New Rajdhani train on Delhi-Mumbai route begins operations Saturday

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal will flag off the railways' latest Rajdhani on the Mumbai-Delhi route Saturday.

With the introduction of the Mumbai-Hazrat Nizamuddin bi-weekly Rajdhani Express, there will now be three Rajdhanis serving the route between the two cities, the railways said Friday.

However, this will be the first such train passing through the Central zone, covering Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Kalyan, Nasik, Jalgaon, Khandwa, Bhopal, Jhansi, Agra, and Hazrat Nizamuddin and passing through two significant Hindi heartland states -- Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, it said.

The train will leave Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai on every Wednesday and Saturday at 14.50 hrs with effect from January 19 and arrive Hazarat Nizamuddin at 10.20 hrs next day.

On its return journey, the train will leave Hazarat Nizamuddin on every Thursday and Sunday at 16.15 hrs with effect from January 20 and arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai at 11.55 hrs next day, the railways said.

It will have one first AC, three AC 2-tier, 8 AC 3-tier and a pantry car.

The current fleet size of Rajdhani trains on the railway network is 23, with two catering to Mumbai.

Currently, two Rajdhani trains -- one from Mumbai Central and the other from Bandra Terminus -- run on the Western Railway.

This will be the first Rajdhani in the state which will take a detour via Madhya Pradesh, instead of Gujarat.