Mumbai gets third Rajdhani train

Finally, Mumbai got its third premier Rajdhani train. On Saturday, the third Rajdhani connecting Mumbai to New Delhi was flagged off from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

The 22221 CSMT - Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (bi-weekly), that was flagged off, also has the distinction of being the first Rajdhani train to be owned and run by the Central Railway(CR).

Two other Rajdhani trains that are run by the Western Railway (WR) are 12951 Mumbai Central - New Delhi Rajdhani and the 12953 Mumbai Central - Hazrat Nizamuddin August Kranti Rajdhani.

The new Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani is the 24th Rajdhani train of the country and is equipped with the latest technology including onboard Wi-Fi services. The train was flagged off by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.

"I want to see a competition between CR and WR, which Rajdhani takes less time on travelling from Mumbai to Delhi,' he said in a lighter vein.

"This would be the fastest train for passengers of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to Delhi/Mumbai via Itarsi route," CR officials said, adding that the halts are Kalyan, Nashik Road, Jalgaon, Bhopal, Jhansi and Agra Cantonment. It will take 19 hours and 30 minutes to connect India's capital to financial capital.