Shocked commuters, rail enthusiasts see this as loss of prestige for iconic train, especially considering this is the Railways’ electrification centenary year
The iconic Deccan Queen with a diesel engine attached to it
The Deccan Queen, India’s first electric express train, has been in a rare gesture, running with diesel locomotives since April 18. Not that it has affected journey timelines, but commuters, old timers and railfans have seen this as a fall of prestige for the iconic train and that too in the year Indian Railways is celebrating the centenary of its electrification.
A major shortage of electric locos has hit the Mumbai-Pune rail section as almost all of the trains, like the Pragati Express, Sinhagad Express, Intercity Express, Deccan Express have now been converted to be used by diesel engines. Sources said the trains used to be hauled by a special class of engines classified as WCAM3, which has been Central Railway’s unique class capable of hauling trains in both Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) power modes.
But these engines have now started ageing and are unable to perform well any longer. It all started a few weeks ago when loco pilots operating trains between the Mumbai and Pune section started complaining in their logbooks that the WCAM3 engines were unable to climb the steep ghat section (1:37 gradient) at Khandala and had a lot of issues leading to detention of trains affecting punctuality.
“The engines used to lose power and were unable to negotiate the steep inclines. We logged a complaint accordingly. The ideal replacement would have been the WAP4 or WAP7 or any other compatible electric locomotives able to perform heavy duties. But Central Railway has been facing a shortage of electric locos and hence decided to bring in diesel locomotives to haul all Mumbai-Pune trains, which is a comparatively shorter haul as diesel locos were available and lying unused at the workshops,” a loco pilot said on the condition of anonymity. However, sources said there has been a shortage of electric locomotives as most of the workshops are busy with other priorities.
A CR spokesperson confirmed the development and said that there had indeed been a shortage of required electric locos, and they had requisitioned the railway board. “The change is technical and passengers or the journey timelines are not affected in any way,” he added. Another railway official said this was likely to continue till September 2025, by which time, CR will be able to procure electric locomotives. Also, there is a long-term plan to manufacture 264 new WAP7 class locos in 2025-26 and 365 in 2026-27.
Voices
Kaushik Dharwadkar, railway enthusiast
Deccan Queen was introduced by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (now Central Railway) to let its passengers know that the distance between Mumbai and Pune has been brought down by half due to the swiftness offered by electric traction. She is India’s first superfast train to have electric locomotives from the day of her inception. It hurts to the core when our beloved Deccan Queen, who has already become a bit distant due to its incongruous livery, now seems even more distant from rail enthusiasts’ hearts after they see it is being hauled by a diesel locomotive. The very zone in the entire Indian Railways that once had its own power generating plant, i.e. Kalyan Vijlee Ghar or Chola power house at Thakurli, and people pan India used to see this as a benchmark for comparison with other railway zones,” said avid electric railway expert Kaushik Dharwadkar.
Harshad Joshi, railway enthusiast
“Railways decided to go ahead with 100 per cent electrification without considering the availability of adequate electric locomotives. It is very disappointing to see a heritage train like Deccan Queen getting diesel locomotives due to this mismanagement,” said commuter and rail fan Harshad Joshi.
Vijay Aravamudhan, rail enthusiast
“An iconic train and a unique symbol of the CR Mumbai and Pune divisions has systematically lost its importance and pride, thanks to the callous and insensitive attitude of both the CR and the Railway Board. This train was always hauled by an electric locomotive, but now that pride is also gone, with diesel engines taking over, along with end-on-generation cars at the rear, causing pollution. Central Railway seems to know best how to degrade its heritage value and uniqueness,” rail expert Vijay Aravamudhan said.
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