Saraighat Express

The Saraighat Express is a daily superfast train which runs between Howrah (Kolkata) and Guwahati (Assam).

History

The train is named after the famous Battle of Saraighat fought between Mughals and Ahom rulers of Assam (Ahom Kingdom) in which Mughals were defeated by the Ahoms under the great leadership of Mahavir Lachit Borphukan Commander-in-Chief. The train belongs to Eastern Railways zone of Indian Railway headquartered at Howrah.

The train numbered as 12345/12346 and being under superfast category is into the 2xxx number range.

Coach Composition

The train is composed of all the available class of travel in Indian Railways - 1st AC(1A),2nd AC(2A),3rd AC(3A),Sleeper(SL),General Unreserved Class.The coach composition for the train is 1A/2A COMPOSITE- 1(HA-1); 2A- 1(A-1), 3A- 3(B-1,B-2,B-3), SL- 13(S-1 # S-13), PC- 1; GENL- 3; SLR- 2.Total number of coaches being 24.Tatkal scheme is available in this train. The train is usually hauled by WDP-4, WDP-4B and WDP-4D from Siliguri loco shed. Its one of the best train to travel from Assam to Kolkata

Saraighat

Saraighat (Pron: ˌʃəraɪˈgɑ:t) is a place near Guwahati in Assam, on the north bank of the river Brahmaputra. Sarai was a small village where the old abandoned N.F. Railway station of Amingaon was located. The famous Battle of Saraighat was fought near this place on the river.

There is a road-cum-rail bridge over the river Brahmaputra joining the north & the south banks at Saraighat. This bridge is the first bridge on river Brahmaputra in Assam.

Saraighat Bridge

Saraighat Bridge is the first rail-cum-road bridge constructed over the Brahmaputra River in Guwahati. It was opened to traffic in April 1962 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Lachit Borphukan Park is situated on the south end and Chilarai Park situated on the north end of the bridge. The bridge was built for the North Frontier Railway.

Construction of Saraighat Bridge was started on January 1958. It was opened to goods traffic in October, 1962 and opened for passenger traffic on 7 June 1963. The estimated cost of the bridge was Rs.10,65,16,891. A new three lane concrete road bridge is being constructed by the side of the Saraighat Bridge.