Under Project Swarna, the Indian Railways has upgraded New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Shatabdi Express to 'Gold Standard'. It will be called as Jalpaiguri-Howrah Swarna Shatabdi Express. The Project Swarna, aims at improving security, cleanliness, amenities, aesthetics and services.

This is the second train to get up gradation under the Project Swarna after New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express in November last year. During the first phase of the project, 15 Shatabdi trains and 14 Rajdhani trains will be upgraded.

The first phase will include all the Shatabdi Express trains in Northeast Frontier Railway. Next under the Swarna upgrade are Guwahati-Naharlagun Shatabdi Express and Guwahati-Dibrugarh Shatabdi Express.

Average budget for upgrading train under Swarna is around Rs 50 lakh and for one coach it will be around Rs 2 lakh.

Salient Features of first Swarna Shatabdi Express between New Jalpaiguri and Howrah:

• International color scheme for interiors.
• LED lightning to improve illumination, including over mirrors.
• Vinyl wrapping of toilet doors.
• Improved bags for keeping magazines and an extra pocket for mobile phones.
• Night signage for easy identification of berth numbers.
• Auto Janitor system for fully automatic surface care in toilets, stainless steel wash basins along with health faucets, improvised soap dispensers, dustbins, polished commodes, epoxy coating, extra mats to keep the floor dry.