Deccan Queen to run sans pantry car

PUNE: Snapping off culinary links with British India, the Railway Board has decided to withdraw the pantry car of the prestigious Pune-Mumbai train Deccan Queen with effect from June one.

This glorious oldie has been operating for the last 77 years between the metropolis and Maharashtra's cultural capital.

According to railway sources, the losses suffered by the pantries on account of cheaper stuff sold by vendors on this track triggered the decision, which has received flak from the regular commuters.

Considered as the oldest pantry in the Indian Railways, it has satiated the hunger pangs of hundreds of passengers shuttling between the two cities for a few decades now, apart from catering to the taste buds of British officers regularly visiting the Pune cantonment in the pre-independence days.

The traditional breakfast of egg omelette and cutlet served with tomato sauce in DQ has been tempting scores of morning commuters with its special flavour.

The blue painted train, which first wheeled off in 1930, leaves for Mumbai at 7.15 am and returns in the evening at 8.25 pm, covering the distance in less then three and half hours. The train was in news late last year when some of its bogies were set on afire during an agitation near Mumbai.

However, the Railways move has attracted flak from regular passengers. A railway spokesman here said the decision will also apply to other short distance trains between Pune and Mumbai, namely Sinhgad Express, Deccan Express and Indrayani Express.