Deccan Queen, India's first deluxe train, Celebrates 92 years
It was the first deluxe train to be introduced on the railway to serve two important cities in the region, and it was appropriately named after Pune, also known as the "Queen of Deccan" (Dakkhan ki Rani).
FollowThe Deccan Queen Express, which connects two major cities in Maharashtra, Pune and Mumbai, celebrated its 92nd anniversary on Wednesday.
Anil Kumar Lahoti, Central Railway's general manager, while talking to the media, stated, "This train is the only one in Indian Railways to have a restaurant car, and will now run with LHB coaches from June 22."
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The introduction of the 'Deccan Queen' between the two premier cities of Maharashtra, Pune and Mumbai, on June 1, 1930, was a significant milestone in the history of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the forerunner of the Central Railway.
This was the first deluxe train to be introduced on the railway to serve two important cities in the region, and it was appropriately named after Pune, also known as the "Queen of Deccan" (Dakkhan ki Rani).
The train was first introduced with two rakes of seven coaches, one painted silver with scarlet mouldings and the other royal blue with gold lines. The original rake's coach underframes were built in England, while the coach bodies were built in the GIP Railway's Matunga Workshop.
Initially, the Deccan Queen offered only first and second class accommodations. However, on January 1, 1949, the first class was abolished, and the second class was redesigned as the first class, which lasted until June 1955, when the third class was introduced on this train. This was later reclassified as a second class beginning in April 1974.
The original rake coaches were replaced in 1966 by anti-telescopic steel-bodied integral coaches built by Perambur's Integral Coach Factory. These coaches featured improved bogies for improved riding comfort and improvements to the interior furnishings and fittings.
Apart from providing high levels of comfort to passengers, the train has seen numerous improvements since its inception, including the introduction, for the first time in India, of coaches with roller bearings, the replacement of end-of-generation coaches with self-generating coaches with 110 volts systems, and the introduction of first and second class chair cars, which provide increased accommodation to passengers.
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