Thiruvananthapuram Mail
| Overview | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||
| Locale | Tamil Nadu and Kerala | ||||
| Current operator(s) | Southern Railway zone | ||||
| Route | |||||
| Start | Chennai Central | ||||
| Stops | 21 for 12624 and 20 for 12623 | ||||
| End | Thiruvananthapuram Central | ||||
| Distance travelled | 926 km (575 mi) | ||||
| Service frequency | Daily | ||||
| Train number(s) | 12623 / 12624 | ||||
| On-board services | |||||
| Class(es) | First AC, AC 2 Tier AC ,3 Tier AC,Sleeper Class,General | ||||
| Seating arrangements | Yes | ||||
| Sleeping arrangements | LHB Coaches | ||||
| Auto-rack arrangements | No | ||||
| Catering facilities | Yes | ||||
| Observation facilities | Large windows | ||||
| Entertainment facilities | No | ||||
| Technical | |||||
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||
| Electrification | 25 kV AC 50 Hz | ||||
| Operating speed | Average 86 kilometres per hour (53 mph), Maximum 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) | ||||
| |||||
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Thiruvananthapuram mail is a daily superfast express running between Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai under Southern Railway zone of the Indian railways. This train runs via Kottayam. This train connects Chennai with 6 big cities in South India (Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Coimbatore and Salem).
History
Today’s 12623/24 Chennai – Thiruvananthapuram Mail, is the successor to the 561/562 Cochin Harbour Terminus (in Kochi) – Madras Express that started running in 1944. It was then the second express train running through Kerala and the first from south Kerala. In 1960, it was renumbered as the 19/20 Cochin Harbour Terminus – Madras Express and in 1965 renamed the 19/20 Cochin Harbour Terminus – Madras Mail. It was then extended to Thiruvananthapuram Central in 1977 when the rail link connecting to Thiruvananthapuram Central via Kottayam was completed and in 1990 it was renumbered 6319/6320 and later 2623/2624.[1]
Timings
As per the numbering system of the Indian Railways, the train has been currently assigned the number 12623 for the down direction (Chennai central -Thiruvananthapuram central) and 12624 for the up direction (Thiruvananthapuram Central - Chennai central). In the downward direction, the train departs at 19.45 hours and reaches Thiruvananthapuram at 11.45 hours next day. In the upward direction, the train departs at 14.50 hours and reaches Chennai at 07.30 hours.
Coach composition
| Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | EOG | GS | S11 | S10 | S9 | S8 | S7 | S6 | S5 | S4 | S3 | S2 | S1 | B4 | B3 | B2 | B1 | A1 | HA | GS | GS | EOG |
Total number of coaches 22
The train consists of:
- Loco WAP7 from Royapuram
- 1 AC First/Second AC Coach (HA1)
- 1 AC Two-tier coaches(A1)
- 4 AC Three-tier coaches (B1, B2, B3, B4)
- 11 Sleeper Coaches (S1 - S11)
- 3 Unreserved General Sitting Coaches (GS)
- 2 end on generators
Traction
Earlier hauled by WAM 4 till Erode junction and then change to Diesel ALCO towards Thiruvananthapuram Central, later it was provided with WAP 4 till Ernakulam Town thereafter completed its journey to Thiruvananthapuram Central with Twin Diesel ALCO.
After the electric traction till Thiruvananthapuram Central, the same was hauled by WAP 4 It is now hauled by a WAP 7 of Royapuram shed.
In popular culture
No.20 Madras Mail, which is a Malayalam movie released in 1990 has most of the scenes shot inside the moving Thiruvananthapuram Mail train.
