#KnowYourTrain
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#Kanchanjunga Express
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~~~ Connecting City of Joy to the Gateway of North-East ~~~
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#Name: Kanchanjunga (8598 m, 28209 ft) is the third highest peak in the world, situated on the Nepal-India border (Sikkim). The sights of the peak from the various places in North Bengal and Sikkim have made the places popular amongst tourists. It is called Five Treasures of Snow after its five high peaks, and has always been worshipped by the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim. Since the train passes through North Bengal and also in the close proximity to Sikkim, the train has been named Kanchanjunga Express as an accolade to the peak.
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#Regions (Physical): Indo-Gangetic Plain, Himalayan Region, Brahmaputra Basin
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#Regions of State: Indo-Gangetic Plains, North Bengal Plains, Darjeeling Himalayan Hill Region, Dooars (Terai)
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#Zone, #Division: The train belongs to #NFR Zone, Lumding Division. The train passes through the following divisions: #ER – Sealdah, Howrah, Malda Town; #NFR: Katihar, Alipur Duar, Rangiya, Lumding
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#Route:
> Sealdah to Dumdum Jn via Sealdah – Ranaghat Line
At Dumdum, the train uses the Calcutta Chord Line to go to Dankuni Jn
>From Dankuni Jn, it uses the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Line
> New Jalpaiguri to Guwahati via Barauni-Guwahati Line
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#Halts, #States: It serves 4 states, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Assam. The train halts at 30 intermediate stations, the statewise breakup (excluding originating and terminating) is as follows: WB:18; JH-1; BR-3; AS-8
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#Soils: It crosses through region having black and alluvial soil
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#Rivers: Hooghly, Farrakka Barrage (Ganga), Mahananda, Teesta, Jaldhaka, Torsha, Raidak, Sankosh, Beki, Pagladiya, Brahmaputra
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#Languages: Bengali, Hindi, Maithili, Surjapuri, Assamese
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#Speed: Highest average speed: 78 kmph between Barpeta Road and Nalbari
Lowest average speed: 14 kmph between Kamakhya Jn and Guwahati
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#Base: Guwahati Jn
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Photo Credits:
Pic-1: Kanchenjunga Express at Prantik (/blog/post/543193/0 )
Pic-2: Sealdah Station (click here )
Pic-3: Victoria Memorial, Kolkata (click here )
Pic-4: Kanchanjunga, Darjeeling ( click here )
Pic-5: Tea Estates of Assam (click here )
Pic-6: Guwahati Station (click here )
Pic-7: Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati ( click here )

#KnowYourTrain
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#Chetak Express
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~~~ The Flying Horse of Mewar ~~~
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#Name: Pratap Singh, popularly known as Maharana Pratap was a Rajput ruler of Mewar province of Rajasthan. The Chittor Fort at Chittorgarh, which was Pratap’s ancestral home was under Mughal occupation. It was his dream to capture Chittor in order to give Mewar its lost glory. On 21st June, 1576, the two armies (one of Maharana Pratap and other of Akbar) met each other at Haldighati. The Mughal forces outnumbered the Rajput forces and Pratap’s generals prevailed upon him to flee the field so as to be able to fight some other day. Myths indicate that to facilitate Pratap's escape, one of his lieutenants, a member of the Jhala clan, donned Pratap's distinctive garments and took his place in the battlefield, so that Pratap can safely escape. He was soon killed. Meanwhile, riding his trusty Chetak, Pratap was able to successfully evade captivity and escape to the hills. However, Chetak was critically wounded on his left thigh by a mardana (Elephant Trunk Sword), with spear of weight 26.3 kg while Pratap had attempted to nail down Emperor Akbar. Chetak was bleeding heavily and he collapsed after jumping over a small river a few kilometres away from the battle field. A famous couplet in a poem narrates this incident of the battle:
~ Aage nadiya padi apaar, ghoda kaise utare paar; Rana ne socha is paar, tab tak chetak tha us paar... ~
English Translation :
Lies the boundless river ahead, How will the horse cross it? While Rana was thinking still on this side (of river), Chetak was that side!
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Since the train connects Delhi with Udaipur, one of the important cities of Mewar region, the train is named as Chetak Express as a mark of respect to Chetak who was a horse of unparalleled fame, courage, speed, intelligence and sacrifice who gave up his life for the cause of freedom.
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#Regions (Physical): Delhi Ridge, Aravalli Ranges, Mewar Plains
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#Regions of State: Delhi, Gurgaon Division, Dhundhar, Mewar
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#Zone, #Division: The rake belongs to #NWR Zone, Bikaner Division but for this run, it is maintained by Ajmer Division. The train passes through the following divisions: #NR: Delhi; #WR: Ratlam; #NWR: Jaipur, Ajmer
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#Route:
> Delhi Sarai Rohilla – Rewari Line
> Rewari to Ajmer via Ringas Jn
> Ajmer – Udaipur Line
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#Halts, #States: Serves 3 States – Delhi, Haryana & Rajasthan. The train halts at 16 intermediate stations, the statewise breakup as follows (excluding originating & terminating): DL-1, HR-3, RJ-12
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#Soils: It crosses through region having black, sand-clay mix and red-loam soil
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#Rivers: Sahibi, Hameer Lake, Luni, Banas, Berach, Ahar
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#Languages: Hindi, Haryanvi and Rajasthani (Mewari & Marwari dialect)
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#Speed: Highest average speed: 82 kmph between Phulera-Kishangarh
Lowest average speed: 15 kmph between Ranapratapnagar and Udaipur City
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#RSA: 22471/72 BKN-DEE-BKN SF Intercity Express
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#Base: Bikaner Junction (due to RSA)
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Photo Credits:
Pic-1: Train Board ( /blog/post/598074/0 )
Pic-2: Delhi Sarai Rohilla Station ( /blog/post/556715/0 )
Pic-3: Red Fort, Delhi ( click here )
Pic-4: Maharana Pratap on Chetak in City Palace, Udaipur ( click here )
Pic-5: Chetak Smarak ( click here )
Pic-6: Udaipur City Railway Station ( /blog/post/384146/0 )
Pic-7: City Palace Complex, Udaipur at Night ( click here )

#KnowYourTrain
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#RaniChennammaExpress
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~~~ The Queen of SWR ~~~
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#Name: Kitturu is a village in Belgaum district of Karnataka, the erstwhile Kitturu Kingdom. The ruler of this kingdom was Rani Chennamma. She became queen of her native kingdom and married Raja Mallasarja, of the Desai family, and had one son. After their son's death in 1824 she adopted Shivalingappa, and made him heir to the throne. The British East India Company did not accept this and ordered Shivalingappa's expulsion, using a policy of Doctrine of Lapse but Chennamma defied the order. In 1824, 33 years before the 1857 war of independence, she led an armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of Lapse. The resistance ended in her martyrdom and she is remembered today as one of the earliest Indian rulers to have fought for independence. Since the train connects Bangalore to Kolhapur, but passing from the northern parts of Karnataka where Chennamma was influential, the train has been named as Rani Chennamma Express in her honour.
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#Regions (Physical): Plains of the Deccan Plateau
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#Regions of State: Karnataka: Southern Bayaluseeme, Northern Bayaluseeme, Malenadu; Maharashtra: Paschim Maharashtra (Desh)
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#Zone, #Division: The train belongs to #SWR Zone, Bangalore Division. The train passes through the following divisions: #SWR: Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli; #CR – Pune
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#Route:
> Bangalore-Pune line via Hubli, Miraj
> Miraj – Kolhapur branch line
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#Halts, #States: Serves 2 States – Karnataka & Maharashtra. The train halts at 26 intermediate stations, the statewise breakup as follows (excluding originating & terminating): KA - 25, MH-1
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#Soils: It crosses through region having Black soil
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#Rivers: Tungabhadra, Krishna, Panchganga
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#Languages: It passes through the regions speaking Kannada & Marathi
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#Speed: Highest average speed: 70 kmph between Tumkur-Ammasandra along with Ranibenur-Haveri and Raybag-Chinchli;
Lowest average speed: 23 kmph between Ugar Khurd-Miraj Jn
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#Base: Bangalore City Jn
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Photo Credits:
Pic-1: Train Board (Self captured) - ( /blog/post/575316 )
Pic-2: Bangalore City Jn – (click here )
Pic-3: Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore (click here )
Pic-4: Rani Chenamma Monument, Kittur (click here )
Pic-5: Rani Chennamma Statue close-up view ( click here )
Pic-6: Kolhapur Station (Self captured) (/blog/post/575262/1 )
Pic-7: Mahalaxmi Temple, Kolhapur (click here )

#KnowYourTrain
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#Bagh Express
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~~ Connecting City of Joy to the Hills of Uttarakhand ~~
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(Note: Special Thanks to Sparsh Sharma** Sir for some inputs on regions and rivers)
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#Name: The word Bagh means Garden or Park. Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest National Park of India established in 1836, in Ramnagar District of Uttarakhand. The Park is very popular with tourists, both National and International alike and is a hotspot for tourism in Uttarakhand being home to a variety of flora and fauna. The nearest railhead to the Park is at Kathgodam, which is also a gateway to many other hill stations and tourist places in Uttarakhand, viz. Nainital, Ramgarh, Mukteshwar, Ranikhet, Almora and Kausani. Since the train connects Howrah with Kathgodam, it is named as Bagh Express as an accolade to the Jim Corbett National Park.
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#Regions (Physical): The Indo-Gangetic Plains, Chhota Nagpur Plateau, Gurpa-Gujhandi Ghats, A part of the Terai Plains, Awadh Plains, Himalayan Region (Kumaon Hills)
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#Regions of State: Rarh region, Santhal Pargana, Chhota Nagpur, Purvanchal, Tirhut, Saran, Rohilkhand, Awadh, Kumaon Hills.
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#Zone, #Division: The train belongs to #ER Zone, Howrah Division. The train passes through the following divisions: #ER –Howrah, Asansol; #ECR – Danapur, Sonpur, Samastipur; #NER – Varanasi, Lucknow, Izzatnagar; #NR - Moradabad
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#Route:
Howrah – Delhi Main line from Howrah to Lakhisarai
Lakhisarai – Barauni Line
Barauni-Gorakhpur line (the southernmost of three lines originating from Barauni, the other two being to Raxaul and Jaynagar) via Muzaffarpur, Sonpur, Chhapra
Gorakhpur – Lucknow Jn Main Line
Lucknow – Bareilly Line
Bareilly-Lalkuan-Kathgodam Line
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#Halts, #States: Serves 5 States – West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The train halts at 63 intermediate stations, the statewise breakup as follows: WB-7, JH-3, BR-31, UP-18, UK-4
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#Soils: It crosses through region having Black, Red and Alluvial Soil
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#Rivers: Hooghly, Damodar, Kiul, Ganga, Gandak, Ghagara, Rapti, Gomti
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#Languages: It passes through the regions speaking Bengali, Santhali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Hindi & Urdu
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#Speed: Highest average speed: 85 kmph between Chittaranjan & Madhupur;
Lowest average speed: 8 kmph between Badshahnagar and Lucknow Jn
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#Base: Howrah Jn
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Photo Credits:
Pic-1: Train Board: ( /blog/post/565107 )
Pic-2: Howrah Station: (click here
Pic-3: Howrah Bridge : (click here )
Pic-4: Kathgodam Station: ( /blog/post/506600 )
Pic-5: Nainital ( click here )
Pic-6: Tiger in Corbett Tiger Reserve (click here )

#KnowYourTrain
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#ShivGangaExpress
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~~ A prestigious, highly preferred, ISO Certified SF train of NER meant to connect Varanasi with New Delhi ~~
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#Name: Varanasi, the Temple City of India is one of the most ancient and holiest places in India, the nucleus of pilgrimage of Hindu people. The place has immense religious significance, being situated on the banks of River Ganga. It is where one of the 12 Jyotirlingas are situated, in the form of Kashi Vishwanath. Since the train goes to Varanasi, it has been named as Shiv Ganga Express.
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#Regions of State: It passes through Middle Doab, Awadh & Purvanchal regions of UP
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#Physical Regions: It passes through plains of Awadh and Ganga-Yamuna Doab
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#Zone, #Division: The train belongs to North Eastern Railways. Enroute, it passes through #NER: Varanasi Division, #NCR: Allahabad Division, #NR: Delhi Division
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#Route:
> BSB-ALD: Single line diesel route via Gyanpur Road
> ALD-NDLS: on the HWH-ALD-NDLS Trunk route
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#Halts: 3 intermediate halts in both the directions; 1 halt in NER and 2 halts in NCR. All the halts are in UP State.
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#States: Serves 2 states – UP and Delhi
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#Base: Varanasi Jn
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#Soils: It crosses through region having Alluvial Soil
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#Rivers: Ganga, Yamuna
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#Languages: It travels through Hindi & Urdu speaking belt
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#Speed: Highest average speed between ALD-CNB: 73 kmph; Lowest average speed between BSB-MUV: 27 kmph.
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Photo Credits:
Pic-1: Train Board ( /blog/post/754800 )
Pic-2: Varanasi Station, Self shot ( /blog/post/688362/1 )
Pic-3: Kashi Vishwanath Temple & Jyotirlinga, Varanasi ( click here )
Pic-4: Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi ( click here )
Pic-5: India Gate, New Delhi ( click here )
Pic-6: New Delhi Station ( click here )