Howrah–Mumbai CSMT Mail (via Gaya), with train numbers 12321 and 12322 also known as Calcutta Mail during the pre-independence era, is a daily train running between two metro cities Kolkata, (Howrah station) in West Bengal and Mumbai CSMT in Maharashtra. The train belongs to the Mail category and is operated by Indian Railways, with maintenance done and rolling stock provided by Eastern Railway.
| Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Mail (via Gaya) | |
| Type: | Superfast Express |
| Operator: | Eastern Railway |
| Start: | Howrah Junction (HWH) |
| Stops: | 44 |
| End: | Mumbai CSMT (CSMT) |
| Distance: | 2158km (1,341miles) |
| Journeytime: | 37 hours 40 minutes |
| Frequency: | Daily |
| Class: | AC First, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, AC Economy, Sleeper Class, General Unreserved |
| Seating: | Yes |
| Sleeping: | Yes |
| Catering: | Available |
| Observation: | Large windows |
| Baggage: | Available |
| Otherfacilities: | Below the seats |
| Stock: | LHB coach |
| Trainnumber: | 12321 / 12322 |
| Speed: | 130km/h maximum, 57km/h average including halts |
When the Great Indian Peninsular Railway completed the construction of the Bombay - Jabalpur Railway line via Thull Ghat and Itarsi in 1870, it provided the earliest direct connection from Bombay to Calcutta via Allahabad. The inaugural service of the Calcutta Mail was started at 7 March 1870, and the inauguration was attended by The Duke of Edinburgh, the British Viceroy Lord Mayo and the Governor of Bombay, along with the Maharajahs.[1] The train would initially cross the Thull Ghat from Bombay towards Jabalpur and Allahabad, where it would reverse and travel towards Patna to Howrah. After opening of the Howrah - Gaya - Mughalsarai line, the train was diverted to run via Gaya. The train was initially run by East Indian Railway as a passenger service with mail coaches attached.
From the 1890s, to address the quick movement of mail between Bombay and Calcutta, several postal special trains were run by GIPR and EIR. The Imperial Indian Mail was the most famous of these trains, running alongside the Calcutta Mail on a weekly basis. Difference was while the Calcutta Mail would start from Victoria Terminus, the Imperial Indian Mail would start from Ballard Pier Mole railway station because it provided a connection to the British tourists arriving by ships towards Calcutta, the then capital of British India. While the Calcutta Mail would travel to and reverse at Allahabad, the Imperial Indian Mail would instead take the Allahabad Chheoki bypass towards Mughalsarai. The Calcutta Mail served all types of passengers along its route, while the Imperial Indian Mail, with its First Class and Restaurant Cars, were catered more to the British tourists and was the pinnacle of luxury at the time.
Due to World War II, the Imperial Indian Mail along with Calcutta Mail was shut down for service, for an indefinite period of time.[2] When the war ended in 1945, regular service resumed for the Calcutta Mail, which is the current iteration of the Howrah Mumbai Mail. This train's name was changed to Kolkata Mail to avoid confusion with the Mumbai Mail via Nagpur, though now it is named as the Mumbai Mail, same as its other counterpart.
Maintenance and operation of this train went to Eastern Railway after its formation in 1952. The train numbers, from its inception in 1870, were kept as 3 UP from Howrah to Allahabad and 4 DN from Allahabad to Howrah; numbers would change in GIPR as 7 DN from Allahabad to Victoria Terminus and 8 UP from Victoria Terminus to Allahabad. This continued till 1989, when the 4 digit numbering scheme prompted the change of train numbers from 3 UP / 4 DN to 3003/3004 from Howrah to Bombay. After its conversion to Superfast Express, numbers were changed again to 2321/2322. In 2010, due to the 5 digit numbering scheme directive, train number was again changed to its current numbers, 12321/12322.
On 1 April 2016, the Kolkata Mail was diverted permanently to run via Allahabad Chheoki instead of taking reversal at Allahabad. This has led many to confuse the Kolkata Mail with the Imperial Indian Mail, which used to do the same.
12321 Howrah Mumbai Mail via Gaya leaves Howrah everyday at 11:35 PM and arrives Mumbai CSMT every third day at 01:35 PM.
12322 Mumbai Howrah Mail via Gaya leaves Mumbai CSMT everyday at 10:15 PM and arrives Howrah every third day at 11:40 AM.
This train was the first through train from Mumbai to Kolkata when the Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line was opened in 1870.
In its current iteration, the train has 44 halts and runs from Howrah via Barddhaman Junction, Asansol Junction, Dhanbad Junction, Gomoh Junction, Koderma Junction, Gaya Junction, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, Prayagraj Chheoki Junction, Katni Junction, Gadarwara, Itarsi Junction, Khandwa, Bhusaval Junction, Manmad Junction, and Kalyan Junction, to Mumbai CSMT.
Kolkata Mail is composed of 22 LHB Coaches:
The services of Mumbai Mail are operated using 4 rakes and are maintained at Howrah and Mumbai.
Since 12321/12322 is a mail express service, there is facility of railway mail service provided by India Post available on this train.
It is hauled by a Howrah Loco Shed based head on generation equipped WAP-7 electric locomotive on its entire journey.