Chennai-Delhi Grand Trunk Express turns 95; chugs along strong with no signs of ageing
The two coaches made their way to Madras attached to the South Indian Railway’s Mangalore-Madras Mail service.
GTE began its journey on April 1, 1929
CHENNAI: Monday was not a regular day for the Grand Trunk Express (GTE) at the Tambaram railway station. A service that started in 1929 is still carrying thousands of passengers and celebrated its 95th year on April 1.
As one of the few services in India that began during the British era, it’s a popular train connecting South India with Pakistan.
The Southern Mahratta Railway introduced the GTE in 1929 to link Peshawar-Pakistan (a part of British India and the capital of North-West Frontier Province), and also Mangalore (which was a part of Madras province) from April 1, 1929.
Fast forward to 2024, and passengers recall some of their fondest memories of travelling in the GTE. For instance, CV Prashannaa, a railway fan, said, “A week ago, I travelled in the GTE from Tambaram to Delhi in third AC. It was very clean, and the standard of food was very good.”
According to Southern Railway sources, GTE’s demand is so high that the waiting list for ticket availability is always more than 100. “The GTE has a lot of historic value. I wish the railways celebrated the centenary in a grand manner,” said a SR loco pilot attached to Chennai division.
The GTE began operations with two carriages running between Peshawar in the North Western Railway (British India) and Mangalore in the South Indian Railway. The two coaches made their way to Madras attached to the South Indian Railway’s Mangalore-Madras Mail service.
In the final leg of the journey between Delhi and Peshawar, the carriages were attached to the Frontier Mail, and reached Peshawar travelling through Bathinda, Ferozepur and Lahore, covering a distance of 2,497 miles in a little over 96 hours.
“This was not an independent train and the name Grand Trunk Express only referred to the 2 carriages operating between Mangalore and Peshawar till 1930 when the service was changed from Mangalore to Mettupalayam. Then, from the 1960s, the train operated between Madras and Delhi,” said a SR official.
The train had a 21-coach rake in the 1980s, later extended to 22 and now, 24 coaches. It passes through TN, Andhra, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP, Haryana and Delhi.
Today, the train covers the 2,182.4 km in 35 hours and 15 minutes, with 40 halts (exclusive of the terminals) at an average speed of 62 km/h. From February 2024, the service was shifted to Tambaram and additional stoppage provided in Egmore, sources noted.
