objective is to maintain mobility of high density traffic. The present capacity of the Grand Chord is being optimally utilized. Traversing through Chota Nagpur Plateau of Jharkhand as well as parts of the fertile Gangetic plains of Bihar, the Grand Chord covers a stretch of 450.7 km (280.1 mi). The Grand Chord is renowned for its remarkable controlling of passenger traffic, despite being burdened with freight traffic.
Tatanagar Junction Railway Station, station code TATA, is the main railway station serving the city of Jamshedpur in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is located on the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line of the Indian Railways. It has 6 platforms and handles around 100 trains each day. On 26th February 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually lay the foundation stone for the re-development of the station at cost of ₹335 Crores.
Dhanbad Junction railway station, station code DHN, is a railway station of the Indian railway serving the city of Dhanbad, the headquarters of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the largest railway station in Jharkhand, handling over 100 trains and 100000+ passengers every day. Dhanbad is also the headquarters of the Dhanbad Rail Division of the East Central Railway zone. Grand Chord rail-line that connects Howrah and New Delhi passes through Dhanbad junction. Dhanbad is located at 23°47′32″N86°25′42″E. It has an elevation of 235 metres (771 ft).
Koderma Junction railway station, station code KQR, is railway station of the Indian railway under Dhanbad railway division of East Central Railway zone serving the city of Jhumri Telaiya near by Koderma city, the headquarters of Koderma district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Grand Chord rail-line that connects Howrah and New Delhi passes through Koderma Junction. In this station, 4 Vande Bharat Express, 2 Rajdhani Express & 1 Duronto Express halts here.
Hazaribagh Town Railway Station is a railway station in India which serves the city of Hazaribagh in the state of Jharkhand. It belongs to East Central Railway of Dhanbad division and is located on NH100, Kumhar Toli in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand state. Patna - Ranchi Vande Bharat Express also halts at Hazaribagh Town railway station.
The Indian Government is undertaking several initiatives to upgrade its aging railway infrastructure and enhance its quality of service. The Railway Ministry has announced plans to invest ₹5,400,000 crore to upgrade the railways by 2030. Upgrades include 100% electrification of railways, upgrading existing lines with more facilities and higher speeds, expansion of new lines, upgrading railway stations, introducing and eventually developing a large high-speed train network interconnecting major cities in different parts of India and development of various dedicated freight corridors to cut down cargo costs within the country.
Vande Bharat Express is a medium-distance superfast express service operated by Indian Railways. It is a reserved, air-conditioned chair car service connecting cities that are less than 800 km (500 mi) apart or take less than ten hours to travel with existing services. The train was a part of the 'Make in India' initiative by the government and entered commercial service on 15 February 2019.
The 22301/22302 Howrah–New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express is India's 7th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the capital of West Bengal, Kolkata with Siliguri, the largest city in northern West Bengal via Shantiniketan, Malda Town.
The 22349/22350 Patna - Ranchi Vande Bharat Express is India's 20th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the city of Patna in Bihar with the city of Ranchi in Jharkhand. The train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 June 2023 via video conference from Rani Kamalapati (Habibganj) railway station.
The 20898/20897 Ranchi - Howrah Vande Bharat Express is India's 31st Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the city of Ranchi in Jharkhand with Howrah in West Bengal. This train was inaugurated on 24 September 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conference from New Delhi.
The 22415/22416 Varanasi - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express is India's 35th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the city of Varanasi with the capital city of India, New Delhi. This will be the 2nd Vande Bharat Express train which will run on the New Delhi-Varanasi train line after 15 February 2019.
The 20887/20888 Ranchi - Varanasi Vande Bharat Express is India's 49th Vande Bharat Express train, which connects the capital city of Jharkhand, Ranchi with the pilgrimage spot of the Holy Ganges River, Varanasi in northern Uttar Pradesh. This express train was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing from Ahmedabad on March 12 2024.
The 20707/20708 Secunderabad–Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express is India's 48th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the twin city and state capital of Telangana, Secundarabad with the largest metropolitan city Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. This express train was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing from Ahmedabad on March 12 2024.
The 20669/20670 SSS Hubballi - Pune Vande Bharat Express is India's 62nd Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the historic town of Karnataka, Hubli with the Deccan Plateau city of Pune in Maharashtra.
The 22500/22499 Varanasi - Deoghar Vande Bharat Express is India's 61st Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the Ganges city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh with the holy pilgrimage city of Deoghar in Jharkhand.
The 22303/22304 Howrah - Gaya Vande Bharat Express is India's 59th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the metropolitan and twin city of Kolkata, Howrah in West Bengal with the religious city of Gaya in Bihar.
The Tatanagar - Patna Vande Bharat Express is India's 56th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the industrial city of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand with the metropolitan capital city of Patna in Bihar.
The 20891/20892 Tatanagar - Brahmapur Vande Bharat Express is India's 57th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the industrial city of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand with Brahmapur in Odisha.
The 22309/22310 Howrah - Bhagalpur Vande Bharat Express is India's 60th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the metropolitan capital city of Kolkata in West Bengal with the Silk City Bhagalpur in Bihar.
