Assam Mail

The Assam Mail was one of the better known metre gauge trains in the Indian Railway system that was there from the pre-independence days. The train was discontinued in 1986 with the completion of the broad gauge conversion of the meter gauge line to Dibrugarh.

3 Up/ 4 Dn

Assam Mail Route Chart
Legend
Pre-1947  ferry to Guwahati across Brahmaputra Amingaon New Bongaigaon-Guwahati section Bongaigaon New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section Fakiragram Golokganj Gitaldaha Mogalhat Lalmonirhat Burimari-Lalmonirhat-Parbatipur Line Kaunia Santahar-Kaunia Line Santahar Chilahati-Parbatipur-Santahar-Darshana Line

Popularly known as 3 Up/ 4 Dn (Kalka Mail was 1 Up/ 2 Dn), it originally ran in the pre-independence days from Santahar, now in Bangladesh, to Guwahati.^[1] It travelled along the Santahar-Kaunia Line up to Kaunia, then to Lalmonirhat along Parbatipur-Lalmonirhat-Burimari Line, crossing the Teesta. Thereafter, it took the now defunct Mogalhat-Gitaldaha route crossing the Dharla over the bridge, part of which has since been washed away, on to Golokganj, Fakiragram and Amingaon.

Passengers to and from Kolkata and the rest of India traveled between Kolkata and Santahar by broad gauge Darjeeling Mail or some other connection and then switched over to metre gauge Assam Mail.^[1]

Post Independence

Assam Mail Route Chart
Legend
Post-1962  Dibrugarh Lumding Guwahati–Lumding section Guwahati New Bongaigaon–Guwahati section Bongaigaon New Jalpaiguri–New Bongaigaon section Fakiragram New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line Siliguri Junction Barauni–Guwahati line Barauni Mokama–Barauni section Mokama Howrah–Delhi main line New Delhi

After independence and partition of India in 1947, the train stopped temporarily (possibly in 1950). When Assam Link Project connected Fakiragram to Kishanganj Assam Mail started running along the Katihar-Siliguri Line. It needed a loco reversal at Siliguri Junction and traveled along what is now the New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar-Samuktala Road line. Assam Mail was converted into a two part train. It ran from New Delhi to Dibrugarh (after Rajendra Setu and Saraighat Bridge came up), with the broad gauge part running up to Barauni from where the metre gauge part continued up to Dibrugarh. Passengers had to get down at Barauni and change trains.^[1]

The metre gauge part of the Assam Mail from Barauni to Dibrugarh covered 1,387 kilometres (862 mi). It was one of the longer metre gauge runs in the country, running across the flood plains of the Kosi, the Dooars, Western Assam and finally Upper Assam.^[2]

"With the BG extension from Barauni Jn to Guwahati in 1986, the Assam Mail was renamed as the North East Express and this legendary train of N.F. Railway went into oblivion."^[1]

References

Railways in Northern India
National network/ trunk lines	Howrah–Delhi main line New Delhi–Chennai main line New Delhi–Mumbai main line Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line Delhi–Jaipur line Jaipur–Ahmedabad line
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Urban and suburban rail transport	Delhi Suburban Railway Blue Line (Delhi Metro) Green Line (Delhi Metro) Red Line (Delhi Metro) Violet Line (Delhi Metro) Yellow Line (Delhi Metro) Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Lucknow–Kanpur Suburban Railway Barabanki–Lucknow Suburban Railway Delhi Panipat RRTS Delhi Meerut RRTS Delhi Alwar RRTS
Narrow-gauge railways	Kalka–Shimla Railway Kangra Valley Railway
Abandoned lines	Jammu–Sialkot Line
Monorails	Patiala State Monorail Trainways (abandoned)
Named trains	Ajmer–Hyderabad Meenakshi Express Ajmer Jammu Express Dayodaya Ajmer–Jabalpur Superfast Express Akal Takht Express Amritsar Mail Ananya Express Andaman Express Andhra Pradesh Express Anand Vihar Muzaffarpur Garib Rath Express Assam Mail Bagh Express Lucknow Bhopal Garibrath Express Bhopal–Jaipur Express Bhopal–Jodhpur Passenger Bhopal–Lucknow Express Bhopal–Lucknow–Pratapgarh Express Brahmaputra Mail Chambal Express Chennai Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express Chhattisgarh Express Chitrakoot Express Damoh–Kota Passenger Dayodaya Express Doon Express Durgavati Express Faizabad Delhi Express Faizabad Superfast Express Ganga Kaveri Express Goa Express Godaan Express Golden Temple Mail Gondwana Express Grand Trunk Express Pune–Manduadih Gyan Ganga Express Himalayan Queen Himsa Express Himsagar Express Hirakud Express Howrah – New Delhi Duronto Express Howrah New Delhi Yuva Express Indore Express Indore–Chandigarh Express Indore–Dehradun Express Indore–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express Indore–Patna Express Indore – Rajendra Nagar Via. Faizabad Express Indore–Ajmer Express Indore–Ajmer Link Express Indore–Amritsar Express Indore–Jaipur Express Indore–Jaipur Express via Ajmer Indore–Kota Intercity Express Indore–Udaipur City Express Jabalpur–Jammu Tawi Express Jabalpur–New Delhi Express Jaipur Superfast Express Jammu Tawi – Indore Express Jhelum Express Kaifiyat Express Kalinga Utkal Express Kalka Mail Kanpur Allahabad Intercity Kanpur Varanasi InterCity Kashi Vishwanath Express Kerala Express Kongu Express Kushinagar Express Lashkar Express Lucknow Mail Magadh Express Mahabodhi express Mahakoshal Express Mahanagari Express Mahananda Express Malwa Express Mandore Express Mangala Lakshadweep Express Secunderabad Express Marusagar Express Matsyaganda Express Mewar Express Mithila Express Muzaffarpur Anand Vihar Garib Rath Express Navyug Express Neelachal Express Kalka New Delhi Shatabdi Express New Jalpaiguri - New Delhi SF Express North East Express Patalkot Express Patna–Kota Express Poorva Express Pratham Swatrantata Sangrm Express Prayagraj Express Punjab Mail Purushottam Express Pushpak Express Rajendra Nagar Patna – Indore Express Rajendranagar Express Ranthambore Express Raptisagar Express Sabarmati Express Sachkhand Express Saket Express Samata Express Samjhauta Express Sampoorna Kranti Express Sanghamithra Express Sapt Kranti Express Sealdah Rajdhani Express Sealdah – New Delhi Duronto Express Shaan-e-Bhopal Express Shalimar Express Shipra Express Shiv Ganga Express Shram Shakti Express Shramjeevi Express Taj Express Tamil Nadu Express Thar Express Thirukural Express Tirhut Express Udhna Varanasi Express Ujjaini Express Utsarg Express Uttar Sampark Kranti Express Vaishali Express Vikramshila Express West Bengal Sampark Kranti Express
Manufacturing units and workshops	Diesel Locomotive Works Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory, Raebareli
Railway companies	Northern Railway North Eastern Railway North Central Railway North Western Railway East Indian Railway Company Rajputana–Malwa Railway Tirhut Railway Oudh and Tirhut Railway Indian Branch Railway Company Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Cawnpore–Burhwal Railway Cawnpore–Barabanki Railway Lucknow–Bareilly Railway Bengal and North Western Railway Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Mashrak-Thawe Extension Railway Lucknow–Sitapur–Seramow Provincial State Railway Bareilly–Pilibheet Provincial State Railway Segowlie-Raxaul Railway Delhi Metro Rail Corporation National Capital Region Transport Corporation
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) 1974 railway strike in India
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