Golden Temple Mail

Golden Temple Mail
Golden Temple Mail train board
Overview
Service type	Mail/Express
Locale	Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi & Punjab
First service	1 September 1928 (1928-09-01)
Current operator(s)	Western Railways
Route
Termini	Mumbai Central (MMCT) Amritsar Junction (ASR)
Stops	35
Distance travelled	1,893 km (1,176 mi)
Average journey time	31hrs 40mnts
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	12903 / 12904
On-board services
Class(es)	AC 1st Class, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, Sleeper class, General Unreserved
Seating arrangements	Yes
Sleeping arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	Available
Observation facilities	Large windows
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks
Technical
Rolling stock	LHB coaches
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	59 km/h (37 mph) average including halts
Route map

The 12903 / 12904 Golden Temple SF Mail is a Daily Superfast Mail train operated by the Indian Railways that runs daily between Mumbai Central (MMCT) in Maharashtra and Amritsar Junction (ASR) in Punjab. It is the fastest train from Mumbai to Amritsar on daily basis. It is named after the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The train has been operating with modern LHB coaches since 29 September 2020. Before the Partition of India, it would ferry passengers arriving by Steamer from Europe directly from the Ballard Pier in Bombay to the city of Peshawar on India's North-West Frontier. The train ran as the Frontier Mail between 1928 and 1996.

It operates as train number 12903 from Mumbai Central to Amritsar Junction and as train number 12904 in the reverse direction.

History

The train made its inaugural run from Colaba Terminus station on 1st September 1928, as the Frontier Mail. She carried this name until September 1996. Prior to the Partition of India, it would run up to Peshawar on India's frontier with Afghanistan from which it derived its name. The then agent (now known as General Manager) of BB&CI Railway, Sir Ernest Jackson, believed that this train would compete well with the rival GIP Railway's Punjab Limited. Indeed, the Frontier Mail with its shorter route, reduced travel time to just seventy-two hours. During the autumn months between September and December, the train would depart from the Ballard Pier Mole station, on the Bombay Port Trust line. This was for the convenience of the British who arrived in India by steamer. Upon its arrival in Bombay, The BB&CIR Headquarter building outside the Churchgate station would be floodlit to announce a safe arrival.

The train was popular for its punctuality. It was believed that one's Rolex could let them down, but the Frontier Mail couldn't. Infact, when in August 1929, the train arrived 15 minutes, the driver was asked to reason out the cause for the delay.

The Frontier Mail also finds a place in romanticised biographies of film actor Prithviraj Kapoor who is believed to have travelled to Bombay from his hometown of Peshawar by the Frontier Mail in 1928 to act in films. Hunterwali, probably India's first action heroine, acted in the film Miss Frontier Mail. The Frontier Mail was the first air conditioned train in the Indian Peninsula. It received an air-conditioned compartment in 1934. Radio facility was provided for the first time on the Golden Temple Mail.

Coaches

The 12903/04 Golden Temple Mail has one AC First Tier, three AC 2 tier, six AC 3 tier, six Sleeper class, two General unreserved coaches, one General cum baggage coaches. It also has one Railway Mail service coach, one Pantry car & one High Capacity Parcel Van.

Service

The Golden Temple Mail runs between Mumbai Central and Amritsar Junction. It is a daily service covering the distance of 1891 km in 32 hours 15 minutes as 12903 Golden Temple Mail averaging 58.64 km/h and 31 hours 55 minutes as 12904 Golden Temple Mail averaging 59.25 km/h.

1955 Crash

The train operating the service collided with another train in 1955, killing one and injuring 34.

Traction

It is now regularly hauled by a Vadodara Loco Shed based WAP-7 locomotive from end to end.

Route & halts

The train runs from Mumbai Central via Borivali, Surat, Vadodara Junction, Ratlam Junction, Nagda Junction, Kota Junction, Sawai Madhopur Junction, Gangapur City, Bharatpur Junction, Mathura Junction, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Ghaziabad Junction, Meerut City, Muzaffarnagar,Saharanpur Junction, Ambala Cantonment Junction, Ludhiana Junction, Phagwara, Jalandhar City Junction, Beas Junction to Amritsar Junction

Gallery

• 
  The Frontier Mail departing Ballard Pier Mole Station (c. 1930s)
• 
  Vadodra based WAP-7 locomotive for Golden Temple Mail.
• 
  Sleeper Non-AC LHB coaches of Golden Temple Mail.
• 
  AC 3 tier LHB coach of Golden Temple Mail.
• 
  AC 2 tier LHB coach of Golden Temple Mail.
• 
  12903 Golden Temple Mail Blue ICF coach HA1
• 
  12903 Golden Temple Mail Blue ICF coaches
• 
  Golden Temple Mail – Blue ICF AC 3 tier coach
• 
  Red ICF Mail coach of Golden Temple Mail

External links

• The History of this train at IRFCA
• A PDF document on the history of Frontier Mail
• A description of journeys on the Frontier mail by Norma Probert, the daughter of Percival Middlecoat, the senior locopilot of the train during its early years.
• Golden Temple Mail Train Arrival, Departure times, and other general
• [https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/55981/1/lsd_01_09_22-03-1955.pdf Information on the 1955 accident of Frontier mail (pg.50)
• Golden Temple Mail Route Map
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