The Assam Mail was one of the better known metre-gauge trains in the Indian Railways 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 metre-gauge line to Dibrugarh.
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]
The metre gauge part of the Assam Mail from Barauni to Dibrugarh covered 1,369 kilometres (851 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] In 1986, when the Barauni–Guwahati line was converted into broad gauge the Assam Mail was renamed as the North East Express.[1] The new Superfast train North East Express was introduced via Kanpur, Patna, Barauni, Kishanganj, Fakiragram Junction, covering 1,890 kilometres (1,170 mi) between New Delhi & Guwahati in 33 hrs 15 mins at speed of 57 kilometres per hour (35 mph).