The Punjab Mail, which once was the fastest train in India during the British era, completes 111 years of continuous service

On Wednesday, the Punjab Mail, which now travels between Mumbai and Firozpur Cantonment in Punjab and was once the fastest train in India during the British era, completed 111 years of continuous service. Over the years, the train expanded from three passenger-carrying cars to more than 20 coaches and rose to prominence on the Central Railway.

According to a CR announcement, The Punjab Mail, previously known as "Punjab Limited," had her inaugural journey on June 1, 1912, from Mumbai's defunct Ballard Pier Mole station for Peshawar in what is now Pakistan.

"Ballard Pier Mole station served as the centre of the GIPR network. On June 1st, 1912, The Punjab Mail, or Punjab Limited as she was then known, finally set sail. The P&O steamers carrying in the mail and the Raj officials with their spouses on their first assignment in colonial India were there first, according to the statement.

The Central Railway was preceded by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR). The Punjab Limited used to travel on fixed mail days over the GIP route from Ballard Pier Mole station all the way to Peshawar, completing the 2,496 km journey in around 47 hours. Six cars made up the train: three for passengers and three for mail and other postal items. As per the release, the three passenger-carrying cars had a capacity of just 96 passengers.

The Punjab Limited was British India's swiftest train before to Partition. It is reported that for the most part, its path followed GIP track and proceeded via Itarsi (in Madhya Pradesh), Agra, Delhi, and Lahore before coming to an end at Peshawar Cantonment. Beginning in 1914, the train began to depart from and arrive at Bombay VT, today known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus or Mumbai CSMT. The train became a daily operation at that point and started operating under the name Punjab Mail rather than Punjab Limited, according to the press announcement. By the middle of the 1930s, third-class coaches had begun to emerge on the Punjab Mail; in 1945, an air-conditioned car was added.