One of the most prestigious and heritage-rich trains of Indian Railways, Deccan Queen just completed 91 years. The Central Railway zone, which operates this legendary train between Mumbai and Pune had earlier started the exercise of its upgradation. Train Number 12123/12124 Deccan Queen is operated with 17 coaches including four AC chair car coaches, 10 second class chair car coaches, one Buffet Car and two-second class cum brake vans. Deccan Queen was introduced on the Indian Railways network on 1 June 1930. Earlier, the Railway Ministry had said that this was the first deluxe train that was launched to serve two important cities of the region and the train was aptly named after the city of Pune, also known as “Queen of Deccan’’ (“Dakkhan ki Rani’’).
According to the ministry, the train was initially introduced with two rakes, each comprising of seven coaches. One was painted in silver color with scarlet mouldings, while the other with royal blue color with gold lines. The under frames of the original rakes’ coaches were manufactured in England while the coach bodies were developed in the Matunga Workshop of the GIP Railway.
In the year 1966, the original rakes’ coaches were replaced by anti-telescopic steel bodied integral coaches. These coaches were manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur. For better riding comfort, these coaches incorporated an improved design of bogies. Also, improvements were made to the interior furnishings and fittings. To provide additional accommodation, the number of coaches in the rake was also increased to 12 from the original seven coaches. Over the years, the coaches in Deccan Queen increased to the present level of 17 coaches.
In the year 1995, the rake was changed with the following special features:
- The train got newly manufactured or about a year old, air brake coaches.
- The five first class chair car coaches present in the old rake were replaced by five air-conditioned chair car coaches providing an additional seating capacity of 65 passengers. Also, compared to the old coaches, the nine second class chair car coaches provide an additional seating capacity of 120 seats.
- The dining car of Deccan Queen offers table service for as many as 32 passengers and has modern pantry facilities like microwave oven, toaster and deep freezer. Also, the dining car was furnished with cushioned chairs and carpet.
