India’s first AC train: Railways in India have a history of about two and a quarter years. The first passenger train in India ran on April 16, 1853. This train ran between Bori Bunder in Mumbai and Thane. This train had covered a distance of 34 kilometres. But do you know which was the first train with ‘AC’ facility in India? This train was started in 1928, which completed 96 years on 1st September last month. This train was said to be one of the most luxurious trains of the British era.
Now your question might be whether there was AC facility in trains about a hundred years ago. It is true that at that time there were no air conditioners in train coaches. Railways used to use ice blocks to cool the first class coaches. Before independence, only the British could use these coaches. That means only Englishmen were allowed to travel in first class. For this reason, it was converted into an AC compartment to keep it cool. The British had created this system for their convenience. To cool the compartment, ice blocks were used, which were kept under the floor. But later an AC system was installed in it.
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Started in 1928
This train, known as Punjab Mail, started on September 1, 1928 from Ballard Pier station in Mumbai to Peshawar (now in Pakistan) via Delhi, Bathinda, Ferozepur and Lahore. From March 1, 1930, the train was diverted towards Saharanpur, Ambala, Amritsar. At the time of partition, Amritsar was the terminal station. Since independence in 1947, this train has been running between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai and Firozpur in Punjab.
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AC box added in 1934
In 1934, AC coaches were added to this train and it was named Frontier Mail. In September 1996, its name was changed to Golden Temple Mail. When the train started, it ran with a steam engine at a speed of about 60 km per hour. Now, electric engines are used in it. The Golden Temple Mail covers a distance of 1,893 km, stopping at 35 railway stations and carrying around 1,300 passengers in its 24 coaches. Pantry car facility was also provided in the train, which is continuing till now. Today this train also has general and sleeper class coaches along with AC. It has now been 96 years since this train has been running.
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This train also carries mail
At that time, trains were also used to transport mail and telegrams. Mail was prefixed to the name of the train that was used to send mail. That is why the name of this train is Golden Temple Mail. At that time, if anyone had to send a telegram, it was sent through the train guard. The train guard used to give it to the station master at any station.
Tags: British Raj, India Partition History, Indian Railways, Indian Railway news, Indo Pak Partition, Railway
FIRST PUBLISHED: October 9, 2024, 18:18 IST