New-look Deccan Queen to roll into Mumbai soon

The interiors of the new LHB coach

The new Deccan Queen train coloured in Restrained Imperium shade is getting the final finishing touches and will be in Mumbai in February. The first set of pictures of the new train were out on Tuesday.

Deccan Queen is India's "first superfast train, first long-distance electric-hauled train, first to be vestibuled and the first train to feature a dining car". The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is now giving final touches to the 20 Linke-Hofmann-Busch coaches for this illustrious and heritage train. A senior official said that the dining car and the power car were in the process of being made and that the train should be on Central Railway by the end of February.

The new 20-car Deccan Queen train consists of two second luggage, guard and divyang compartments, five AC chair cars, one dining/pantry car and 12 non-AC chair car coaches. It is the only train in the country with a 40-seater dining car for regular passenger use on Indian Railways. The colour scheme of the new rake has been designed to reflect the train's heritage value as well as modernity.

A train coach at the Integral Coach Factory

mid-day has been following up the issue and had in its February 23, 2019 and May 2, 2019 editions reported how the Central Railway, in a rare gesture, had taken feedback from commuter surveys on how the LHB conversion of Deccan Queen be made special. The Indian Railways later took over and roped in India's premier institute National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, (NID) to get a thematic colour shade.

The designs were then finalised by NID after due consultations with commuters, the general public and stakeholders, and then approved by the Ministry of Railways in May 2020. mid-day was the first to report on the new colour shade and related developments of the iconic train. The changes are happening because the train is now getting upgraded with German-design Linke-Hofmann-Busch coaches. The Deccan Queen when introduced was the fastest electric train in India in the 1930s.

Why was restrained imperium shade selected?

The colour was chosen after consultations with commuters, onboard regular travellers and all stakeholders. "The ‘Restrained Imperium design' attempts to embody this understated imperium of the queen in a powerful yet understated form with hints of dynamic elements in a linear flow, embellished with details from our heritage," the NID final concept note said.

Explaining in detail, it said the dominant colour is present in the flowing element of the design. The detailing and the curve graphics are produced in two colours on opposite ends of the body. ends are painted in dark grey, and the front of the driver cabs are painted dark with yellow front for night-time visibility. For accessibility reasons, doors are in contrast in colour to make them stand out against the carriage.