After the Darjeeling Mail, another train that runs between Siliguri Junction and Jalpaiguri is the Padatik Express. I wait for the 12377- Padatik Express at Malda Town station in the morning with my buddy Anwarul Haque. But where's the wait? The train is supposed to arrive at 5.40 in the morning and leave at 5.45. But the train has already arrived on the platform half an hour ago. There's heavy security in front of the AC coaches in the middle. TT Babu says the general compartments are in the back. A Bengali guy told us a day ago that the train gets quite crowded. Since we only had to go till New Jalpaiguri, we didn't bother to reserve seats for the four-hour journey. But we easily found space in the general compartment. The general compartment of the Padatik Express is absolutely clean and tidy. There's a charging point in every compartment, and all the lights are working fine. There's even a dustbin in the toilet of the general compartment. I wish all trains had general compartments like this. Thank you, Eastern Railways, for such cleanliness and arrangements. The Padatik Express is named after the famous Bengali poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay's work - Padatik. The Padatik Express starts from Kolkata and...

Iss train ki punctuality ki baat karein to, yeh Kolkata aur Maldah ke beech mein sabse best maani jaati hai. Ye hamesha Maldah se pehle pohoche ke saath saath, late night Kolkata se departure karte hue aur early morning Maldah pohoche ke liye kaafi suitable hai. Lekin ICF rake ki maintenance average hai. LHB rake ke coaches bhi puraane hai lekin ICF rake se behtar maintain kiye jaate hain. Saath hi, kayi log sleeper coaches mein WL ticket ke saath safar karte hain, isse SL bheed-bhaad se bhara rehta hai, khaaskar weekends mein. Peak season mein, 3rd AC mein bhi yahi haal hota hai.