Golden Quadrilateral

The Golden Quadrilateral is a group of highways connecting four major cities of India, namely Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. With a total length of 5,846 km (3,633 mi), the Golden Quadrilateral is one of the longest loop roads in the world.

The Golden Quadrilateral was constructed between 1999 and 2012 to establish better and faster transport networks between India's major cities. This journey covers a vast array of India's cultural and natural diversity: from the Gangetic Plain and coastal landscapes to the Deccan Plateau, the Western Ghats and semi-arid Rajasthan.

The Golden Quadrilateral is divided into four sections: Delhi–Kolkata (NH 44 and NH 19), Kolkata–Chennai (NH 16), Chennai–Mumbai (NH 48) and Mumbai–Delhi (NH 48).

The Delhi–Kolkata section roughly coincides with the historical Grand Trunk Road (GT Road), a major trade route between eastern and northern India since ancient times. It was once called NH 2 before being renumbered as NH 44 (Delhi–Agra) and NH 19 (Agra–Kolkata) in 2010, although some people still call this highway NH 2.

The Kolkata–Chennai section is also called Grand Southern Trunk Road (GST Road) after the more famous GT Road. It was once called NH 5 before being renumbered as NH 16 in 2010.

The Chennai–Mumbai section coincides with Pune–Bangalore Road (PB Road), which connects the cities Pune and Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore). It was once called NH 4 before being renumbered as NH 48 in 2010.

The Mumbai–Delhi section is the busiest in the network. It was once called NH 4 before being renumbered as NH 48 in 2010.

Travelling the whole Golden Quadrilateral will take around three days at best and considering the usual road quality and traffic congestion it will take even longer. So, it is better to explore each section at a time.

In addition, the Golden Quadrilateral crosses multiple cultures with their own languages. While Hindi is widely understood in the Delhi–Kolkata and Mumbai–Delhi sections, the same isn't true for the Kolkata–Chennai and Chennai–Mumbai sections, where English is better understood among locals.

The Golden Quadrilateral intersects multiple national and state highways, as well as some expressways. Other than the four major cities, it also links Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Pune.

This itinerary is in clockwise.

The 1,453 km (903 mi) long Delhi–Kolkata section (NH 44 and NH 19) passes through the diverse urban and rural landscapes of the Indian Plains and Eastern India.

The highway's western terminus is at 28.59444677.1664311 Dhaula Kuan in New Delhi. It follows Mahatma Gandhi Marg till Ashram, and the following section is called Mathura Road. It enters the satellite town of 28.4112477.313162 Faridabad in Haryana via Badarpur border crossing.

From Faridabad, the road crosses a few towns in Haryana before entering Uttar Pradesh via 27.85549777.4027163 Karman Toll Plaza. It then enters the twin cities 27.57277877.6933334 Vrindavan and 27.49241377.6736735 Mathura, which are Hindu pilgrimage sites associated with Krishna.

As you leave Mathura, the road splits into NH 44 and NH 19 at Keetham. Follow NH 19 and enter 27.1878.026 Agra, the former capital of the Mughal Empire. Some roadside attractions include the Keetham Lake, Sikandra (Akbar's Tomb and Mariam's Tomb) and Aram Bagh opposite Yamuna River. Unfortunately, the Taj Mahal isn't visible from the highway.

From Agra, you will skim through the outskirts of a few ordinary cities before entering 26.7779.037 Etawah, home to the Safari Park and the National Chambal Sanctuary.

From Etawah, you will again skim through the outskirts of a few ordinary cities before entering 26.472580.3311118 Kanpur, a major industrial centre in the Gangetic Plain.

After Kanpur, the next large city is 25.4581.859 Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), a Hindu pilgrimage site at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna. It is one of the sites of the Kumbh Mela every 12 years and Magh Mela every year. You will see a massive crowd along the Ganges while crossing the river in January–February.

From Prayagraj, the next city is of course 25.31888983.01277810 Varanasi, one of India's holiest Hindu cities. However, NH 19 skims through the outskirts of Varanasi, so you have to leave the highway to get into the city. Across the Ganges, you will come across Ramnagar, home to a Mughal-style fort.

From Varanasi, NH 19 enters Bihar after crossing the Karamnasa River. You can briefly leave NH 19 and head towards 24.9584.0311 Sasaram, the former capital of Sher Shah Suri who redeveloped Grand Trunk Road.

From Sasaram, you again enter NH 19 and cross the Son River from Dehri-on-Sone to Sonnagar. 24.7584.3712 Aurangabad is a major urban centre and you might find some amenities there.

From Aurangabad, NH 19 enters Jharkhand after crossing the forested Mohana River and its palaeochannel. There are some amenities at 24.44825385.15900813 Chordaha. The Jharkhand side is hilly with some waterfalls.

Going downhill, the highway enters 24.385.4214 Barhi , home to the massive Tilaiya Dam Reservoir on the Barakar River. The Hazaribagh National Park is also nearby.

After Barhi, you will see the 23.961186.137115MISSING WIKILINK Parasnath Hill (Sikharji), a Jain pilgrimage site. After that, you will skim through the outskirts of 23.7927886.43516 Dhanbad, famous for coal mining.

From Dhanbad, you can explore the large 23.7886.8117 Maithon Dam Reservoir across the Barakar River before entering West Bengal. From Maithon, NH 19 enters 23.68333386.96666718 Asansol, a major industrial city in the Rarh region. You can explore the Ghagar Buri Temple on the outskirts.

From Asansol, there's another coal-mining centre on the highway and that's 23.6287.1319 Raniganj. After Raniganj, the highway enters 23.5587.3220 Durgapur, the well-planned twin of Asansol. There are numerous amenities for travellers in Durgapur. Nearby Panagarh is also worth visiting.

From Durgapur, NH 19 turns into a six-lane expressway, namely Durgapur Expressway. The expressway enters a few towns and villages while transitioning back to the agrarian Gangetic Plain, and then it enters 23.2587.8521 Bardhaman, bypassing much of the city. You can leave NH 19 at Nababhat to better explore the city on the older GT Road, which meets NH 19 at Alisha. There's another exit at NH 116A (SH 7), which runs north to Moregram near Nalhati and south to Kharagpur.

From Bardhaman, the next major stop is at 23.2040987.9676722 Saktigarh , famous for the numerous roadside "langcha" shops selling the popular Bengali sweet. After savouring some langcha, there's an SH 13 exit at Palsit that covers GT Road till Mogra, and then Delhi Road which meets NH 19 at Dankuni.

After crossing the 23.17873288.02637923 Palsit Toll Plaza, there's an exit to Deulia, home to a historic Jain temple named Sat Deul. At 23.13838788.03070124MISSING WIKILINK Masagram there's an SH 15 exit northeast to Dainhat (near Katwa) and southwest to Gadiara. At 22.8188.2325 Singur there's an SH 2 exit west to Khatra (near Mukutmanipur) and east to Malancha (in North 24 Parganas).

After Singur, the expressway enters 22.685488.292226 Dankuni , a major industrial centre and the eastern terminus of NH 19. To actually enter the heart of 22.567588.3727 Kolkata, take Belghoria Expressway (NH 12), cross the Hooghly River and then take Barrackpore Trunk Road (BT Road) till Shyambazar.

The 1,684 km (1,046 mi) long Kolkata–Chennai section (NH 16) passes through the diverse east coast, covering numerous rivers and hills.

The 1,290 km (800 mi) long Chennai–Mumbai section (NH 48) passes through the expansive Deccan Plateau till Pune, with views of the Western Ghats from Pune to Mumbai.

The 1,419 km (882 mi) long Mumbai–Delhi section (NH 48) passes through the northern parts of the Konkan coast and the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan.

India is one of the deadliest countries in the world when it comes to driving, and the Golden Quadrilateral is no exception, as people drive as they like without regard to any rules and the existing rules go unenforced. Wearing seat belts is necessary to minimise the risk or injury, even though there is no enforcement on use of seat belts.

Rail travel is a safer alternative, and there are numerous trains along the Golden Quadrilateral corridor. See the By train section below.

Due to the development of new expressways since 2012, the original Golden Quadrilateral corridor is slowly losing its relevance.

• The Ganga Expressway (NE X) begins from NH 34 at Bijauli near Meerut and runs in parallel to NH 19 before joining at Judapur Dandu near Prayagraj. This provides a faster way to travel between Delhi and Prayagraj, reducing the travel time between Delhi and Kolkata by an hour.

• NH 65 provides an alternative route from Chennai to Mumbai via Hyderabad. It has an interchange with NH 16 near Vijayawada as Vijayawada–Hyderabad Expressway and runs through the heart of Hyderabad before joining NH 48 at Chandani Chowk in Pune.
• NH 50 from Chitradurga to Bijapur (Vijayapura) provides another way through Karnataka. It joins NH 52 at Bijapur, which intersects with NH 65 at Solapur.

• The Delhi–Mumbai Expressway (NE 4) is almost complete and has largely replaced the original NH 48 route, saving two hours. The southern terminus begins from NH 48 at Kharel near Valsad, and it joins NH 248A at Sohna near Gurugram.

The Indian Railways operates multiple express trains along the Golden Quadrilateral corridor. The following lists only the trains that cover the entire sections of the corridor.

Note that all four cities have more than one station:

• Delhi — New Delhi (NDLS), Delhi Junction (DLI), Hazrat Nizamuddin (HZM), Anand Vihar Terminal (ANVT), Delhi Cantonment (DEC), Delhi Sarai Rohilla (DEE)
• Kolkata — Howrah (HWH), Sealdah (SDAH), Kolkata (KOAA), Santragachi (SRC), Shalimar (SHM)
• Chennai — MGR Chennai Central (MAS), Chennai Egmore (MS), Tambaram (TBM), Chennai Beach (MSB)
• Mumbai — Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Mumbai Central (MMCT), Dadar Central (DR), Bandra Terminus (BDTS), Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT)

• The Kolkata Rajdhani Express (12301/12302) runs six days a week between New Delhi and Howrah via Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi (DDU), Gaya, Parasnath, Dhanbad and Asansol. Considered to be the classy way to travel between the two cities.
• The newer Howrah Rajdhani Express (12305/12306) runs weekly via Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi (DDU), Patna, Jasidih, Madhupur and Bardhaman.
• The Sealdah Rajdhani Express (12313/12314) runs daily between New Delhi and Sealdah on the Gaya route, with an additional stop at Durgapur.
• The Howrah–New Delhi Duronto Express (12273/12274) runs twice a week on the Patna route, with stops at Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi (DDU), Patna, Jasidih and Asansol.
• The Sealdah–Bikaner Duronto Express (12259/12260) runs four days a week on the Gaya route, with stops at Kanpur, Varanasi (DDU), Gaya, Koderma and Dhanbad.

• The Coromandel Express (12841/12842) runs daily between Howrah and Chennai via Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Brahmapur, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Eluru and Vijayawada. Considered to be the classy way to travel between the two cities.
• The Howrah–Chennai Mail (12839/12840) is older and also runs daily on the same route, with additional stops at Nuapada, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Samalkot, Tenali, Nellore and Gudur, and no stop at Bhadrak.
• The Santragachi–Chennai Central AC Express (22807/22808) runs twice a week on the same route, with an additional stop at Gudur, and no stop at Brahmapur.
• The Tambaram–Santragachi Amrit Bharat Express (16107/16108) runs weekly on the same route but bypasses Visakhapatnam, with stops at Jajpur, Balugaon, Palasa, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Kottavalasa, Pendurti, Duvvada, Anakapalle, Samalkot, Tenali, Chirala, Ongole, Nellore and Sullurupeta.

• The Mumbai–Chennai Express (22159/22160) runs daily between Chennai and Mumbai via Arakkonam, Tiruttani, Puttur, Renigunta, Koduru, Razampeta, Yerraguntla, Tadipatri, Gooty, Guntakal, Adoni, Raichur, Yadgir, Wadi, Kalaburagi, Solapur, Kurduvadi, Daund, Pune, Khadki, Lonavala, Kalyan and Dadar Central. The train is popularised by the Bollywood film Chennai Express.
• The Mumbai–Chennai Mail (22157/22158) is older and also runs daily on the same route, with additional stops at Perambur, Kadapa and Karjat, and no stops at Koduru, Razampeta, Tadipatri, Raichur, Yadgir, Kurduvadi, Khadki and Lonavala.

• The Mumbai Central Rajdhani Express (12951/12952) runs daily between Mumbai and New Delhi via Borivali, Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam, Nagda and Kota. Considered to be the classy way to travel between the two cities.
• The August Kranti Rajdhani Express (12953/12954) runs daily on the same route, with additional stops at Vapi, Valsad, Bharuch, Dahod, Sawai Madhopur and Mathura, and no stop at Nagda.
• The Mumbai CSMT Rajdhani Express (22221/22222) also runs daily but on a different route via Kalyan, Nashik, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Bhopal, Jhansi, Gwalior and Agra.
• The Mumbai Central–New Delhi Duronto Express (22209/22210) runs twice a week on the Mumbai Central Rajdhani route, but with far fewer stops at Vadodara, Ratlam and Kota.

• Golden Triangle