With the opening of the Indian Midland Railway's broad-gauge line between Itarsi and Tundla on 1 March 1890, the first through communication on the broad gauge between Bombay and Delhi was established.

However, owing to the lack of line capacity, the Punjab Mail and the Northern Express ran together as a single train between Lahore and Peshawar.

During the unrest following the partition of India, the Punjab Mail, along with a host of other trains running to Lahore and beyond, was terminated at Delhi.

Due to the paucity of research material, until recent years, most of the known history of this train was gathered through hearsay and anecdotal evidence.

Due to the success of the BB&CIR's P&O Express, which later became the Frontier Mail, the Punjab Limited was discontinued after a short period.

On the GIP Railway, only the Imperial Indian Mail and the Punjab Limited operated from the Ballard Pier station.

As the average speed of the train is above 55 km/h (34 mph), as per Indian Railways rules, its fare includes a Superfast surcharge.