Thiruvananthapuram Mail
Overview | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||
Locale | Tamil Nadu and Kerala | ||||
First service |
1944Chennai Central to Cochin Harbour Terminus) 1977 (extended to Thiruvananthapuram Central)[1] | (initial run from ||||
Current operator(s) | Southern Railway zone | ||||
Route | |||||
Start | Chennai Central | ||||
Stops | 21 for 12624 and 20 for 12623 | ||||
End | Thiruvananthapuram Central | ||||
Distance travelled | 926 km (575 mi) | ||||
Service frequency | Daily | ||||
Train number(s) | 12623 / 12624 | ||||
On-board services | |||||
Class(es) | First AC, AC 2 Tier AC ,3 Tier AC,Sleeper Class,General | ||||
Seating arrangements | Yes | ||||
Sleeping arrangements | LHB Coaches | ||||
Auto-rack arrangements | No | ||||
Catering facilities | Yes | ||||
Observation facilities | Large windows | ||||
Entertainment facilities | No | ||||
Technical | |||||
Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||
Electrification | 25 kV AC 50 Hz | ||||
Operating speed | Average 86 kilometres per hour (53 mph), Maximum 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) | ||||
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Thiruvananthapuram Mail is a daily superfast express running between Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai under Southern Railway zone of the Indian railways. This train runs via Kottayam. This train connects Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram along with 5 big cities in South India - Salem , Coimbatore , Thrissur , Ernakulam and Kottayam.
History
Today’s 12623/24 Chennai – Thiruvananthapuram Mail, is the successor to the 561/562 Cochin Harbour Terminus (in Kochi) – Madras Express that started running in 1944. It was then the second express train running through Kerala and the first from south Kerala. In 1960, it was renumbered as the 19/20 Cochin Harbour Terminus – Madras Express and in 1965 renamed the 19/20 Cochin Harbour Terminus – Madras Mail. It was then extended to Thiruvananthapuram Central in 1977 when the rail link connecting to Thiruvananthapuram Central via Kottayam was completed and in 1990 it was renumbered 6319/6320 and later 2623/2624.[1]
Interesting Facts
It is the only daily train from Chennai to the South which does not have a halt at both Arakkonam Junction and Jolarpettai. The train was diverted to run via Coimbatore Junction in 2014, which increased its running length by 13 km and running time by 30 mins approx. Conventional ICF coaches of the train were replaced by LHB coaches during January 2017. This train is one among the prestigious trains of the Southern Railway Zone.
Total number of coaches 24
The train consists of:
- Loco WAP7 from Royapuram
- 1 AC First/Second AC Coach (HA1)
- 1 AC Two-tier coaches(A1)
- 5 AC Three-tier coaches (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5)
- 11 Sleeper Coaches (S1 - S11)
- 3 Unreserved General Sitting Coaches (GS)
- 2 end on generators
Coach composition (Upward - 12623)
Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EOG | GS | S11 | S10 | S9 | S8 | S7 | S6 | S5 | S4 | S3 | S2 | S1 | B5 | B4 | B3 | B2 | B1 | A1 | HA1 | GS | GS | EOG | |
Traction
•Earlier hauled by WAM 4 till Erode junction and then change to Diesel ALCO towards Thiruvananthapuram Central, later it was provided with WAP 4 till Ernakulam Town thereafter completed its journey to Thiruvananthapuram Central with Twin Diesel ALCO.
•After the electric traction till Thiruvananthapuram Central, the same was hauled by WAP 4
•It is now hauled by a WAP 7 of Royapuram shed.
In popular culture
No.20 Madras Mail, which is a Malayalam movie released in 1990 has most of the scenes shot inside the moving Thiruvananthapuram Mail train.
References
- 1 2 "The Legend of the Island Express". 24 coaches. September 16, 2013.