Mangaluru–Chennai Mail

Mangaluru–Chennai Mail is a Superfast Mail daily train operated by the Indian Railways (Southern Railway) between the cities of Chennai (Madras) and Mangaluru Central via Salem, Podanur, Palakkad, Shoranur, Tirur, Parapanangadi, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod. It is one of the oldest train still being operated by Indian Railways. Earlier it ran from Madras Royapuram to Kozhikode (Calicut). When the line extended up to Mangaluru, it ran up to Mangaluru Central from Royapuram Chennai. When Madras Central came into existence its terminal was changed to Madras Central Chennai Central from Royapuram and it ran as Madras Central Chennai Central - Mangaluru Central Malabar Express. Till 1887 it ran as Malabar Express, after that its name was changed to Chennai/Mangaluru Mail. It was one of the prestigious train in Indian Railways. It runs always full by having more stoppages in northern Kerala beginning from Palakkad Junction to Kasaragod. It also has nine stoppages at Tamilnadu and it does not have any other stoppages in Karnataka except Mangaluru Central

Mangaluru–Chennai SF Mail

Overview
Service type	Mail Train
Locale	Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka
First service	July 1, 1867 [1]
Current operator(s)	Indian Railways
Route
Termini	Chennai Central Mangaluru Central
Stops	31
Distance travelled	901 km (560 mi)
Average journey time	16 Hrs 20 minutes
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	12601/12602
On-board services
Class(es)	Second AC, Third AC, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved, First Ac
Seating arrangements	Yes
Sleeping arrangements	Yes
Auto-rack arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	On Board
Observation facilities	Large windows
Entertainment facilities	No
Baggage facilities	Under Seat & RMS
Other facilities	-
Technical
Rolling stock	Wap 4/ Wap 7 & Icf Dedicated Rake
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Electrification	100%
Operating speed	55 km/h (34 mph) average with halts, 120 km/h (75 mph) maximum
Route map

History

Originally, It was introduced as Mangalore - Madras Malabar Express on July 1, 1867, which had train number 1/2 and as Mangalore/Chennai Mail from 1887. It was one single Composite Train called as “01UP/02DOWN Mail” from Madras to Old Coimbatore (Now Podanur) and from there to Chaliyam (now Beypore in Calicut). Its inaugural run was on July 1st 1867. It did not have a name until 1887. The train was split into the Nilgiri Express in 1864 and the Malabar Mail in 1867. The Kerala Mainline was further extended to Kumbla (near Mangaluru) which was completed on July 3rd 1907. Because of this the Malabar Mail was renamed into the Mangalore Mail and the ^[2][3] Malabar Express was diverted to connect Trivandrum to Mangaluru . At present it runs with train numbers 12601/12602 Chennai- Mangaluru Mail.^[4] It was the first-ever train to enter Kerala with electric locomotive.

Rake sharing

The train shares its rake with the West Coast Express, Maveli Express and Malabar Express.

• Chennai Central - Mangaluru Central Mail
• Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Malabar Express (Via, Kozhikode, Kottayam)
• Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Central Maveli Express (Via, Kozhikode, Alappuzha)

Locomotive link

As the route is fully electrified now it is hauled by a WAP-7 locomotive from Royapuram.