Journey from Mumbai to Pune to get more scenic as govt restores Deccan Express with Vistadomes

The Mumbai-Pune Deccan Express will also have seats that can rotate up to 180 degrees.

The train journey between Mumbai to Pune is going to be extra enjoyable from Saturday as the Central Railway restored the services of Deccan Express with a Vistadome coach from Saturday. This will give passengers a clear view of the scenic beauty of the Western Ghats during the nearly four-hour journey.

Image courtest: Twitter.com/PiyushGoyal

Vistadomes are European-style large glass windows that are equipped with advanced features, have glass roofs and observation lounges, which let passengers experience the outside beauty. The Mumbai-Pune Deccan Express will also have seats that can rotate up to 180 degrees.

As the train resumed services, commuters seemed excited to travel in the train, which will pass through Matheran Hills, Songer Hill, Ulhas valley, areas of Khandala and Lonavala and tunnels. "The Vistadome coach will offer unhindered views of valley, river, waterfalls and much more on the Mumbai-Pune route," news agency ANI quoted a commuter as saying.

Along with the one Vistadome coach, there will be 10 bogies of second-class seating and one-second class-seating-cum guard’s brake van.

This is the first time a Vistadome coach is being deployed on the Mumbai-Pune route. The train will halt at Dadar, Thane, Kalyan, Neral (for 01007 only), Lonavala, Talegaon, Khadki and Shivajinagar.

Union railways minister Piyush Goyal shared pictures of the train on Twitter. "Enjoy the scenic beauty of the Western Ghats with the first ever Vistadome coach on this route," he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

As per Central Railway's guidelines, passengers with confirmed tickets will be permitted onboard the train. They will be required to follow all norms and standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to Covid-19. Bookings can be done at all passenger reservation system (PRS) centres and on the website www.irctc.co.in.