railroad.wikisort.org - Train

The 12339 / 12340 Coalfield Express is a Superfast class Indian Railways day train connecting Kolkata with industrial towns and coal belts of Durgapur, Raniganj, Asansol, Dhanbad[1] as well as between Dhanbad and Howrah railway station.

Coalfield Express

Overview
Service type	Superfast
Locale	West Bengal & Jharkhand
First service	1 October 1958; 63 years ago (1958-10-01)
Current operator(s)	Eastern Railways
Route
Termini	Howrah (HWH) Dhanbad (DHN)
Stops	11
Distance travelled	260 km (162 mi)
Average journey time	4 hours 30 minutes
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	12339 / 12340
On-board services
Class(es)	AC Chair Car, Chair Car & General Unreserved
Seating arrangements	Yes
Sleeping arrangements	No
Catering facilities	On-board catering, E-catering
Observation facilities	Largw windows
Baggage facilities	Available
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB coaches
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Yes
Operating speed	60 km/h (37 mph) average with halts

Schedule

• 12339 Coalfield Express leaves Howrah terminal at 5:20 p.m. from Platform No. 12 every day and reaches Dhanbad Junction at 9:40 p.m. the same day.
• 12340 Coalfield Express departs Dhanbad Junction at 5:50 a.m. every day and arrives at Howrah at 10:30 a.m. the same day.

Rake sharing

It shares its route with the Agniveena Express and the Shantiniketan Express.

It is the twin train of the Black Diamond Express, which runs from Dhanbad to Howrah as well. It differs in that it runs through the Howrah–Barddhaman chord line while the Black Diamond Express goes through the Howrah–Barddhaman main line.

The train does not stop at Barddhaman and runs non-stop for 132 km from Howrah to Mankar in around 1 hr 39 min, at a top speed of 130 km/hr.

Route & halts

• Dhanbad Junction
• Kumardubi
• Barakar
• Kulti
• Sitarampur
• Asansol Junction
• Raniganj
• Andal Junction
• Durgapur
• Panagarh
• Mankar
• Howrah

Traction

Both trains are hauled by a WAP-7 of Howrah Electric Loco Shed on its entire journey.

Trivia

In 2011, the train travelled several kilometres on the wrong track during a journey. The train took the wrong track at Khana Junction and travelled towards Bolpur instead of Dhanbad. It was sent back on the right track after the staff at the Talit railway station spotted the error.[2]

In 1982 the train had a scheduled stop at Barddhaman junction. However, due to overbearing notoriety of the daily commuters in the Barddhaman-Howrah section, which often culminated in serious altercations with other passengers^{[citation needed]}, the stoppage had been revoked. An EMU (electric multiple unit) local train was put into the service to cater to the daily passengers travelling from Barddhaman to Howrah at that particular hour of the day. The train had few stops in between the two stations.

Since the introduction of the new LHB racks the instances of daily commuters disturbing other commuters have lessened as the sitting space has been increased and standing space decreased^{[citation needed]}.

References

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