The Railway Board has decided to withdraw the pantry car of the prestigious Pune-Mumbai train Deccan Queen with effect from June one.
This train 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.
Oldest
Considered as the oldest pantry in the Indian Railways, it has satiated the hunger of hundreds of passengers shuttling between the two cities for a few decades now, apart from catering to the British officers regularly visiting the Pune cantonment in the pre-independence days.
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 than three and half hours.
Agitation
The train was in news late last year when some of its boggies 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.