CLASH OF THE TITANS - MUMBAI - HOWRAH - MUMBAI DURONTO ATTACKS BHANDUP STN WITH THEIR WCAM's
Video by me(Yash Mandovi)
12262 - WCAM - 3 hauled with 1 hr late running Howrah - Mumbai Duronto Exp blast past Bhandup.
12261 - Chasing Mumbai Pune Deccan Queen, Magnificently honking Mumbai Howrah Duronto passes Bhandup just 4 mins after Deccan Queen Passed. Railfan Joshua...
more... Mendonca can be seen in action..
Know more about this Duronto -
This duronto express train was one of the earliest Duronto exp to be flagged of. The train began its services from Howrah in Kolkata to Mumbai on Sep 28 2009. The train departs at 17.15 from Mumbai CST on Sunday Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and arrives at Howrah at 19.40 hrs on the next day. The train departs from Howrah on Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Fridays at 08.20 and reaches Mumbai at 10.30 averaging about 75 kmph.
The Duronto express derives its name from the Bengali word Duronto which means restless . These category train run non stop between the origin and destination and halt only at pre designated TECHNICAL halts. The Duronto express predecessor was the Samparkkranti exp which also ran initially as a non stop train. But owing to poor response halts were added to it and samparkkrantis are now one of the fastest Superfast trains. Duronto express trains are the countries fastest trains. Duronto trains are available in full AC variants as well as regular variant. Both ICF and LHB coach rakes are utilised for its services. The train was the brain child of the railway minister Ms Mamata Banerjee. Many of them connect the city of Kolkata with other major cities. These trains have been surrounded by many controversies since a large chunk of them have fared poorly though there were some outstanding HITS. The LHB variants are fit for speeds as high as 160 kmph although no Duronto exp travels faster than 130 kmph.
The train is maintained by the South Eastern Railway. The trains base station is Santragachi Coaching Depot. It offers only AC sleeper accomodation. The train offers 3 classes of accomodation . The rake consists of 9 AC 3 tier compartments and 3 AC 2Tier compartments and 1 AC First Class Compartment, 1 Pantry car and 2 luggage cum Generator vans. The train is an outstanding performer . The train is one of the first trains to hit WL during the vacation season. The train passes through Mumbai city and the western ghats, the vidarbha region and the chhota nagpur plateau region. The train connects the Marathi and Bengali speaking regions. The train crosses the rivers of Godavari, Purna, Wardha, Kanhan, Sheonath, Subarnarekha, Karkhai, Brahmani, Kangsabati, Rupnarayan, Damodar. The train is the fastest train on the Mumbai-Howrah route and goes at a good speed of around 120 kmph. The MPS of tracks in the Mumbai Region is less owing to the very high density of traffic. The train is a very high priority one and is very well noted for its speed and aggression. The food is also of decent standards in this train. The train is very comfortable owing to the advanced LHB rakes and improved air suspension as opposed to pneumatic spring suspension on other trains. The train has technical halts at Igatpuri, Bhusawal, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Tatanagar stations where water for the lavatories and food items are loaded. Also the train is checked for any problems.
The train is hauled by WCAM-3 locomotive from the Kalyan Loco Shed from Mumbai to Igatpuri after which a WAP-4 locomotive from HWH shed hauls it till Howrah. The train gets a HWH WAP-4 since SRC WAP-4 cannot go beyond 110.The train shares rakes with the Pune- Howrah AC Duronto express. The train is good for its speed and very good timetable The train however does not have commercial stoppages in between Mumbai CST and Howrah and hence is unsuitable for people in other regions although people can get down at technical halts at their own risk. Also the train is completely AC and hence may not be pocket friendly.