RailEnquiry

NASHIK: The pre-launch run of the Rajdhani-like, fully air-conditioned train from Mumbai to Delhi via Nashik, on Central Railway, has been scheduled for Tuesday.

The bookings for the train - announced as a special train running between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Kurla and Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi on Tuesday and running back to Kurla on Wednesday (September 25) - will begin on September 21. No schedule has been announced for the train in the following week yet.

Central Railway official said that it is likely that the train - promised in the 2013 railway budget - could be inaugurated formally on its way back to Mumbai on Wednesday.

The rake is equipped with a first AC coach, three second AC coaches, 10 third AC coaches and two end-on-generation (EoG) coaches, quite like the configuration of the Rajdhani Express, to cover the 1,520km journey in 19.5 hours from Mumbai to Delhi. The train will have six intermediate halts - at Nashik Road, Bhusawal, Bhopal, Jhansi, Gwalior and Agra Cantonment - before reaching its destination.

Given that the originating station of the train is LTT and the rake will have to be taken to New Delhi for a formal inauguration, it is likely that this will be utilised as a special train (02109 Dn) during the journey, railway officials said.

"Though there is no confirmation, it is likely that the train will be inaugurated at the Hazrat Nizamuddin station in New Delhi. This may be announced on Monday, after which the number of the train from Delhi to LTT - 02110 Up - may be upgraded, with a regular number and announcement of further schedules," a Central Railway official said.

The train would halt at Bhopal station for 10 minutes on both its journeys, while the duration of its halt in other stations would be from 2 to 5 minutes.

The train will be the fourth direct train to the capital via Nashik and the first Rajdhani-like train on the tracks of Central Railway. Central Railway has been lacking in a train that would reach New Delhi in the shortest possible time period. Western Railway runs the Rajdhani Express that leaves Mumbai Central at 14.30 to reach Delhi at 8.30 the next day.

"This train will be beneficial to commuters from Nashik and Bhusawal areas travelling to Gwalior and Agra Cantonment," the official said.