The 12859 / 12860 ''Gitanjali Express'' is a daily train running between two metro cities,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, () in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, (

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST ( suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The terminus was ...

) in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

connecting the East with the West. Numbered 12859/60 this train belongs to the Superfast category. This train takes 30½ hrs to cover the distance of 1968 km between Mumbai and Howrah while the return takes 31 hrs 15 mins. This is first train which depart behind pure AC Loco from Mumbai CSMT after conversion of Mumbai CSMT to Thane from DC to AC. It has the top most priority in Howrah Mumbai route.

Relevance

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

, a famous poet of India, wrote the book ''

Gitanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' ( bn, গীতাঞ্জলি, lit='Song offering') is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature, for the English translation, Gitanjali:''Song Offer ...

''. Since this train, too, starts from

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

this train has the same name. This is the first Classless train in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, introduced by Ex Railway Minister Prof. Madhu Dandvate on 26 December 1977.

Train Schedule

From Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Howrah — 12859. The train starts from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus everyday. Note : Train stops at

Kasara Kasara is a census town in Thane district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is on the busy Mumbai–Nashik route, which is one of the four major routes that lead into Mumbai. Kasara is served by a railway station on the Mumbai Suburb ...

Igatpuri Railway Station Igatpuri railway station serves Igatpuri in Nashik district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It stands at the head of Thal Ghat. It is a loco change-over point for trains moving out of Mumbai as well as trains entering Mumbai. The trains m ...

only for Bankers Loco attachment & removal at the back of the Train. There is no Commercial halt at these Stations. From Howrah to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus — 12860. The train starts from Howrah everyday.

Arrival & Departure

Train No.12859 leaves source point, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus at 6:00 am and reaches its destination station Howrah Junction at 12:30 noon the next day. Train No.12860 leaves Howrah Junction at 2:05 pm and reach its destination, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus at 9:20 pm next day.

Traction

It is hauled by a

Santragachi Santragachi, or Santragachhi, is a residential neighbourhood in Howrah, Howrah district, West Bengal, India. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Santragachi Junction in Santragachi is one of t ...

based

WAP-7 The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 Volt, kV Alternating current, AC Electric locomotive, electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 ...

Locomotive (End to End). Top speed permissible is 130 km/h.

Coach composition

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gitanjali Express Rail transport in Howrah Transport in Mumbai Named passenger trains of India Rail transport in West Bengal Express trains in India Rail transport in Maharashtra Rail transport in Odisha Rail transport in Chhattisgarh Rail transport in Jharkhand Railway services introduced in 1977