12988 - बारह नौ सौ अठासी , इसके नखरे हैं नवाबी ! - Keshav Saxena

In about one year from now, I will celebrate 50 years of my first ever long distance train journey. I was three years old at the time, and traveling by First Class in Bombay Mail from Raipur to Bombay VT. I still remember the green and yellow livery (with additional yellow lines), and loco changes in Durg (from electric to diesel), another in Nagpur, then in Bhusaval, and yet another in Igatpuri (DC traction, also prepared for the ghats). A visit to Dining Car became one of my favorite things to do in this train as I traveled through the years and the fantastic rumali roti they served back then.

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of nostalgia, I was comparing the current time table to the time table in 1975, and was shocked to discover that the 2 Up (1 down) Mail was only 35 minutes slower almost 50 years ago and now it runs with max speed of 130.

On top of it, the Mail (until a few years ago), was a benchmark of being punctual, always running on time. Not the case for last 2-3 years now. I miss those days, but the Mail remains my all time love, as it literally got me to enjoy trains and made me a fan. Just had to share.