Mumbai Rajdhani Express

Mumbai Rajdhani Express
मुंबई राजधानी एक्सप्रेस
Overview
Service type Rajdhani Express
Locale Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana & Delhi
First service 17 May 1972 (1972-05-17)[1]
Current operator(s) Western Railways
Route
Start Mumbai Central
Stops 6
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 Not Available
Sleeping arrangements Available
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

130 km/h (81 mph) maximum [2]
Route map

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.This is the primary Rajdhani of this route. It is the second-fastest Rajdhani, after the Bandra Rajdhani, with an average running speed (ARS) of nearly 91 km/h. 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 current reservation facility its reservation chart was prepared just 15 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.[3] It is a daily service. It operates as train number 12951 up from Mumbai Central to New Delhi and as train number 12952 down in the reverse direction.The train has been portrayed in the film 'The Rajdhani Express'

Coaches

The Mumbai Rajdhani generally has one AC 1st Class coach, five AC 2 tier class coaches, one pantry car, two luggage cum generator coaches & eleven AC 3 tier coaches taking the total up to 20 coaches.[4][5][6] 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 August 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.[4] No Extra private coach or party coach is attached in this train.

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 fastest train (Considering ARS and including halts) in India. Mumbai Rajdhani Express is the first Rajdhani to get Alstom-LHB Coaches in India.[7][8] It used to run six days a week until September 2000 after which Railways decided to run it daily.[9] 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[3] and as of 2018, it takes 15 hours and 35 minutes when operating as train number 12951 at an average speed of 89 km/h (including halts) while on its return journey as train number 12952 takes 15 hrs 50 mins at an average speed of 88  km/h (including halts) thus making it the fastest train on the Mumbai - Delhi sector.[10] Before the introduction of the LHB coaches, the maximum speed that could be attained with the conventional rakes was 120 km/h.But after introduction of LHB rakes the highest speed that could possibly be attained is 160 km/h but is restrictred to 130 km/h due to Head-On-Generation Technology.[11] After their introduction, the LHB coaches enhanced the speed of the Rajdhani to more than 120 km/h and even touching 130 km/h most of the time.[4] The highest attained speed was 140 km/h between Asaoti and Mathura, but it was only on trial basis for one month . Recently Virar-Vadodara-Godhra Section top speed is enhanced from 120 km/h to 130 km/h. 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 km/h.It is the first train (along with 12953/54 August Kranti Rajdhani Express as both have Rake Sharing) to be experimented with HOG (Head On Generation) which powers the train directly from locomotive instead of an EOG or generator van .

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. The New Delhi–Mumbai main line was fully electrified in 1987, and thus dual traction AC/DC WCAM-1 locos were used in 1987 and WCAM 2/2P in 1995, which made the hauling of train on electrical traction possible up to Mumbai Central.[3] 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 7 or Vadodara (BRC) 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.[12]

It also uses the Head-end power Technology also known as HOG with the HOG enabled WAP-7.

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 from platform number 3 (checked in Mar 2017) and reaches the Mumbai Central at 08:15 hrs IST on the next day.

Incidents

On 18 April 2011, three coaches of the train caught fire, including the pantry car. There were no casualties among the 900 passengers.[13]

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. ↑ "Railway Budget speech 1973-74" (PDF). www.indianrailways.gov.in. Government of India, Ministry of Railways. 20 February 1973.
  2. ↑ https://amp-indiarailinfo-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/amp.indiarailinfo.com/train/-train-mumbai-central-new-delhi-rajdhani-express-12951/1351/12293/664?amp_js_v=a1&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s
  3. 1 2 3 "Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express turns 40". Times of India. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "After 7 years, Rajdhani to get 3 extra coaches". Mid Day. 9 Jul 2012. Retrieved 5 Sep 2012.
  5. ↑ "Extra coaches for major Western Railway trains today". Times of India. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Mumbai Central - New Delhi Rajdhani Express/12951". Indianrailinfo.com. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rolling Stock" (PDF). Indian Railways.
  8. ↑ "New-look Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani flagged off". Times of India. 16 December 2003. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Mumbai Rajadhani Express to run daily". Indian Express. 10 September 2000. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  10. ↑ "Mumbai to Delhi in 8 hours by 200-kmph Rajdhani". Economic Times. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  11. ↑ "Fastest train 'Duronto' is slow off the blocks". The Hindu. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  12. ↑ "Mumbai to Delhi travel time to be reduced by 20 minutes". Daily News and Analysis. 6 February 2012.
  13. ↑

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.

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