Delhi-Mumbai rail route gets a new bi-weekly Rajdhani via Bhopal

Mumbai: The Indian Railways has introduced a new Rajdhani Express between Mumbai and New Delhi that will pass through Bhopal. Between Mumbai and Hazrat Nizamuddin, the bi-weekly train, which will be flagged off from the national capital on January 19, will pass through the central zone, also covering Kalyan, Nasik, Jalgaon, Khandwa, Bhopal, Jhansi, and Agra. There are presently two Rajdhani trains running between Delhi and Mumbai. However, they don't stop at major stations in Madhya Pradesh.

The new train will depart from Hazarat Nizamuddin station in the national capital every Thursday and Sunday at 4:15 pm, an official release said.

Additionally, the new Rajdhani train will have just 15 coaches as compared to 18 in the other two. The new Rajdhani Express, which will take the train number 22221, is set to benefit the people living in areas in the central suburbs.

"We will soon flag off another Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani which will be the first Rajdhani to pass through the Central Railways zone. This was a request from the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis," Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this month.

The new train will depart from Hazarat Nizamuddin station in the national capital every Thursday and Sunday at 4:15 pm, an official release said. The train, however, will have just one first-AC coach, three second-AC coaches and eight AC 3-tier coaches along with a pantry car. The duration of the journey will be 19 hours and 30 minutes from Mumbai to Delhi and 19 hours and 40 minutes from Delhi to Mumbai.