This is the first Rajdhani Express of India and is one of the fastest trains of Indian Railways in Kolkata to Delhi route.

[2] From 1965 onward Ministry of Railways (India) was looking for options to reduce the time travel between important destinations by implementing new technology.

Hence for that very purpose the Howrah–Delhi main line was chosen for the trials owing to its technological superiority in terms of feasibility and others.

The maximum permissible speed of the Howrah Rajdhani Express was kept 120 km/h for safety reasons, thus making it the fastest train of India at that point of time.

In 1993, Air Conditioned 3 Tier coaches were added in the train and of 3 July 1993 another service via Patna Junction railway station was also introduced from Howrah on Sunday and from New Delhi on Friday respectively.

And finally on 23 December 2017, the train was upgraded to the Swarna Standards of Indian Railways, laced with modern amenities and facilities for the passengers.

[12] The Rajdhani Express bound for New Delhi (train number 12301) departs from Howrah Railway Station at 16:50 hrs and reaches New Delhi at 10:05 hrs the following day, covering a distance of 1452 km in 17 hours and 15 minutes, achieving an average speed of 84 km/h.