The dining car in the Deccan Queen, an 89-year-old legacy of the Indian Railways, is unlikely to continue for long, according to a top official of the railways.
Given the rising pressure on passenger traffic on the Pune-Mumbai route, the railways have decided to discontinue the dining car, Pune divisional railway manager (DRM) Milind Deouskar, said in an interview.
As he explained: “Currently, we have to dedicate an entire coach as the dining facility in the Deccan Queen. While other trains are jam packed owing to the exponential increase in the passenger traffic, it becomes difficult for us to keep one coach especially for the dining car.”
Therefore, the proposal to ban such dinning systems is on the cards and a decision will be made soon, said Deouskar.
“Having said so, we will scrutinise all the aspects of this decision of banning the dinning system before the final decision is taken,” he said.
The Deccan Queen is the only passenger service in the country to have a dining car. It was introduced soon after the train became operational on June 1, 1930.
The car provides comfortable seating arrangement for 32 passengers and is fitted with tastefully furnished, cushioned chairs. The old features of the dining car have been retained and some new ones have been added to keep up with the changing times.
{{/usCountry}}The car provides comfortable seating arrangement for 32 passengers and is fitted with tastefully furnished, cushioned chairs. The old features of the dining car have been retained and some new ones have been added to keep up with the changing times.
{{/usCountry}}Dishes such as masala omelette and vegetable cutlets are among the most popular in the dining car which also serves batata vada, kanda bhaji, misal paav, thaalipeeth, sabudana khichdi and beverages.
Rohit Rathod, a regular visitor to the dining car, said, “Besides, the minimum time travel, the dining car has always been the centre of attraction in the Deccan Queen. Especially in the rainy season, the dining car is a preferred choice of passengers who come to the restaurant and enjoy the various delicacies along with the scenic beauty in the Lonavla ghat.”
The 17-coach train starts from Pune junction at 7:15 am every morning and reaches Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) by 10:15 am. It, then, leaves CSMT at 5:10 pm and reaches Pune at 8:25 pm.
The train ferries more than 1,000 people daily, and most of the passengers are professionals – advocates, government employees, business people who live in Pune and work in Mumbai. Other trains plying on the same route are Pragati Express and Sinhagad Express.
Deouskar said that continuing efforts are being made to improve the service and the new Linke Hofmann-Busch (LHB) rake will use a ‘push and pull’ technique to cut travel time between the two cities by 30-35 minutes. Deccan Queen will be the second train in Central Railway to use this system after the CSMT-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express, he said.