Mumbai Rajdhani Express

Mumbai Rajdhani Express

Overview
Service type	Rajdhani Express
Locale	Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana & Delhi
First service	May 17, 1972[1]
Current operator(s)	Western Railways
Route
Start	Mumbai Central
Stops	5
End	New Delhi
Distance travelled	1,384 km (860 mi)
Average journey time	15 hours 42 minutes
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	12951 / 12952
On-board services
Class(es)	AC 1st Class, AC 2 Tier, AC 3 Tier
Seating arrangements	No
Sleeping arrangements	Yes
Catering facilities	2 Pantry Car Coach attached
Observation facilities	LHB rakes
Technical
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Operating speed	91.2 km/h (56.7 mph) average

The 12951/12952 Mumbai Rajdhani Express is a super fast express train of Rajdhani class belonging to Indian Railways that runs between Mumbai and Delhi in India. It is the fastest train in India considering (ARS) average running speed of nearly 91 kmph. It was introduced on 17 May 1972 between the then Bombay Central and New Delhi. The train became so popular that prior to the introduction of its reservation facility its reservation chart was prepared just 15 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.^[1] It is a daily service. It operates as train number 12951 from Mumbai Central to New Delhi and as train number 12952 in the reverse direction.

Coaches

The Mumbai Rajdhani generally has one AC 1st Class coach, five AC 2 tier class coaches, two pantry cars, two luggage cum generator coaches & up to eleven AC 3 tier coaches taking the total up to 21 coaches.^[2][3][4] Since its inception, the Mumbai Rajdhani ran with 16 coaches. However, the conventional rakes were replaced by Linke-Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches for this train in 2004, and the number of coaches was also increased to 19 including the pantry cars. The number of coaches again was increased to 21 by the Western Railways to accommodate more passengers in June 2012.^[2]

Service

At Platform Number 1 of Mumbai central

The 12951/12952 Mumbai Rajdhani Express is the fastest train on the Mumbai - Delhi sector and the fastest Rajdhani train as well as the second fastest in India. Mumbai Rajdhani Express is the first Rajdhani to get Alstom-LHB Coaches in India.^[5][6] It used to run six days a week until September 2000 after which Railways decided to run it daily.^[7] In its early days, it used to cover the distance of 1385 kilometres in each direction in 19 hours and 5 minutes. However, after the electrification of the route, the speed of the train improved^[1] and as of September 2014, it takes 16 hours when operating as train number 12951 at an average speed of 88.89 km/h (excluding halts) while on its return journey as train number 12952 takes 16 hrs 10 mins at an average speed of 87.93 km/h (excluding halts) thus making it the fastest train on the Mumbai - Delhi sector.^[8] Before the introduction of the LHB coaches, the maximum speed that could be attained with the conventional rakes was 130 kmph.^[9] After their introduction, the LHB coaches enhanced the speed of the Rajdhani to more than 130 kmph and even touching 140 kmph mark at times.^[2]The highest attained speed is 140 kmph between New Delhi and Kota. Recently Vasai-Vadodara-Godhra Section top speed is enhanced from 120kmph to 130kmph. Hence, Mumbai Rajdhani's time reduced from 16 hours to 15 hr 35 minutes while it continues to be the fastest train in India (including halts) with average speed of 91 kmph. It used to leave Mumbai Central (BCT) from platform no 1 but since it is speeded up by 25 minutes it schedule shunting collides with August Kranti Rajdhani; hence, it now leaves from platform number 2 and August Kranti leaves from platform number 1.

Traction

When introduced in 1972, the Mumbai Rajdhani was hauled by a single WDM-2 diesel locomotive and WAP alternating current locos for electric traction. For some years, a double-headed engine was also used to maintain speed. Diesel engines were used between Mumbai and Vadodara, which necessitated the change of locos. Dual traction AC/DC WCAM 2/2P locos were introduced in 1998, which made the hauling of train on electrical traction possible up to Mumbai Central.^[1] It used to depart with WCAM 2P locomotive from Mumbai central in order to use Mumbai's DC traction wires up to Vile Parle. From 8 February 2012, Mumbai Rajdhani is hauled by Ghaziabad (GZB) based WAP 5 or WAP 7 from end to end. The Western railway completed DC Electric Conversion to AC on 5 February 2012. The work was done on Vile Parle - Churchgate section.^[10]

Schedule

12951 Rajdhani Express leaves Mumbai Central every day at 17:00 hrs IST and reaches the New Delhi at 08:35 hrs IST on the next day. On return, the 12952 Rajdhani Express leaves New Delhi every day at 16:25 hrs IST and reaches the Mumbai Central at 08:15 hrs IST on the next day.

Further reading

• Brunhouse, Jay (9 February 1986). "Bombay-New Delhi by Luxury Train Is Way to Go". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 April 2013.

References

1. "Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express turns 40". Times of India. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
2. "After 7 years, Rajdhani to get 3 extra coaches". Mid Day. 9 Jul 2012. Retrieved 5 Sep 2012.
3. "Extra coaches for major Western Railway trains today". Times of India. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
4. "Mumbai Central - New Delhi Rajdhani Express/12951". Indianrailinfo.com. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
5. "Rolling Stock" (PDF). Indian Railways.
6. "New-look Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani flagged off". Times of India. 16 December 2003. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
7. "Mumbai Rajadhani Express to run daily". Indian Express. 10 September 2000. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
8. "Mumbai to Delhi in 8 hours by 200-kmph Rajdhani". Economic Times. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
9. "Fastest train ‘Duronto' is slow off the blocks". The Hindu. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
10. "Mumbai to Delhi travel time to be reduced by 20 minutes". Daily News and Analysis. 6 February 2012.

External links

The train no. 12952 connecting Delhi to Mumbai is one of the major trains running in the country. One of the crucial line of transport, the Mumbai Rajdhani Express runs almost everyday, so if you're thinking of travelling to Mumbai, this is one of the best ways to reach.