The introduction of ‘’Deccan Queen’’ between the two premier
cities of Maharashtra on 1st June 1930 was a major landmark in the history of
the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the forerunner of the Indian Railways. This
was the first deluxe train introduced on the railway to serve two 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 under frames 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. First class was abolished on 1st January 1949 and second
class was redesigned as first class, which continued up to June 1955 when 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 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 in 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 improvement such as
introduction, for the first time in India, of coaches with roller bearings,
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 red band above the window level has been recently 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
theDeccanQueen.
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 car in the old rake have been replaced by 5 ACchair cars
providing an additional seating capacity of 65 in a dust-free environment.
Also the 9-second class chair cars provide additional seating capacity of
120 seats compared to the old coaches. Thus, new rake provides 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 microwave oven, deep freezer and toaster. Thedining car is also tastefully furnished with cushioned chairs and carpet.
The management systems of Deccan Queen (2123 Dn / 2124 Up)
have been assessed by International Services Ltd. and found to comply with the
requirements of ISO 9001-2000 under the Joint Accreditation System of Australia
and New Zealand in November 2003. At Present Deccan Queen (12123/12124) runs
with 17 coaches including 4 AC chair car, one Buffet Car, 10 second class chair
car and two second class cum brake vans.
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