Railfan Aadhitya's video: Boat Mail chugs towards Chennai Egmore HBD Boat Mail Crossing Chennai EMU

The iconic Boat Mail Express chugs towards Chennai Egmore from Rameshwaram. HAPPY BIRTHDAY THE ICONIC LEGENDARY BOAT MAIL EXPRESS (INDO-CEYLON EXPRESS) 107 YEARS OF GLORIOUS SERVICE History of the Boat Mail: The Boat Mail or Indo-Ceylon Express is a combined train and steamer ferry service between India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Connecting Chennai and Colombo, the system initially utilised a rail-to-sea operation, but changed to a rail-to-sea-to-rail operation. Passengers could buy a single ticket for the journey. The train's name commemorates the 19th century mail service between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). It is one of the top most prestigious trains of Indian Railways and it has completed 100 years of service in 2014. Before cyclone, the train was running via Chennai Egmore and Dhanushkodi via Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Thiruvarur, Karaikudi, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram. In the late 19th century, the railway portion of the route within India was from Madras (Chennai) to Tuticorin. At Tuticorin, passengers embarked on the boat mail steamer to Colombo in Ceylon. The train took 21 hours and 50 minutes for the journey from Madras to Tuticorin. The Boat Mail was one of the early trains to be given vestibuled carriages, in 1898. In 1914, after the Pamban bridge was built, the train's route changed and it went from Madras to Dhanushkodi. A much shorter ferry service then took the passengers to Talaimannar in Ceylon, from where another train went to Colombo. The 35-kilometre (22 mi) long ferry journey was considerably shorter than the 270-kilometre (170 mi) long Tuticorin-Colombo route. In 1964 a passenger train was washed into the sea by huge waves during the 1964 cyclone, when nearing Dhanushkodi. The railway tracks and the pier at Dhanushkodi were also destroyed. Following this, the Indian portion of the train service now only operates up to Rameswaram,while the ferry service to Talaimannar has since been discontinued. It now runs between Chennai Egmore and Rameswaram via Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Karaikudi, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram. Locomotive details: 13437 Golden Rock (GOC) WDG-3A This locomotive used to belong to ABR (ABU ROAD) Before Golden Rock Onboard train: Chennai Beach MSB- Tambaram (TBM) EMU. Service type: Express Train Status: Operating Locale: Tamil Nadu First service: 24 February 1914; 107 years ago Current operator: Southern Railway Zone Route Start: Chennai Egmore (MS) Stops: 22 End: Rameswaram (RMM) Distance travelled: 665 km (413 mi) Average journey time: 13 Hours Service frequency: Daily Train number(s): 16851/16852 On-board services pantry Class(es): First AC, Second AC, Third AC, Sleeper, Unreserved Seating arrangements: Yes Sleeping arrangements: Yes Catering facilities: No Observation facilities: Large windows(AC) Entertainment facilities: No Rolling stock: MS-TPJ (WAP 7/WAP 4, AJJ/RPM), TPJ-RMM (TNP WDM 3A/WDM-2) (Now fully electrified) Track gauge: 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Electrification: 25 kV AC, 50 Hz Operating speed: 51 km/h (32 mph) average with halts STATION ARR DEP Rameswaram(RMM) origin 17:00 Pamban(PBM) 17:14 17:15 Mandapam(MMM) 17:31 17:32 Ramanathapuram(RMD) 17:55 18:00 Paramakkudi(PMK) 18:29 18:30 Manamadurai Junction(MNM) 19:00 19:05 Sivaganga(SVGA) 19:29 19:30 Kallal(KAL) 19:54 19:55 Devakottai Road(DKO) 20:09 20:10 Karaikkudi Junction(KKDI) 20:30 20:35 Chettinad(CTND) 20:51 20:52 Pudukkottai(PDKT) 21:14 21:15 Tiruchchirappalli Junction(TPJ) 22:20 22:30 Thanjavur Junction(TJ) 23:18 23:20 Kumbakonam(KMU) 23:56 23:57 Mayiladuturai Junction(MV) 00:35 00:37 Sirkazhi(SY) 01:04 01:05 Chidambaram(CDM) 01:24 01:25 Cuddalore Port Junction(CUPJ) 01:59 02:00 Villupuram Junction(VM) 03:25 03:35 Melmaruvathur(MLMR) 04:34 04:35 Chengalpattu Junction(CGL) 05:08 05:10 Tambaram(TBM) 05:39 05:40 Mambalam(MBM) 05:59 06:00 Chennai Egmore(MS) 06:35 Destination Thanks for watching Please like share and subscribe for more videos. Please do follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indian.trains