Chinmay Kole's video: Mumbai - Pune Deccan Queen 93rd Birthday Celebration : Indian Railways

DECCAN QUEEN COMPLETES 93 YEARS OF SERVICE IN INDIAN RAILWAYS DECCAN QUEEN BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION 2023 12123/Deccan Queen दक्खन की रानी CSMT/Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Mumbai) -- PUNE/Pune Junction 12124/Deccan Queen दक्खन की रानी PUNE/Pune Junction -- CSMT/Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Mumbai) The 12123 / 12124 Deccan Queen is a daily Indian passenger train service operated by the Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways connecting the cities of Mumbai and Pune. Introduced on June 1, 1930, the Deccan Queen was India's "first superfast train, first long-distance electric-hauled train, first vestibuled train, the first train to have a ‘women-only’ car, and the first train to feature a dining car". The service name comes from the Marathi nickname "दख्खन ची राणी" (Queen of the Deccan), a popular nickname for Pune. Deccan Queen is currently the fastest train service linking Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Pune Junction. It has an average operating speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) including stops, and a top speed of 105 km/h (65 mph). The train's long history and common use as a commuter train has gained it significant popularity, including annual celebrations of its "birthday" on June 1 at Pune Junction. It was hauled by a Kalyan-based WCAM-3 end to end up until June 2022. From June 2022, its upgraded coaches in a new livery are being hauled by a Ajni-based WAP-7. Deccan Queen service was introduced on 1 June 1930 as a weekend train with two rakes of seven coaches each. The first service of the train was conducted from Calyan (now Kalyan) and Pune in the Bombay Presidency, British India, apparently in order to ferry rich patrons from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Poona (now Pune) to attend horse racing at Pune Race Course. Initially, one coach was painted in silver with scarlet mouldings, while the others were painted in royal blue with gold lines. The underframes of the coaches of the original rakes were built in England, while the coach bodies were built in the Matunga Workshop of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The service initially included first and second class seating, but the first class was replaced by a redesigned second class on January 1, 1949, until third class seating was introduced in June 1955. In 1966, the coaches were replaced by "anti-telescopic, steel-bodied integral coaches" built by Integral Coach Factory, PeramburChennai, and the rake was lengthened to twelve coaches. Third class seating was re-designated second-class seating in April 1974. The Deccan Queen is also one of the most favourite trains among railfans. Every year on 1 June, its regular pass-holders, railfans and railway authorities celebrate the train's birthday. Deccan Queen entered its 90th year of service on 1 June 2019. On 19 August 2020, Central Railways announced an allocation of brand new LHB coach coupled with a simultaneous introduction of a unique culturally significant "Green-Brown-Yellow" curvilinear stripe livery on all of the coaches of Deccan Queen. The unique new livery has been finalized after numerous consultations with commuters as well as Design Engineers. The new livery features a dark green-colored main background, with brown and yellow curvilinear stripes, that run from the right end of the coach and end at 2/3rds of the length of the coach thereby giving the rake a unique GenZ look that is bound to make heads turn in conjunction with eyebrows raised. In addition, a selection of such a dark Green livery would ensure that the train's color does not get adversely impacted at the time of the Indian Monsoon. This train will now run with an introduction of push–pull Technology and head-on generation-equipped WAP-7 three-phase electric locomotives of Kalyan Electric Loco Shed, which will also have the same livery as the rest of the train. The unique Dine-in pantry car of this legendary train will still be retained although in a fresh new LHB avatar. When it was introduced in 1930, the Deccan Queen was hauled by WCP 1/2 DC passenger locomotives. From 1954 till the 1990s, it was hauled by a WCM-1/2/4/5 DC mixed locomotive. From the 1990s till present, it has been hauled end to end by a WCAM-3 or WCAM-2/2P DC/AC locomotive of the Kalyan shed. Starting 1 June 2018, on its 88th anniversary, it will be occasionally hauled by the WAP-7 of the Ajni shed. At Karjat, it gets two or three WAG-5, WAG-7, WCAM-2 or WCAM-3 bankers of Kalyan shed to push the train on the ghat section between Karjat railway station and Lonavala railway station, where the gradient is of 1 in 40.