As a Diwali gift to its passengers, the Indian Railways is planning to run a faster Rajdhani Express on the Delhi-Mumbai line that will cover the distance of 1,377 kms in less than 13 hours and 30 minutes.

The 18 Linke Hofmann Busch (LBH) coaches train will run at the maximum speed of 150 kmph. The train will originate from Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi and terminate at Bandra/Mumbai Central. The train would have a stoppage of 8-10 minutes at Ratlam fir operational purposes only — for change if crew and watering of trains.

The train would run at the maximum speed of 150 kmph between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Mathura and at 130 kmph from Mathura to Bandra/Mumbai Central. The 18 LBH coaches will comprise of an FAC (fuel adjustment component), 3 ACCW, 1 pantry car, 2 power cars and 11 ACCNs.

All the formalities are scheduled to be completed by October 15. The trial would be done in the last week of September

This will be the third Rajdhani on the route. Presently, the route is served by two Rajdhani Express trains– the August Kranti Rajdhani and the Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani. While the August Kranti Rajdhani takes around 17 hours 05 minutes, the Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani train takes around 15 hours 35 minutes.

The Mumbai Rajdhani has a sanctioned speed of 130 kmph. But due to numerous curves and speed restrictions on the route, its average speed comes down to about 89 kmph.