28-year-wait for Rajdhani ends, with a dash of misal pav

The 15-car train will depart from CSMT

It's celebration time for Central Railway as the city gets its third Rajdhani Express after 28 years, and the first on CR. The 22221 Mumbai CSMT-Rajdhani will be flagged off today by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, and is likely to serve our very own local speciality, misal pav.

It will be the 24th Rajdhani in the country. Railway officials have maintained that the 15-car train will have a standard menu initially, and introduce local cuisine like Misal Pav etc gradually to give the journey a local flavour. The IRCTC, which takes care of the catering, will be given a formal proposal soon. However, it all depends on passenger feedback. Grand preparations for the train have been on for the last one week with Central Railway teams working overnight to make way for the much-awaited train. "It is a matter of prestige that India's first railway line is finally getting a Rajdhani Express of its own," a senior railway official said.

The last Rajdhani introduced from Mumbai was the August Kranti Rajdhani Express between Mumbai Central and Hazrat Nizamuddin on July 1, 1991. "It is for the first time that the Central Railway has re-engineered 11 coaches with hot cases and coolers in a flat time of 24 hours. We have also bought 2,000 brand new blankets and linen sets for the comfort of passengers. The train has also been equipped with features like onboard Wi-Fi hot spot-based entertainment system in each coach with over 500 hours of free infotainment content. All travelling ticket examiners onboard the train will carry tablets called Hand-Held Terminals (HHTs) instead of the old writing pads and reservation charts," the railway official added. Mid-Day has been highlighting the issue of not having a single Rajdhani Express on the Central Railway line, even as the Western Railway, with two Rajdhanis, was gearing up for more.

Train schedule
The train will take 19 hours 30 minutes to cover the distance between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai and Hazarat Nizamuddin in Delhi. It will depart from CSMT every Wednesday and Saturday at 2.50 pm and reach Hazarat Nizamuddin at 10.20 am the next day. The return train leaves Hazarat Nizamuddin every Thursday and Sunday at 4.15 pm and arrives at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus at 11.55 am the next day. The express train will halt at Kalyan, Nasik Road, Jalgaon, Bhopal, Jhansi and Agra Cantonment.

July '91
The last Rajdhani train from Mumbai was introduced

Rs 2,990
2AC fare

Rs 2,160
3AC fare

Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani timings
12951 - Rajdhani - Mumbai Central-New Delhi- Time taken- (1,386 km) 15 hours 35 minutes
12953 - August Kranti Rajdhani - Mumbai Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin (1,379 km) 17 hours 15 minutes
22221 - Mumbai CSMT Rajdhani - Mumbai CSMT- Hazrat Nizamuddin (1,535 km) 19 hours 30 minutes

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