Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee flags off first 'Duronto Express'

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday flagged off Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto express, the country's first point-to-point non-stop train, with an assurance that 13 others will be launched soon.

"Duronto is a new idea. We are thinking in terms of introducing more faster trains in the country in future. It will be faster than Rajdhani and other trains. The point-to-point train will be very helpful for common people, businessmen and students," Banerjee said after flagging off the express.

The Duronto express will cover the 1447-km distance between Sealdah and New Delhi in 16 hours 20 minutes.

The train will have no commercial stop, but has three operational stops at Dhanbad, Moghalsarai and Kanpur Central.


The 16-coach train comprises one AC-1, three AC-II, four AC-III and five AC-III(economy) coaches.

These trains will be launched in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore as a pilot project.