The 12903 / 12904 Golden Temple SF Mail is a Daily Superfast Mail train operated by the Indian Railways that runs daily between (BDTS) in Maharashtra and (ASR) in Punjab. It is the fastest daily train from Mumbai to Amritsar. It is named after the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The train has operated 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 Bandra Terminus to Amritsar Junction and as train number 12904 in the reverse direction.

History

With the opening of the Indian Midland Railway's broad-gauge line between Itarsi and Tundla on 1 March 1889, the first through communication on the broad gauge between Bombay and Delhi was established. At the outset, 2 through carriages from Bombay were attached to the East Indian Railway's 1 Up Howrah–Kalka Mail at Tundla. From thereon, the train ran through to Kalka and Lahore with the name 5 Up Bombay mail. This pattern of operations continued until the early 1900s.

After the opening of the Agra–Delhi Chord railway in 1905, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway and the North Western State Railway started a new through service between Bombay and Lahore, going through Agra, Mathura, Delhi, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Kasur and Raiwind. The new service, christened The Punjab Mail, commenced operations from 15 March 1905, covering the distance of 2,560 kilometres (1,590 mi) in 50 hours.

From 1st April 1911, the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CIR) started operating a through service between Bombay Colaba Terminus and Peshawar, running through Surat, Baroda, Nagda, Ratlam, Kota, Mathura, Delhi, Saharanpur, Ambala, Amritsar and Lahore, known as the Northern Express, covering 2,487 kilometres (1,545 mi) in 48 hours. In response, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway extended the Punjab Mail to run through to Peshawar. However, owing to the lack of line capacity, both the Punjab Mail and the Northern Express ran together clubbed as a single train between Lahore and Peshawar via Narowal, Sialkot, Rawalpindi route until Lahore-Gujranwala-Rawalpindi line came up in 1920s.

In an effort to improve the quality of the train service, the BB&CI introduced the P&O Express (named after the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) from 27th October, 1927. This effort proved to be successful, and therefore, it was decided that the service be regularised. The erstwhile Northern Express (by now, called the Bombay Peshawar Mail), was sped, and it ran the same schedule as the P&O Express. It would operate with five coaches along with a luxury dining cum lounge car. The passengers of this train had access to luxurious retiring rooms at the stations on the route

  • The Golden Temple Mail aka Frontier Mail involved in 1998 Khanna rail collision : The Khanna rail disaster occurred on 26 November 1998 near Khanna on the Khanna-Ludhiana section of India's Northern Railway in Punjab, at 03:15 when the Calcutta-bound Jammu Tawi-Sealdah Express collided with six derailed coaches of the Amritsar-bound "Frontier Mail" which were lying in its path. At least 212 people were killed; the trains were estimated to be carrying 2,500 passengers. The initial derailment was caused by a broken rail. The crash is among the deadliest rail accidents in India.

Traction

earlier with glossy ICF coaches it was hauled by WDM-2. Nowadays It is now regularly hauled by a Vadodara Loco Shed based WAP-7 locomotive from end to end.

Route & halts

The train runs from Bandra Terminus via , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,, , , , , to Amritsar Junction. The train previously use to Originate from Mumbai Central Terminus.

<gallery>

File:Ballard-Pier-Mole.jpg|The Frontier Mail departing Ballard Pier Mole Station (c. 1930s)

File:Vadodra based WAP-7 leading Golden Temple Mail.jpg|Vadodra based WAP-7 locomotive for Golden Temple Mail.

File:LHB coaches of Golden Temple Mail.jpg|Sleeper Non-AC LHB coaches of Golden Temple Mail.

File:LHB AC 3 tier coach of Golden Temple Mail.jpg|AC 3 tier LHB coach of Golden Temple Mail.

File:LHB AC 2 tier coach of Golden Temple Mail.jpg|AC 2 tier LHB coach of Golden Temple Mail.

File:12903 Frontier Mail.jpg|12903 Golden Temple Mail Blue ICF coach HA1

File:12903 Golden Temple Mail.jpg|12903 Golden Temple Mail Blue ICF coaches

File:Golden Temple Mail - AC 3 tier coach.jpg|Golden Temple Mail – Blue ICF AC 3 tier coach

File:The Mail coach of Golden Temple Mail.jpg|Red ICF Mail coach of Golden Temple Mail

File:Golden temple mail at Jalandhar.jpg|Golden Temple Mail At Jalandhar City Junction

</gallery>

References

  • 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, senior locopilot of the train during its early years.
  • A BB&CIR poster from 1929, advertising the train as the 'Fastest Daily Train Service of India'
  • BB&CIR 1937 Timetable: contains time tables for the Frontier Mail
  • 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
  • [https://archive.today/20130415020433/]