A view of Punjab Mail at Jhansi Railway Station.
Photo made available by: Harish Monga Dido.
Ferozepur, June 1, 2013: The Punjab Mail is an Indian Railways express train which runs between Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (VT) and Ferozepur (Punjab). Punjab Mail, earlier known as Punjab Limited is the first train to achieve distinction of entering its 100th year on Indian Railways broad gauge network. There is also a News Paper named Punjab Mail USA publishing from Sacramento, California.
The Punjab Mail between Ferozeur-Mumbai is completing its 101 years journey and railway officers, employees are happy. (See photography of old time Punjab Mail at Jhansi Railway Station)
The Punjab Mail started its first journey on June 1, 1912 when the train used to pass through Peshawar now in Pakistan, Ferozepur, Amritsar and Lahore and cover about 2496 KMs journey in 47 hours. This train used to know as the fastest train during the British period with six car coaches, out of which three coaches were used by the postal authorities and three for the passengers and the capacity to accommodate only 96 passengers.
During 1914, this train was known as Peshawar and Bombay i VT and now Mumbai CST. In fact, this train used to be turn for Britishers who used to come from South Hampton for Mumbai port as from there they used to reach easily reach at Peshawar, Lahore and other cities and the fare of the train was also included in the fare of the ships. About 16 years old than the Frontier Mail, the old Punjab Mail used to called as Punjab Mail Limited and this was perhaps the first grain having the provision for a restaurant car for the convenience of the passengers. In 1945, first class AC compartment was also started in this train and after the partition of India and Pakistan, the Punjab Mail continue to run between Ferozepur and Mumbai and presently the electric engine has been attached with the Punjab Mail from Shatarpati Shivaji Terminus to Delhi and from Delhi to Ferozepur, diesel engine is attached. This train is more convenient of the people of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP and Rajasthan to travel to Mumbai.
According to one of the old timers, retired Principal Pritam Kaur Bhatia, whose father was Superintendent at Feroepur Railway Station at that time, have spent most of the time in railway colony and there used to fair like atmosphere at the railway station. She further shared that in Punjab Mail, only the Britishers used to travel in the train and these used to be a spate stall for Hindus and Muslims at the railway stations.
The most interesting feature of the train among the people was that the timings of running of the train were so punctual, people used to correct their timings on the watches.