Amritsar Mail

The 13005 / 13006 Amritsar Mail, colloquially known as the Punjab Mail in the eastern part of India, is a superfast mail train operated by the Eastern Railway Zone of Indian Railways. This train serves as a vital link connecting the capital city of West Bengal, Kolkata, with the historic and revered pilgrimage city of Amritsar in India. It operates under the train numbers 13005 from Howrah Junction in Kolkata to Amritsar Junction, and 13006 on its return journey.
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The Howrah - Amritsar Mail holds the distinction of being one of the oldest operating Mail trains within the Indian Railways network. It commenced service on January 1, 1884, with the primary purpose of transporting British officials, including military and civil service personnel along with their families, to Lahore Junction in the undivided Punjab region. Originally known as the 05 UP / 06 DN Punjab Mail, it was operated by the East Indian Railway Company (EIR) alongside another prestigious train, the 01 UP / 02 DN East India Mail (now known as Kalka Mail / Netaji Express). Around the same period, in 1889, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) introduced its own Punjab Mail, running from Mumbai Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) to Lahore Junction via Peshawar. Intriguingly, both trains shared identical numbering (05 UP / 06 DN), a reflection of the independent operations of various railway companies under the British Raj.
Following India's partition, both Punjab Mails underwent significant route changes. The GIPR's Punjab Mail was redirected to terminate at Ferozpur in Punjab, while the EIR's Punjab Mail was terminated at Amritsar Junction. Notably, to avoid confusion due to similar train numbers, the GIPR Punjab Mail operated as 05 UP / 06 DN Punjab Mail up to New Delhi, transitioning to 37 UP / 38 DN Punjab Mail for the journey onward to Ferozpur
In 1989, during the period of train number and name rationalization by Indian Railways, the Ferozpur-bound Punjab Mail relinquished its original 05 UP / 06 DN designation and was renumbered as 2137 UP / 2138 DN based on its New Delhi to Ferozpur segment (previously 37 UP / 38 DN). Meanwhile, the Howrah - Amritsar Punjab Mail was renumbered as 3005 UP / 3006 DN, retaining aspects of its original numbering. However, it underwent a name change to Amritsar Mail. Several other prestigious mail trains underwent similar transformations. For instance, the iconic 01 UP / 02 DN Kalka Mail was renumbered as 2311 / 2312 Kalka Mail, thus relinquishing its original number. Similarly, the revered 03 UP / 04 DN Frontier Mail underwent renumbering to 2903 / 2904 and was re-christened as the Golden Temple Mail.
It is worth highlighting that due to the immense popularity of the 05 UP / 06 DN Punjab Mail departing from Howrah Junction, the East Indian Railway Company (EIR) introduced the 49 / 50 Howrah - Amritsar Janata Express (later known as Howrah - Amritsar Express). Given its route similarity with the EIR's Punjab Mail, the 49 / 50 Janata Express was informally referred to as the "Duplicate Punjab Mail" in eastern India.
The 13005 Howrah - Amritsar Mail covers 1911 km of distance at an average speed of 51 km/h within 37 hrs 25 min. In its return journey, the 13006 Amritsar - Howrah Mail covers the same distance at an average speed of 52 km/h within 37 hrs 05 min.
The train carries the modern Link Hoffman Bush (LHB) coaches. The current composition includes one AC First cum AC Two Tier coach (HA 1), one AC Two Tier coach (A1), five AC Three Tier coaches (B1 to B5), one AC 3 Economy (M1), eight Sleeper Coaches (S1 to S8), one Pantry Car (PC), three Second Class Unreserved Coaches (D1 to D3), one Power Car (EOG) and one Seating cum Luggage Car (SLR).