Mumbai: Central Railways brings in commuters' version of Deccan Queen

The Deccan Queen, with its unique colour scheme, is quite a favourite among its commuters, especially its dining car (inset)

Commuters' recommendations on how they want their beloved Deccan Queen to look and feel have been heard by the Central Railway. An order for a specially customised 20-car train for the iconic Deccan Queen has been placed by the railways. The new train with its popular dining car, red and blue colours and push-pull arrangements will be ready by June 1 when it marks its 90th birthday.

The Deccan Queen is the only regular passenger train in India to have its own dining car and a unique livery. With trials scheduled for the push-pull mode (with locomotives at both ends that enable driving in both directions), the train intends to cut down travel time between Mumbai and Pune to two hours and 40 minutes, against the present time of three hours and 10 minutes.

Central Railway General Manager Devendra Kumar Sharma has spoken to officials in the Railway Board regarding the Deccan Queen revamp, "including the request for a dining car while switching over to an upgraded version along with the Executive Chair Car," CR's chief public relations officer Sunil Udasi said.

The Deccan Queen is a prestigious train and considering commuters' sentiments associated with it, "we will try and maintain its original character. We have also planned to provide the push-pull arrangement to curtail the journey time which will be even better than the road journey via the Expressway which takes around three hours and 15 minutes," he added.

Also Read: Mumbai: Mulund station may go 'dry' over pending water bills

Central Railway's principal chief mechanical engineer Manoj Joshi, in his letter to the railway board, has stated that "the train is a well-patronised service between Mumbai-Pune." In its continuing service of over 90 years, the train he said had several firsts to its credit. "She was India's first superfast train, the first long-distance electric-hauled train, first vestibuled train, the first train to have a 'Ladies Only' car, and the first train to feature a dining car. The CR had thus sought the opinion of its commuters for their desired features/amenities in the proposed upgrade and based on the inputs, a few aspects have been proposed," he stated.

It has been suggested that the Central Railway would be directly associated with the coach production unit nominated by the Railway Board so that it could get the changes customised as per requirement.

The new train features

"Deccan Queen shall enter its 90th year of service on June 1, 2019 and if the train can be upgraded to LHB (developed by a German company) coaches when it begins its 90th year, it shall be a welcome initiative from the Railways," the letter adds.

Suggested changes include manufacture of a 20-car train comprising an AC dining car (half a coach) and a pantry (half the coach), an Executive Chair Car, and a dedicated external livery in white, blue and red bands. In order to underline the heritage status of the train, the interiors of the train will have heritage pictures/paintings.

Provision of control cabling along with connectors will enable the train for the pull-push mode. As of today, the train is detained to attach additional engines while climbing and going down the steep ghat sections of Khandala.

90
No. of years the train has been in service

Also Read: Mumbai: GTB Nagar railway station will be shifted entirely by 100 metres

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates