The much hyped first AC double decker train between Delhi and Jaipur is all set to embark on its maiden journey today. The train, which will run daily, will cover the distance in four and a half hours. Every day, the train will leave Delhi’s Sarai Rohilla station at 5:35 pm and reach Jaipur at 10:05 pm. This new addition to the Railways is going to replace the Jaipur-Delhi non-stop special and would have Gurgaon, Delhi Cant and Delhi Sarai Rohilla as its halt stations in NCR.

The return journey from Jaipur will commence on the following day at 5:55 am.

The train has completed its test-run successfully and all required technical clearances have been taken care of. Developed by the Kapurthala rail coach factory, it will have 13 coaches, each with a sitting capacity of 120 passengers. The lower floor can accommodate 70 people while the upper floor has an in-take capacity of 50 passengers.
Equipped with fully automatic doors, each coach has eight emergency windows and fire extinguishers near its door. And guess what? Each coach will have a mini-pantry, including a fridge and a microwave.

The fully AC chair car train’s fare between Jaipur and Gurgaon would be Rs 327. For Jaipur to Delhi cantonment, it would be Rs 337 and the journey from Jaipur to Delhi Sarai Rohilla would cost Rs 347. The Railways also plans to start a similar double decker train service between Mumbai and Ahmedabad this month.

The Delhi-Jaipur one is not the first in the country though, there is already an AC double decker service operational between Howrah (Kolkata) and Dhanbad for quite some time. Maybe even in today’s times, Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s quote ‘What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow’ holds true, eh!