Central Railways: Deccan Queen Completes 92 Years
by Suraj V. Digital Marketing (sr. SEO Expert)The introduction of ‘’Deccan Queen’’ between the two premier
cities of Maharashtra on 1 June 1930 was a major landmark in the
history of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the forerunner of the Central
Railways (CR). This was the first deluxe train introduced on the
railway to serve 2 important cities of the region and was aptly named
after Pune,
which is also known as ‘’Queen of Deccan’’ (‘’Dakkhan ki Rani’’).
Initially, the train was introduced with 2 rakes of 7
coaches each one of which was painted in silver with scarlet mouldings and the
other with royal blue with gold lines. The underframes of the coaches of the
original rakes were built in England while the coach bodies were built in the Matunga Workshop
of the GIP Railway.
The Deccan Queen, initially, had only first class and second
class accommodation. The first class was abolished on 1 January 1949 and the
second class was redesigned as the first class, which continued up to June 1955
when the third class was introduced on this train for the first time. This was
later re-designated as second class from April 1974 onwards. The coaches of the
original rakes were replaced in 1966 by anti-telescopic steel bodied integral
coaches built by Integral Coach Factory, Perambur. These coaches incorporated
the improved design of bogies for better riding comfort and also improvements
in the interior furnishings and fittings. The number of coaches in the rake was
also increased to 12 from the original 7 coaches providing additional
accommodation. Over the year the number of coaches on the train has been
increased to the present level of 17 coaches.
From its inception, apart from providing high standards of
comfort to the passengers, the train has witnessed various improvements such as
the introduction, for the first time in India, of coaches with roller bearings,
the replacement of end on generation coaches with self-generating coaches with
110 volts system and introduction of first and second class chair cars
providing increased accommodation to passengers. The distinctive colour scheme
of cream and oxford blue with a red band above the window level was adopted as
the colour scheme for this train.
With the ever-growing aspirations of the travelling public
for better amenities, improved standards of comfort and better quality of
service, it was considered necessary to give a complete facelift to the Deccan
Queen.
The rake was changed in 1995 with the following special
features:
All newly manufactured or about a year old, air brake
coaches.
The 5 first-class chair cars in the old rake were replaced
by 5 AC chair cars providing an additional seating capacity of 65 in a
dust-free environment. Also, the 9-second class chair cars provide an
additional seating capacity of 120 seats compared to the old coaches. Thus, the
new rake provided a total seating capacity of 1417 as against 1232 seats in the
old rake i.e. an increase of 15%.
The dining car offers table service for 32 passengers and
has modern pantry facilities such as a microwave oven, deep freezer and
toaster. The dining car is also tastefully furnished with cushioned chairs and
carpet.
The history of the Deccan
Queen (Dakkhan ki Rani) is literally a tale of two cities. The public of
both the cities is happy with the impeccable record of “right time start” and
“arrival” of the Deccan Queen. Over the last 92 years of its colourful history,
the train has grown from a mere medium of transportation between two cities
into an institution binding generation of intensely loyal passengers.
Present:
With
the attaching of the Vistadome coach which was introduced on
15.8.2021, presently the composition of Deccan Queen is 17 coaches including
one Vistadome coach, 4 AC Chair Car, 9 Second Class Seating and 2-second class
seating cum guard’s brake van and One Pantry Car.
LHB Coaches:
Railways have decided to replace all the Conventional
coaches of Train no 12123/12124 CSMT-Pune-CSMT Deccan Queen Express with LHB coaches. The train with a revised
composition of LHB coaches will now run ex CSMT with effect from
22.06.2022 and ex Pune with effect from 23.06.2022.
Revised composition: Four AC Chair Car, 8 Second Class
Chair Car, One Vista dome coach, One AC Dining Car, One General Second class
cum Guard’s brake van and Generator Car.
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Created on Jun 2nd 2022 06:31. Viewed 143 times.