[vigsom]

Introduction

Since 1969, when the first Rajdhani Express was introduced between New Delhi and Howrah, we all have been equating the Rajdhani Express with Superman; understandably so since this train is fast, furious and dependable. Close to fifty years after being let loose on Indian tracks in 1972, the Mumbai Rajdhani Express is still one of India's most respected, despite the introduction of faster trains like the Bhopal Shatabdi and the Gatimaan Express.

This is my travel account of a recent 392 km train journey by the King of Western Railway, the new and hot looking 02951 Mumbai Rajdhani Express in the new Tejas avatar. It’s been over 11 years since I travelled in the King, and after a trip to Dist. Raigad last week, I decided to take this train back to Vadodara from Mumbai. The King didn’t disappoint on speed, and the overall journey was memorable, but there were a few observations on the inside which could do with some improvement. The Tejas coaches come with a host of features, some great but some impractical, which will be showcased in the next few posts. Read on to savour the full report.

[vigsom]

History of the King

The Mumbai Rajdhani Express was introduced in 1972 and was the second Rajdhani Express after the Howrah Rajdhani. The train sported the old style coaches in red and yellow livery, before moving to LHB coaches in end-2003. Eighteen years later, Tejas coaches arrived.

The ICF coach in the 90s


LHB coaches introduced in end-2003


Tejas coaches introduced on 19-Jul-2021


The train was initially hauled by a single diesel loco, that was then made a double, before transitioning to Electric locos.

My first encounter with the King

The first time I travelled by the "duplicate" Rajdhani, aka AC Express (now known as the August Kranti Rajdhani Express) was in 1994 in the old ICF red and beige coaches. My turn to travel in the Mumbai Rajdhani Express was a long wait till the train was given a scheduled halt at Surat, and that was in Sep-2005, by when the train was sporting LHB coaches in red and silver livery.

I boarded the train at Surat at 0510hrs and in my time keeping, it had blasted past a town called Navsari in a mere 17 minutes, a sector which other superfast trains would take a minimum of 25 minutes to cross. Plus this was the ONLY train that wouldn’t stop at Borivali on either the inward our outward journey to/from Mumbai Central. Such was the josh that this train would generate.

Some float would be built into the train on its inward journey to Mumbai, with the journey time from Surat to Mumbai Central being 3hrs 25 minutes, while on the outbound journey from Mumbai Central to New Delhi, the King would do Mumbai Central – Surat in just 3 hours. The only issue with this train for the journey to Surat would be that dinner was initially a quickfire affair before 1930hrs, and later it was limited to just snacks, tea and soup.

This used to the broad timeline for the Rajdhani Express :

1. Mumbai Central to Virar – 50 minutes
2. Virar to Vapi – 70 minutes
3. Vapi to Surat – 60 minutes

[vigsom]

Why did I choose to travel by the King last week?

The last time I travelled by the Mumbai Rajdhani was sometime in 2009-10. The urge to travel by this train again was because

a) I needed to get back to base in Vadodara before night curfew restrictions
b) I was keen on trying the new coaches out

Meanwhile I discovered that the Mumbai Rajdhani now has a scheduled 2 minute halt at Borivali; understandably so, since a lot of train users, especially the ones going up north are closer to Borivali than Mumbai Central.

Tickets were available aplenty, since rail travel isn’t still preferred by many ever since Covid-19 hit us in Mar-2020. So, finally, on 31-Jul-2021 at 1722hrs, I was scheduled to board the King at Borivali.

Arrival of the King at Borivali

I waited with bated breath for the shining train to arrive; and the King did arrive in all splendor at 1729hrs. Watch the video below and see how shiny and class the train looks. Clear mirror images of the waiting passengers on the windows of the train is something I've never ever seen on any train this far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP_JLmOdVYY

[vigsom]

First impressions

The train halted, and the sliding automatic doors opened to present a new grab rail, wide steps, the old push type door to enter the airconditioned cabin. Once inside, the complete excitement gave way to a huge disappointment as the AC 2 Tier coach now resembled an AC 3 Tier coach. It was only after settling down that I realized that this was indeed an AC 2 Tier.
Once the train was on the move, I began exploring the coach and the various features.

Likes

• Classy on the outside – resembles a royal train
• Blazingly fast train but one doesn’t feel the speed inside
• Firm seats offer good comfort
• Air suspension makes the ride much much smoother
• The characteristic jerks in the LHB coaches during start up, braking and acceleration are all gone
• Mobile charging points and reading lights for each berth – even in AC 3 Tier
• The side lower berth has a cushioned table to place over the folded seats and make it a proper berth rather than a compromise
• Better headroom for passengers on the upper and side upper berths
• Pull down curtains on all windows
• CCTV cameras
• Smoke detectors
• Fire detectors and alarms
• Bio-vacuum toilet
• Water level alarms for the tanks
• Jaquar taps on the washbasins
• Neat washrooms with the health faucet, Lota and tissue – take your pick
• Display indicating next station
• App based entertainment system

Dislikes

• The mosaic pattern on the floor and the side panels makes the coach look old and dirty
• Two tone upholstery is pathetic looking – only maroon would have been much better
• Stitching on the berth was poor – loose thread was noticed at several places
• Food service was low key, and on payment; it's been like that since Unlock 1.0; most of the offerings are premixes (Upma, Poha, tea, coffee premixes) in which hot water is added

What’s missing

• No bedsheets and blanket post Unlock 1.0
• No dinner – I was a huge fan of their soup
• No curtains, but the coach looks more airy without curtains

[vigsom]

Small yet significant things in the Tejas coaches

Automatic closing doors controlled by the guard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA-QGXphA0g

Switch to open the door in an emergency


Safety instructions for the automatic closing doors


While the automatic closing doors is a great safety feature, it is something to be worried about too, since there have been several cases of folks being locked in or locked out while delaying their entry or exit. During my travel, the emergency chain was pulled as one passenger found himself locked out when he got off at Surat to get something, and couldn't get back to the train in time.

Gadgets in the coach


Integrated Braille display


The door to the cabin


Inside view of the AC 2 Tier coach


View of the berths in two tone livery



View of the side berths - note the cushioned table on the side of the lower berth


The cushioned table in position on the side lower berth


Mosaic pattern on the floor


Reading light for each berth in AC 3 Tier too



Pull down blinds on the windows


Display indicating next station, washroom occupancy


Water level indicator


Wash basin in the "lobby"


Jaquar taps


Washroom








The Bio-Vacuum toilet - operates close to how one sees in an airplane


Heating Unit - for the food I guess

[vigsom]

Riding the King

Sitting inside, I got the impression that the train was chugging along at just 100kmph but one visit to the lobby and one would realize that the train was actually going real fast -130kmph. It definitely appears that the tracks have been done up, and clatter has been reduced to Nil. Mumbai Central to Surat, a distance of 263km was completed in a mere 2hrs 43 minutes, while the Mumbai Central - Vadodara 392km sector was completed in 4 hrs and 5 minutes. That's an average speed of close to 96kmph.

Here are some videos to help you experience the King.

Crossing Virar - note the speed of the train relative to the stationary local

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx9ja-pjYlw

Crossing the Vaitarna river and blasting through Saphale and Palghar - at 00:13 the nondescript station featured is Vaitarna. Just look at how good the platform looks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EAwfXLf3hY

Crossing Valsad - almost silent inside the coach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-8AhzBPepo

[vigsom]

Summing it up

The King of Western Railway has come a long way in providing electrifying journeys to rail fans. As kids, we would look up to the Rajdhani with admiration, respect and travelling in one was a dream that came true for me in 1994.

The timeline
1972 – conventional coaches
2003 – LHB coaches
2021 – Tejas coaches

While the AC 3 Tier and the AC First coaches in the Tejas avatar are step ups, the AC 2 Tier is a step down. Several features that these coaches sport would eventually stop functioning because I have seen exactly that happening with the LHB coaches too. However, the Indian Railways deserves a huge round of applause for all the great work that has been done over the last few years in improving rail infrastructure, and providing faster travel. I only hope the travelling junta look after these as their own !!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[no_fear]

An excellent post, and I was looking forward to this. Rajdhanis are my go-to train to travel in India, and with elderly parents, this is the best way to travel.

I am very disappointed to see the interiors though. I know they removed the curtains for covid, but the horrible brown seats and tacky off white plasticy stairs needs to go. I saw the new AC 3 coach interiors and they looked very classy with the fake wood paneling.

Clearly, the interiors were designed by some sarkari babu, who has 0 ideas about interior design and aesthetics.

[sandeepmohan]

Its nice to read a report about a train journey.

That 2A coach sure looks disappointing. Those missing curtains did allow for some privacy and gave you a sense of a little more space.

They forgot to conceal the wires for the water level indicator! Looks more like an afterthought. I remember this being fitted as part of the main electrical mcb switch control panel. It was more elegant though you need to look in that direction to notice the red or green light for high/low water level.

Did you notice if there was a locomotive pushing your train from behind? To my knowledge, the Mumbai Raj and the secondary Raj are now operating as Push-Pull trains, meaning locomotives at both ends. Acceleration is swift and better balancing speeds on gradients.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by vigsom

This is my travel account of a recent 392 km train journey by the King of Western Railway, the new and hot looking 02951 Mumbai Rajdhani Express in the new Tejas avatar. It’s been over 11 years since I travelled in the King, and after a trip to Dist. Raigad last week, I decided to take this train back to Vadodara from Mumbai. The King didn’t disappoint on speed, and the overall journey was memorable, but there were a few observations on the inside which could do with some improvement.

Thanks for sharing. I was looking forward to a good review and here it is.

I'm adding a YouTube video of the inaugural journey.

https://youtu.be/qZwpznj4Nro

[Dieseltuned]

Wow wow wow. Rajdhani has always been the aspiration for every kid that grew up in the 90s. You rightly said despite all the shatabdis and durontos , Rajdhani is a Rajdhani and retains its charm. With WR working on an ambitious project to increase the speed of the line to allow trains at 160 kmph, it will a damn fast ride to NDLS.

[fhdowntheline]

It reminded me of my Flix Train journey when I went to Berlin a couple of years ago. We went from Berlin to Frankfurt and back, and the overall ambience looked similar. Flix trains use old DB coaches. Whereas the regular DB ICE trains look much more posh. Somehow I feel our premium train cabins still dont have the swank. Too much of metal all around, very Soviet-like (for the lack of better word).

[jithin23]

Rajdhani express is still a dream for me and the enhancements in these coaches take rail travel a notch higher. It's on our public to maintain it well. By the way, the 2A coaches in the mail/express trains look more premium with curtains and the one in the King looks like a downgrade.

Good to see IR has improved by leaps and bounds.

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

It reminded me of my Flix Train journey when I went to Berlin a couple of years ago. .

Oh lord, Flixbus and Flixtrain are the Ryanair of land travel. The concept is good, but Flixtrain uses DB rail infrastructure and they bought the old 1980s-90s DB coaches, refurbished a little bit (mostly outside stickers) and put them in service.

I agree with you totally on the Soviet style theme of the Tejas coaches. The outside looks swanky, but inside, especially around the toilets, it looks too amateurish.

My grandfather was one of the chief mechanical engineers who worked on the first Howrah Delhi Rajdhani, and my father rode the test train as a young adult in the late 1960s. The coaches were filled with sand bags. Every time we ride the Rajdhani, my dad sits and tells this story to every conductor, vendor, coolie, passenger and whoever strikes up a conversation....lol, I hope I did not bore the forum members here.