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THE CEYLON BOAT MAIL HISTORY OF THE INDO–CEYLON (BOAT MAIL) EXPRESS Source: Historicalleys Somebody might recall this boat mail from the Ashe murder case, which I had written about, for that was the train Ashe and his wife boarded at Maniyachi, after which they were shot by Vanchi Iyer in June 1911. Maniyachi incidentally was a busy railhead junction, at which incoming passengers from Tinnevelly changed for the Boat Mail Train from Tuticorin. But then again it is no ordinary train and has quite a history. The Boat mail express, also known as the Indo-Ceylon Express, was operated by Southern Railways. At first it plied between Egmore and Tuticorin, then it was between Egmore and Dhanushkodi but now runs between Egmore and Rameswaram. Why was it called the boat mail? Because the passengers changed over to a boat ferry from the Indian end of the route in order to cross ...