Deccan Queen
Encyclopedia
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
), is an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n passenger train that connects Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
with Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
. It is a daily means of transport for thousands of passengers travelling between the two cities. It is a prestigious train of the Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
.
Schedule
The Deccan Queen departs daily from PunePune Railway Station
Pune Railway Station is the main railway head of Pune. It is a railway junction with on the Mumbai - Chennai railway line. It is also the origin of Pune - Bangalore railway line. All trains are operated by Indian Railways. Pune Railway Station serves as a halt for south bound trains from Mumbai,...
at 07:15 IST
Indian Standard Time
Indian Standard Time is the time observed throughout India and Sri Lanka, with a time offset of UTC+05:30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments, although DST was used briefly during the Sino–Indian War of 1962 and the Indo–Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971...
and reaches Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori Bunder area of Mumbai, it was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in 1887...
(CST), Mumbai at 10:25 IST. It departs from Mumbai at 17:10 IST (5:10 PM IST) and reaches Pune at 20:25 IST (8:20 PM IST). Arrival times are generally delayed by a few minutes. The train number is 12124 (Up) while travelling from Pune to Mumbai, a distance of 192 km, and 12123 (Down) for the return journey.
Pune to Mumbai
After leaving Pune, the train stops only at Lonavala and DadarDadar
Dadar is a place in Mumbai, and is also a railway station on both the Western and Central lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Dadar is situated in the heart of Mumbai, and Dadar station is the only railway station common to both the Central and Western lines...
stations before the Mumbai destination. The train also halts for a few minutes at a point named Monkey Hill (just after Lonavala) at the beginning of a steep descent in order to check its brakes. This is known as a "technical halt" and is not a scheduled halt at a station.
| Stations | Arrives Time | Departs Time | Halt Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pune Junction - PUNE | - | 07:15 | - |
| Lonavala - LNL | 08:08 | 08:10 | 2 min |
| Dadar - DR | 10:03 | 10:05 | 2 min |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus - CSTM | 10:25 | - | - |
Mumbai to Pune
During the journey from Mumbai, the train's first halt is at KarjatKarjat
Karjat is a city, a Municipal Council, a Tahsil and a sub-district in Raigad district, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:...
to attach banker locomotives
Bank engine
A bank engine or helper engine or pusher engine is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional power or traction to climb a grade...
at the rear to enable the train to climb the mountainous route. The train then halts at Lonavala after climbing to the top, and then halts at Shivajinagar station near Pune before finally terminating at the main Pune railway station.
| Stations | Arrives Time | Departs Time | Halt Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chhataapati Shivaji Terminus - CSTM. | - | 17:10 | - |
| Karjat - KJT | 18:33 | 18:35 | 2 min |
| Lonavala - LNL | 19:18 | 19:20 | 2 min |
| Shivajinagar -SVJR | 20:08 | 20:10 | 2 min |
| Pune Junction - PUNE | 20:25 | - | - |
History
Deccan Queen was started on June 1, 1930 as a weekend train for the Britishers during the British rule in India, to ferry race-fans from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Poona (now Pune). The first service of the train was conducted from Calyan (now Kalyan) and Pune. It was converted to a daily service soon after, starting from Bombay Victoria Terminus (renamed Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus CSTM). It is one of the longest running trains on the Indian Railways to have never run on steam power. From the beginning, the Deccan Queen has been run using electric locomotives. Occasionally, it was given diesel locomotives in case of original locomotive failure.The color of its rake has seen a lot of changes, from red colour to yellow and then to blue.
Deccan Queen is the second train in India having ISO 9000
ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders . The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and available through National...
certification and a dining car after the India's first ISO Certified train Shaan - E - Bhopal Express running between Bhopal Habibganj
Bhopal Habibganj
Bhopal Habibgan Railway Station is a railway station in Bhopal City and part of the West Central Railway. It is located in Habibganj, New Bhopal.-Location:The Railway Station of Habibganj is located :...
(Bhopal) - Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
) . It has sixteen coaches including the engine.
The Deccan Queen is also one of the most favourite trains among railfans. Every year on 1st June, its regular pass-holders, railfans and railway authorities celebrate the train's birthday. Deccan Queen entered its 82nd year of service on 1st June 2011.
Incidents
The train derailed in 1990 at KhandalaKhandala
Khandala is a hill station in the Western Ghats in the state of Maharashtra, India, about three kilometres from Lonavala and seven kilometers from Karjat....
Ghat, but there were no casualties.
On 30 November 2006, a mob of around 6000 protestors set fire to some coaches of the train near Ulhasnagar
Ulhasnagar
Ulhasnagar Ulhasnagar, also referred to as Sindhunagar, has an estimated population of 472,943 people .The name derives from the Ulhas river which flows through it. Kalyan is situated near Ulhasnagar. The city is home to many types of businesses....
after forcing the passengers to get down. The arsonists were protesting against the vandalism
2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra
In November and December 2006, the desecration of an Ambedkar statue in Kanpur triggered off violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra, India.-Background:...
of a statue of B. R. Ambedkar
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...
in far away Kanpur though the incident had nothing to do with the Deccan Queen or even Mumbai or Pune.
External links
- Classic Trains of India: Deccan Queen by S. Shankar
- Deccan Queen at India Rail Info