Taj Express

Taj Express
	Taj Express standing on Agra Cantt Railway station
Overview
Locale	Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh
First service	1 October 1964 ; between New Delhi & Agra
Route
Termini	New Delhi; Jhansi Junction
Stops	10
Distance travelled	410 km (250 mi)
Average journey time	7 hours
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	12279 / 12280
On-board services
Class(es)	Executive Class Premium Class
Seating arrangements	CC & EC
Sleeping arrangements	No
Catering facilities	Yes
Technical
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	59 km/h (37 mph) average with halts

The Taj Express was started in 1964 to serve tourists traveling from Delhi to Agra. It reduced the traveling time from over three hours to around two and a half hours. Taj Express was started along the lines of Deccan Queen- which ran as a high-speed commuter-special train between Pune Junction and CSMT Mumbai (ex Victoria Terminus Bombay) – and provided a quick and comfortable journey between Agra and Delhi. It was a very popular train especially among foreign tourists, before the Bhopal Shatabdi was introduced in 1988. The train was later extended up to Gwalior in 1985 and then to Jhansi in 2006. It was named after Taj Mahal.

History

In 1964 Taj Express was introduced from New Delhi to Agra. Running at 105 km/h, it brought down travel time on this route to 2h 35m. It was hauled by a WP-7003 steam engine. It was a train that was immensely popular with tourists, particularly foreigners, as it gave them ample time to visit the Taj Mahal and neighbouring monuments before returning to Delhi that evening. It was posted on Facebook page of Ministry of Railways, Government of India (Facebook confirmed that this is the authentic profile for this public figure.) on 1 October 2022: On this day in 1964, Taj Express, the then fastest train on the Indian Railways Network was introduced between New Delhi and Agra Cantt.
Surprisingly, the train did not run on Wednesdays. The Taj Mahal monument was then closed to tourists on Mondays ^[1] and the one day off on Wednesdays was a direct financial loss. The Archaeological Survey of India then decided that the Taj Mahal would remain closed on Fridays for the public except for Muslims who could pray in the mosque between 12 noon to 2 P.M.^[2] The Taj Express still did not operate on Wednesdays.
In Oct, 1982 The Taj Express began using diesel locomotives (WDM-2).
In 1985, then-Railway Minister Madhavrao Scindia extended the Taj Express to Gwalior Junction. Journey time was 5hrs 20 min, leaving Hazrat Nizamuddin at 0710 am and reaching Gwalior at 1230 pm. The return timings were 1710 pm departure Gwalior and 2230 pm arrival Hazrat Nizamuddin. In 1989, the Wednesdays off was discontinued. The train, however, remained idle for well over four hours at Gwalior.
In 1986 The Taj Express began using electric locomotives.
1 July 2006, the train was extended to Jhansi.
4 January 2016, the train introduced LHB coach.
21 February 2018, the source for 12280 and destination station of 12279, changed from Hazrat Nizamuddin (NZM) to New Delhi (NDLS).
3 June 2024, three coaches of The Taj Express heading towards Jhansi got burnt after a fire broke out from one of its coaches. ^[3] There are no injuries among all passenger.

Train info


Locomotive	Ghaziabad (GZB)	WAP-5	WAP-7


Train coaches	LHB rakes


ENG	Luggage brake & Generator car	AC Chair Car (1st Class)			Chair Car (2nd Class)														General (3rd Class)		Luggage brake & Generator car
L	EOG	C1	C2	C3	D1	D2	D3	D4	D5	D6	D7	D8	D9	D10	D11	D12	D13	D14	GS1	GS2	EOG

Route

The train numbered 12279 goes from Gwalior Junction to New Delhi railway station, and train number is 12280 goes from New Delhi railway station to Jhansi.


Taj Express
#	Station	Code	Average speed / hour	Zone	Address
1	New Delhi	NDLS	40	NR	Ajmeri Gate 110002, Delhi NCT
2	Nizamuddin, Delhi	NZM	70	NR	New Delhi 110013, Delhi NCT
3	Faridabad	FDB	80	NR	PIN 121003, Haryana
4	Mathura	MTJ	90	NCR	Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
5	Raja ki Mandi, Agra	RKM	30	NCR	Agra, Uttar Pradesh
6	Agra Cantt, Agra	AGC	60	NCR	Agra, Uttar Pradesh
7	Dhaulpur	DHO	60	NCR	Dhaulpur, Rajasthan
8	Morena	MRA	60	NCR	Morena, Madhya Pradesh
9	Gwalior Junction	GWL	70	NCR	Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
10	Dabra	DBA	73	NCR	Dabra, Madhya Pradesh
11	Datia	DAA	26	NCR	Datia, Madhya Pradesh
12	Jhansi Junction	JHS	43	NCR	Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

Locomotive

As the whole route is electrified the train is generally hauled by WAP-7 from Ghaziabad for its whole journey. But occasionally it is also hauled by WAP-5 from Ghaziabad.

References

^ "Taj Mahal in Agra Tours, Taj Mahal in Agra travel, Taj Mahal in Agra Tour packages, Taj Mahal in Agra Tourism, Golden Triangle Travel". Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
^ "Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh, Archaeological Survey of India". Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
^ "Panic on Taj Express after fire breaks out near Delhi station, passengers rescued". Retrieved 4 June 2024.

External links

[1] "Taj Mahal in Agra Tours, Taj Mahal in Agra travel, Taj Mahal in Agra Tour packages, Taj Mahal in Agra Tourism, Golden Triangle Travel". Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.

[2] "Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh, Archaeological Survey of India". Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.

[3] "Panic on Taj Express after fire breaks out near Delhi station, passengers rescued". Retrieved 4 June 2024.

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