The Deccan Queen, the superfast special train that provides a shuttle service between Pune and Mumbai, is perhaps the only train in the country whose birthday is celebrated by its commuters every year. The 93rd birthday of the iconic train was celebrated with much gusto in the presence of Pune District’s Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil on Thursday morning with regular commuters cutting a cake at the platform before the train’s departure for Mumbai amid the beating of Dhol Tasha.
Every year, the birthday of the train which was pressed into service on June 1, 1930 is celebrated by the commuter organisation Railway Pravasi Sangh. In 2020, amid the pandemic, the birthday was held in absentia as the rake remained stranded in Mumbai.
Pune’s favourite train Deccan Queen celebrates its 93rd birthday in style
✍🏻 @ThePikaro | 📸 @HorizonArul
Read: https://t.co/Qh8IYrmPBk pic.twitter.com/DzcY0RgW2t
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) June 1, 2023
The history of Deccan Queen is literally a tale of two cities. 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.
The train’s introduction was a major landmark in the history of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the forerunner of the Central Railway. 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).
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 first luxury train of the region was apty named ‘Queen of the Deccan’
Initially, it 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.
Today, the train is popular among commuters who travel to Mumbai from Pune to attend offices and return to the city after work. It has convenient timings for this lot and is known for plying on time.
This train holds many a record, including that of being India’s first superfast train, first long-distance electric-hauled train, first vestibuled train, the first train to have a ‘women-only’ car.
“Deccan Queen was also the first train in the country to have a dining car, which is still an attraction. Although many trains, which had such dining cars, were stripped of them in the intervening years, Deccan Queen’s facility has been upgraded and newer features introduced,” Harsha Shah, President of Railway Pravasi Group, a commuters’ oranisation.
Riya Dhani who made a painting of Deccan Queen. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)
The birthday celebration
Shah, who has been the most enthusiastic celebrators of the Deccan Queen birthday and has been doing that for last 67 years, said, “My uncle was a regular commuter to Mumbai and once he took to Mumbai in Deccan Queen. I loved the train so much during that first meeting. Since then I have thought of the train as a family member. And like we do for a family member, I celebrate its birthday everyday,” said Shah.
Celebrations at the Pune railway station on Thursday (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)
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 16 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 was adopted as the colour scheme for this train.
