The 22387 / 22388 Black Diamond Express is a daily superfast passenger train that connects the city of

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur and a major financial hub of Jharkhand. In terms of economy, Dhanbad has the largest economy in the state of Jharkhand and it is often referred to as th ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

to the capital of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. It acts as a sister train / twin train to the Howrah – Dhanbad Coalfield Express. Initially, the train was inaugurated as 13317 / 13318 Howrah – Dhanbad Black Diamond Express. However, with the upgrading of this train to the superfast category, the train numbering was changed to 22387 / 22388.

History

Due to the proximity of

, the coal capital of India, to key coal and industrial regions in West Bengal (

Asansol Asansol is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest city in West Bengal. It is the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India by population. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman district. Accordi ...

Raniganj Raniganj is a neighbourhood in Asansol of Paschim Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is governed by Asansol Municipal Corporation. Geography Location Raniganj is located at . It has an average elevation of 91 me ...

Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...

, Waria,

Durgapur Durgapur (), is an industrial hub and a planned urban agglomeration in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is stands on the northern bank of the Damodar river and located in Paschim Bardhaman district. Durgapur is a major centre for producin ...

) and its closeness to

, a large number of passengers travel this route daily. However, with population growth and industrial expansion, the sole superfast connection, the Howrah–Dhanbad Coalfield Express, couldn't meet rising demand. As a result, a new train was truly needed. In response, the Howrah–Asansol Fast Passenger, inaugurated around 1954, was extended to Dhanbad in 1964, and renamed the Dhanbad Express. It later became the Black Diamond Express around 1970. The Black Diamond Express serves as a counterpart to the Coalfield Express but is operated by

East Central Railway The East Central Railway (abbreviated ECR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at and comprises , , , and divisions. History First set up on 8 September 1996 with headquarters at Hajipur, Bihar, East Central R ...

, while the Coalfield Express is managed by Eastern Railway. The Black Diamond Express runs on the Howrah – Barddhaman Main line, unlike the Coalfield Express, which uses the Howrah – Barddhaman Chord line. Additionally, the Black Diamond Express operates in the morning, complementing the evening Coalfield Express.

Service

The 22387 (HWH – DHN) departs Howrah at 06:15 and arrives in Dhanbad at 11:18, while the 22388 (DHN – HWH) departs Dhanbad at 16:20 and arrives in Howrah at 21:30, thereby traversing a distance of 271 km in around 5 hours, with an average speed of and maximum permissible speed of . Enroute, the train stops at: * Seoraphuli Jn * Bandel Jn * Barddhaman Jn * Mankar * Panagarh * Durgapur * Waria * Andal Jn * Raniganj * Asansol Jn * Sitarampur Jn * Kulti * Barakar * Kumardubi

Coach Composition

The train has been converted to LHB rake, from DHN w.e.f 25.03.2025 and from HWH w.e.f 26.03.2025. The current coach composition is: * SLR – 1 * GS – 10 * 2S – 6 * CC – 2 * EOG – 1 (Total = 20 LHB coaches) Earlier, the train used to be equipped with 22 ICF coaches, which included: * Two air-conditioned chair car coaches (C1 – C2) * Four non-air-conditioned chair car coaches (D1 – D4) * Thirteen unreserved general coaches (GS / UR) * One unreserved ladies coach (LDS / UR) * Two seating cum luggage cars (SLR)

Traction

The train is hauled by a Howrah Loco Shed-based

WAP-7 The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic ...

electric locomotive from end to end.

References

Rail transport in Howrah Transport in Dhanbad Express trains in India Rail transport in Jharkhand Named passenger trains of India Railway services introduced in 1964 {{India-rail-transport-stub

History

Service

Coach Composition

Traction

See also

References