Howrah-Kalka Mail renamed Netaji Express
Kolkata: The Indian Railways has renamed the Howrah-Kalka Mail as 'Netaji Express'.
"Ministry of Railways has approved to name 12311/12312 Howrah – Kalka Mail as Netaji Express on the resumption of its normal services. With effect from January 23, 2021, the 02311/02312 Howrah – Kalka Special will also be named as 02311/02312 Howrah – Kalka Netaji Express Special," said Kamal Deo Das, Chief Public Relations Officer, Eastern Railway.
He reiterated that the renaming of Howrah — Kalka Mail has been done to commemorate the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Howrah — Kalka Mail of Eastern Railway has the glory of being a part of 'great escape' of Netaji during the freedom struggle.
Netaji escaped from Calcutta and drove to Bararee near Dhanbad to his nephew Dr Sisir Kumar Bose's house from where he reached Gomoh Station and boarded the Kalka Mail in disguise on January 18, 1941.
Historically, the first train between Calcutta and Delhi was run by the East India Railway Company in 1866 in the name of 'East Indian Railway Mail' and the train was numbered as 1 Up and 2 Down. In later days, the train was further extended up to Kalka. The train was the principal mechanism by which the British civil servants moved to their summer capital in Shimla from Calcutta with the entire government machinery travelling on this train at the start of summer months and returning by it at the end of the season.
"Since Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had put India on the express route of freedom, Indian Railways is celebrating his birth anniversary with the introduction of Netaji Express," said an official.
With the resumption of the majority number of long-distance trains, Special trains, suburban trains and short-distance passenger trains, Eastern Railway has intensified cleaning and sanitisation works in train coaches and station premises of both Howrah and Sealdah Divisions to combat COVID-19.
All the EMU rakes are thoroughly sanitised from every stable point before offering them for passenger services. In all long-distance trains and short-distance passenger trains, the seat, berth, rexin including all touchpoints are being thoroughly sanitised. Awareness campaign by On Board House Keeping Staff (OBHS) regarding dos & don'ts to prevent the spread of the virus is also being undertaken. All the curtains have been removed and blankets withdrawn from services to prevent the spread of Coronavirus among onboard passengers.
In the station premises of both Howrah and Sealdah Divisions, frequency of cleaning and sanitisation of platforms, urinals, toilets, concourse, waiting rooms, ticket booking areas, tracks, water-vending points and passenger interface areas have been increased. Liquid soap dispensers are filled in regularly and can be available at appropriate places.
