For RailFans, the Journey itself is the Destination. - Sreerup Patranabis

Presenting History Of My Most Favourite Train

The oldest running long-distance train of the Indian Railways, Punjab Mail, connecting Mumbai-Firozpur - originally linking Bombay with Peshawar (now in Pakistan) - turns 110 on Tuesday, Central Railway officials said here on Monday.
The Punjab Limited as she was called then, is a little over 16 years older than its more glamorous counterpart Frontier Mail,...
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though its origins are rather vague.

She steamed out of Bombay's Ballard Pier Mole station - which was the hub of the erstwhile Great Indian Peninsular Railways (GIPR), that later became the CR.
Based on a Cost Estimate paper of 1911 and a complaint by an irate passenger in Oct. 2012 about "the later arrival of the train by a few minutes at Delhi" station, the CR concluded that the Punjab Mail made her maiden run on June 1, 1912.
To begin with, there were the P&O steamers bringing in the mail, and excited officers of the British Raj along with their spouses, coming to their first postings in colonial India after a 13-day long sea voyage from Southampton to Mumbai Port.
Since the British officials held a combined ticket both for the sea voyage to Bombay and then onward inland journey by train to their place of postings, after disembarking they would simply board one of the trains from here bound for Delhi, Calcutta or Madras.

The Punjab Limited used to run on fixed mail days from Bombay to Peshawar covering 2,496 kms in around 47 hours along the Great Indian Peninsular route, via Itarsi, Agra, Delhi and Lahore.
At that time, it had only 3 passenger cars with a total capacity of 96 travellers, three for postal goods and mail, and was the fastest running train in the British India.
The passenger coaches were all corridor cars in first class, dual berth compartments, and well appointed with lavatories, bathrooms, a restaurant car, a compartment for the luggage and servants of the British officers.
Later, from 1914, the Punjab Limited started originating and terminating at the Bombay VT Station, now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Today, the journey time of Punjab Mail, hauled by electric engines, has come down significantly, covering the 1,930 kms between Mumbai CSMT-Firozpur Cantt in 34 hrs 15 mins.
Compared to the original 6 cars of the Punjab Limited, Punjab Mail now has 9 air-conditioned coaches, 6 sleeper coaches, 5 general second class coaches, a pantry and a generator van.
By mid-1930s, it also started catering to the Indians on the move in Third class cars, it got the first airconditioned coach in 1945 , from May 1976, it was hauled by diesel engines, and by 1980s with electric engines as a large part of the trunk routes on the IR network got electrified.
From December 2020, the Punjab Mail started its journey with the German-designed Alstom LHB GmbH's Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches which give more safety and a pleasant travel experience to the passengers.

Source - click here

Sectional MPS of South Central Railways Division n Section wise.
Secunderabad Division :
1. Secunderabad - Charlapalli : 100kmph
2. Charlapalli - Kazipet : 130kmph
3. Balharshah - Kazipet Town : 130kmph
4....
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Kazipet Town - Kondapalli : 130kmph
5. Peddapalli - Karimnagar - Nizamabad : 75kmph.
6. Dornakal - Bhadrachalam Road : 90kmph
7. Bhadrachalam Road - Manuguru : 80kmph
8. Secunderabad - Lingampalli : 90kmph
9. Lingampalli - Wadi : 110kmph
10.Vikarabad - Parli Vaidhyanath : 100kmph
11. Khanapur - Taj Sultanpur : 80kmph
12. Telapur - Ramachandrapuram : 80kmph
13. Hussain Sagar Jn - Hyderabad : 80kmph
14. Motumari - Janpahad : 50kmph.
Vijaywada Division :
1. Vijaywada - Eluru - Nidadavolu : 110kmph
2. Nidadavolu - Rajahmundry : 100kmph
3. Rajahmundry - Samalkot - Thadi : 110kmph
4. Samalkot - Kakinada Port : 110kmph
5. Kondapalli - Vijaywada Jn : 110kmph
6. Vijaywada - Gudivada : 100kmph
7. Gudivada - Machlipatnam : 90kmph
8. Gudivada - Bhimavaram Town : 100kmph
9. Bhimavaram Town - Narsapur : 100kmph
10. Bhimavaram Town - Nidadavolu : 100kmph
11. Vijaywada - Krishna Canal Jn : 75kmph
12 Krishna Canal Jn - Tenali - Gudur : 130kmph
Guntakal Division :
1. Wadi - Raichur - Guntakal : 130kmph
2. Guntakal - Gooty - Renigunta : 130kmph
3. Guntakal - Khaderpet - Kallur : 100kmph
4. Gooty - Kallur : 110kmph
5. Kallur - Dharmavaram : 110kmph
6. Dharmavaram - Madanapalle Road : 100kmph
7.Pakala - Katpadi : 100kmph
8. Pakala - Tirupati - Renigunta : 100kmph
9. Renigunta - Venkatagiri - Gudur : 100kmph
10. Dhone - Pendekallu - Gooty/Guntakal : 90kmph
11. Guntakal - Bellari : 100kmph.
12. Nandyala - Yerraguntala : 80kmph
13. Madanapalle Road - Pakala : 90kmph
Nanded Division
1. Mudhkhed - Nanded : 100kmph
2. Nanded - Purna - Parbhani : 105kmph
3. Purna - Akola : 100kmph
4. Parbhani - Parli Vaidhyanath : 100kmph
5. Mudhkhed - Adilabad : 100kmph
6. Parbhani - Aurangabad - Ankai : 100kmph
Guntur Division :
1. Nallapadu - Pagidipalli : 110kmph
2. Nallapadu - Nandyala - Dhone - 110kmph (excluding Ghat section)
3. Nadikude - Macherla : 80kmph
4. Guntur - Krishna Canal Jn : 110kmph
5. Guntur- Tenali : 110kmph
6. Tenali - Repalle : 75kmph
7. Vishnupuram - Janpahad : 50kmph.
Hyderabad Division :
1. Secunderabad - Kacheguda - Falaknuma : 90kmph
2. Secunderabad - Malkajgiri - Medchal : 90kmph
3. Sitaphal Mandi A Cabin - B Cabin : 15kmph
4. Medchal - Nizamabad - Mudhkhed : 110kmph
5. Jankampet - Bodhan : 60kmph
6. Umdanagar - Mahbubnagar - Dhone : 110kmph
7. Gadwal - Raichur : 60kmph
8. Devarkadra - Makthal : 60kmph
9. Malkajgiri - Moula Ali Bypass : 30kmph
10. Manoharabad - Gajwel : 60kmph
11. Falaknuma - Umdanagar : 90kmph
If missed any section please add.

How does train bogie/ coach travel in curve

1.The wheels on each side of a train car are connected with a metal rod called an axle. This axle keeps the two train wheels moving together, both turning at the same speed when the train is moving. ... This is where the wheels' geometry comes in. To help the wheels stay on the track their shape is usually slightly conical.
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2.The only part of a train wheel that actually touches the rail is around the size of a 10 cent/20pence coin. Think about that the next time you're hurtling along at 130Kph. Actually - the wheel flange very rarely touches the rail. What keeps the train on the track is the conical angle of the wheel profile.
3. Why do trains not derail?
the reason these trains never tip is also because of their conical wheels. The conical wheels' shape, every time the train tips, the amount that it tips acts to restore the train upright. This force, called a restoring force, is stronger when the train is heavier meaning heavier trains are more stable .
Source - science journal

What does LV written on the last coach of the train mean?

Answer

On the last coach of the passenger train, along...
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with X, LV is also written on a small board. This LV means Last Vehicle. Both these signs are mainly for railway officials and employees. These signs have nothing to do with the common man. If any railway officer or employee does not see X or LV written on the last box of the train, he immediately informs the nearest control room. If these two signs do not appear on the last compartment of the train, it means that the last compartment of the train or some part of the rear part is separated from the train.

Why write X on the last coach of the train?

Answer:-

Even if you have never traveled by train, you may have seen many trains....
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You may have seen a very large X written on the last coach of the train. But have you ever wondered why there is such a big X written on the last coach of the train, what does it mean? I will give you complete information about this X here. Actually, this big X is only written on passenger cars. This X is always written on the last coach of the train, which means it is the last coach of that train.