Indian Railways Punjab Mail completes 111 years of public service on June 1

One of the oldest trains on Central Railway and a part of the old Great Indian Peninsula Railway the Punjab Mail completes 111 years on June 1The origins of the Bombay to Peshawar Punjab Mail are rather unclear Based on a Cost Estimate paper circa 1911 and a complaint by an irate passenger circa on October 12 1912 about the late arrival of the train by a few minutes at Delhi it has been more or less inferred that the Punjab Mail made her maiden run out of Ballard Pier Mole station on 1st June 1912Punjab Mail is over 16 years older than the more glamorous Frontier Mail Ballard Pier Mole station was actually a hub for GIPR services The Punjab Mail or Punjab Limited as she was then called finally steamed out on 1st June 1912 To begin with there were the P amp O steamers bringing in the mail and the Officers of the Raj along with their wives on their first posting in Colonial India The steamer voyage between Southampton and Bombay lasted thirteen days As the British officials held combined tickets both for their voyage to Bombay as well as their inland journey by train to their place of posting they would after disembarking simply board one of the trains bound for either Madras Calcutta or Delhi CR chief public relations officer Shivraj Manaspure saidThe Punjab Limited used to run on fixed mail days from Bombays Ballard Pier Mole station all the way to Peshawar via the GIP route covering the distance of 2496 km in about 47 hrs The train comprised of six cars three for passengers and three for postal goods and mail The three passenger carrying cars had a capacity of 96 passengers only During the prepartition period the Punjab Limited was the fastest train in British India The Punjab Limiteds route ran over GIP track for the large part and passed through Itarsi Agra Delhi and Lahore before terminating at Peshawar Cantonment The train started originating and terminating at Bombay VT now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai from 1914 The train then loosely came to be known as the Punjab Mail rather than Punjab Limited and became a daily service he addedThird class cars started appearing on the Punjab Mail by the mid1930s In 1914 the GIP route from Bombay to Delhi was some 1541 km and the train covered it in 29 hrs 30 minutes In the early 1920s this transit time was further reduced to 27 hrs 10 minutes In 1972 the transit time was again pushed up to 29 hrs In 2011 the Punjab Mail has as many as 55 intermediate stops The Punjab Mail got an airconditioned car in 1945 he saidIn 1968 the train was dieselized upto Jhansi later extended from Jhansi till New Delhi then by 1976 onwards till Firozpur In the late 1970early 1980s WCAM1 dual current locomotive to run the Punjab Mail on electric traction right upto Bhusaval with the changeover from DC to AC traction at IgatpuriThe Punjab Mail takes 32 hrs and 35 minutes to cover the 1930 km between Mumbai and Firozpur Cantonment with 52 intermediate stops The train is electric hauled The restaurant car has been replaced by a pantry carThough passenger train services were suspended during the Covid19 lockdown from March 22 2020 gradually the services were reintroduced as special trains after unlock from 152020 However Punjab Mail special began its journey with LHB coaches from 1122020 The train services started with its regular number from 15112021Presently Punjab Mail has one AC First Class cum AC2 Tier Two AC2 Tier Six AC3 Tier 6 Sleeper Class one pantry car 5 general second class coaches and one generator van