Recalling India's one of the most ancient yet distinguished trains, the Golden Temple mail, running between Amritsar and Mumbai Central, has completed 92 years of its run.
Notably, during the British Rule, the train was popularly known as the 'Frontier Mail.' The then British Indian government had projected it as its remarkable accomplishment for being the longest train link in the Indian subcontinent with the facility of the air conditioner (AC) too.
While the coaches did not have air conditioners, the railways used ice slabs to cool first-class coaches, which could only be used by the Britishers, before independence. However, it also had had comfortable chairs along-with separate bathrooms.
Back on October 7, 1927, the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway Company in collaboration with the North Western Railway Company had introduced the Frontier Mail from Bombay to Peshawar via Delhi and Lahore.
The Frontier Mail was formally renamed as the Golden Temple Mail in September 1996.
The train started on September 1, 1928, from Ballard Pier station in Mumbai to Peshawar via Delhi, Bathinda, Ferozepur, and Lahore. From March 1, 1930, the train was diverted to Saharanpur, Ambala, Amritsar, and Lahore. At the time of partition, Amritsar was the terminal station.
However, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the train had been suspended for over two months.
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Rajesh Aggarwal, divisional railway manager of Ferozepur division said Golden Temple mail is one of the oldest and most distinguished trains which continues to provide its service to the people. Earlier, the train used to run at the speed of around 60 km/hour with a steam locomotive, but now it runs on electric locomotives after discarding the diesel locomotives.
Worth mentioning, the train would be soon one of the trains whose coaches would be replaced with state-of-the-art Linke Hofmann Busch coaches made by German technology, aiming for more comfort and better design to operate at a high speed.
The prestigious train is also known for its punctuality and it was said, "Your Rolex watch can ditch you but not the Frontier Mail."
Presently, Golden Temple Mail covers 1,893 kilometers distance halting at 35 railway stations carrying around 1,300 passengers in its 24 coaches.