Golden Temple Mail

The 12903/12904 Golden Temple Mail is a Superfast express train belonging to Indian Railways that runs daily between Mumbai Central (MMCT) in Maharashtra and Amritsar Junction (ASR) in Punjab. The train ran as the Frontier Mail between 1928 and 1996, ferrying passengers arriving by Steamer from Europe directly from Ballard Pier in Bombay to the city of Peshawar on India's North-West Frontier before the Partition of India.[1]

Golden Temple Mail
स्वर्ण मंदिर मेल
Overview
Service typeSuperfast
First serviceSeptember 1, 1928 (1928-09-01)
Current operator(s)Western Railways
Route
StartMumbai Central (MMCT)
Stops34 as 12903 / 35 as 12904
EndAmritsar Junction (ASR)
Distance travelled1,891 km (1,175 mi)
Average journey time32 hours
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)12903 / 12904
On-board services
Class(es)
  • AC 1st Class
  • AC 2 tier
  • AC 3 tier
  • Sleeper Class
  • General class
Seating arrangementsYes
Sleeping arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesYes
Entertainment facilitiesNo
Baggage facilitiesOverhead racks
Technical
Rolling stockICF Coaches
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed59 km/h (37 mph) average including halts
Route map

It operates as train number 12903 from Mumbai Central to Amritsar Junction and as train number 12904 in the reverse direction.It is named after the famous golden Temple in amritsar

History

The Golden Temple Mail was until September 1996 known as Frontier Mail. Prior the Partition of India, it would run up to Peshawar on British India's frontier with Afghanistan from which it derived its name. During the autumn months between September and December, the train used to depart from the Ballard Pier Mole station. This was for the convenience of the British who arrived in India by steamer. 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, has acted in the film Miss Frontier Mail. The Frontier Mail was the first air conditioned train in the Indian Peninsula, when it got an air-conditioned compartment in 1934. The radio facility was provided for the first time in the Golden Temple Mail.

Coaches

The 12903/04 Golden Temple Mail has 1 AC First Cum AC 2 Tier, 2 AC 2 tier, 6 AC 3 tier, 8 Sleeper Class, 2 General unreserved coaches, 2 General cum baggage coaches. It also has 1 Railway Mail service coach, 1 Pantry car & 1 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 mins as 12903 Golden Temple Mail averaging 58.64 km/hr & 31 hours 55 mins as 12904 Golden Temple Mail averaging 59.25 km/hr.


Accident

The Down Frontier Mail, from Bombay side, with a load of 13 coaches, entered Fateh Singhpura Station on the loop line which was already occupied by No. 1118 up goods train, and collided with it The two coaches next to the engine of the Frontier Mail remained on he line undamaged, the third, a II class bogie coach, derailed, and the fourth, also a II class bogie coach, telescoped into the former. The fifth coach remained on the line but was slightly damaged, and the remaining 8 coaches remained on the line undamaged. The engines of the two trains and goods wagons are reported to have suffered hardly any damage. One, Shri Shiv Charan Singh, retired Principal oi Government College, Rupar, a II class passenger in the third coach, unfortunately died, and thirty-four other passengers holding different classes of tickets received minor injuries. [2]

Traction

Earlier Dual traction WCAM 2/2P locos would haul the train between Mumbai Central and Vadodara after which a Vadodara based WAP 4 would take over until Amritsar.

Since Western Railways completed DC Electric Conversion to AC on 5 February 2012, it is now regularly hauls by a Vadodara based WAP 4E locomotive end to end.

Routing

The service traverses through via Vadodara Junction, Godhra Junction, Ratlam Junction, Nagda Junction, Ramganj Mandi Junction, Kota Junction, Sawai Madhopur Junction, Bayana Junction, Bharatpur Junction, Mathura Junction, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Ghaziabad Junction, Meerut City Junction, Saharanpur Junction, Ambala Cantonment Junction, Ludhiana Junction, Phagwara Junction, Jalandhar Cantonment Junction, Jalandhar City Junction and Beas Junction.

  • 12903 Golden Temple Mail - Coach HA1
  • 12903 Golden Temple Mail
  • Golden Temple Mail - AC 3 tier coach
  • The Mail coach of Golden Temple Mail

Notes

    References
    1. http://www.irfca.org/~shankie/famoustrains/famtrainfrontier.htm
    2. https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/55981/1/lsd_01_09_22-03-1955.pdf Page no. 50
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