Mumbai Howrah Duronto Express Full Journey: Mumbai-Bilaspur

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• published: 07 Nov 2015
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A full journey compilation on the 12261 Mumbai Howrah Duronto Express, a revolutionary train which reduced the rail travel time between Kolkata and Mumbai to 26 hours, beating the existing fastest rail connection in this route, the legendary Gitanjali Express, by a whopping six hours. The Mumbai Howrah Duronto, a seventeen coach fully air-conditioned rake, operated from its very onset with posh LHB coaches, covers the 1,968 kilometres between the western and eastern coasts of India at an average speed of 75 kmph, with a maximum permissible speed of 110 kmph and six technical halts at Kasara (Maharashtra), Igatpuri (Maharashtra), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bilaspur (Chhatisgarh) and Tatanagar. This compilation features the first part of a full journey from Mumbai to Howrah on the Duronto. Heavy monsoon rains had delayed the incoming train, leading to a 20 minute delay in the departure of the Howrah bound Duronto. In Mumbai's packed suburban schedule, this translates to an immediately loss of a travel slot, leading to very sluggish progress till Kalyan, past overflowing suburban station. Post Kalyan, the Kalyan WCAM3 in charge of the Duronto gathers speed as we head towards the Western Ghats through the rugged terrain forming a buffer between the Konkan plains and the ghats. We arrive at Kasara for our banker attachment as dusk unfolds, and a triple-WAG7 attached (for braker purposes) Geetanjali Exprees comes rolling down the ghats. Ascending up to Igatpuri about 20 minutes later, the WCAM3 gives way to a crisp Itarsi WAP4, and almost immediately, we are racing through the Deccan, storming through large stations such as Nasik and Manmad. Early next morning we are at Nagpur and the Duronto progresses eastwards in its merry fashion. After a breezy morning run, we skip the station of Gondia and enter the reserved forest between Gondia and Dongargarh at a reduced pace, negotiating sharp curves on either side. Having entered into Chhattisgarh, we undertake possibly our biggest skip of the trip, skipping Durg, and proceed past the massive steel plant of Bhilai. We take the bypass across Raipur, and rejoin the mainline towards Bilaspur. After crossing the Shivnath river after Bhatapara, we reach Bilaspur at about half past nine in the morning, having covered a distance of over 1,200 kilometres in around 16 hours. On the way, we have some notable crossings such as the Pushpak Express, the Raigarh Gondia Jan Shatabdi Express, the legendary Mumbai Mail, the Bhilai WAM4 hauled Ambikapur Durg Express, the Pune Indore Express, and the Ernakulam Mumbai Duronto Express.