The 12311 / 12312 Netaji Express, formerly known as the Kalka Mail, is one of the oldest continuously 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.
12311 departs Howrah at 21:55 IST and reaches Kalka at 03:00 IST on the third day. [1]
12312 departs Kalka at 23:55 IST and reaches Howrah at 08:05 IST on the third day. [2]
Coach Composition
The train runs with 22 LHB coach, consisting of General (GEN), Sleeper (SL), Third AC (3A), Second AC (2A) and First AC (1A) classes. It has four rakes. The primary maintenance is executed at Sorting Yard Coaching Complex, Liluah.
Legends
EOG/SLR
PC
MIL
H
A
HA
B
AB
G
K
E
C
S
D
GEN/UR
Generator cum luggage van
Pantry car or Hot buffet car
Military coach
First AC (1A)
Second AC (2A)
First AC cum Second AC
Third AC (3A)
Third AC cum Second AC
Third AC economy (3E)
Anubhuti coach (K)
Executive chair car (EC)
AC Chair car (CC)
Sleeper class (SL)
Second seating (2S)
General or Unreserved
Loco and other service coach
AC coach
Non-AC coach
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 Kalka bound 12311 (i.e. the EOG-GEN-GEN-S1-S2-S3-PC-B1-A1 part) comprise of the slip service to Chandigarh. They are detached from the train at Chandigarh and a seating cum luggage (SLR) coach is attached infront of A2. On the train's return journey to Howrah 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 (Up Line) / 2 DN (Down Line), known as the East Indian Railway Mail. Initially, this service operated exclusively between Howrah and Delhi.[3]
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.[4]
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. [5] On July 10, 2011 this train was involved in a derailment at Malwan station in Fatehpur district that killed 70 and injured 300.[6] 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.[7] 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. [a]
In popular culture
This train is featured in a short story by Satyajit Ray, the Indian film director and writer. In the story, The Mystery of the Kalka Mail (Baksho Rahasya), the three main characters travel from Calcutta to Delhi and on to Kalka on the train. The plot involves a stolen diamond and an unpublished manuscript.[8] The story was also made into a radio play and a film.
15 coaches of the Kalka Mail derailed on the Kanpur-Fatehpur line near the Fatehpur railway station on the afternoon of 10 July 2011. Causation is unsolved though poor maintenance of the locomotive is suspected because the engine had begun swaying sideways just before the accident. More than 70 persons died and 300 were injured. The injured were taken to hospitals in Kanpur, Lucknow and Allahabad.[9][10]
Notes
↑ In Indian Railways, when a train receives LHB coaches, either the slip service is permanently cancelled or the train serves both the destinations, but with a reduced frequency .
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