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-   -   Deccan Express to get Vistadome Coach from 26 Jun (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commercial-vehicles/238300-deccan-express-get-vistadome-coach-26-jun-2.html)

All trains, irrespective of length have banker locomotives. In fact, for freight trains with 4 wheeled cabooses, the caboose is detached and sent separately on the ghats.

For example Panvel Pune Passenger is a short 10 coach rake. It gets bankers from Karjat to Lonavala.

Based on what I hear from some sources, the Vistadome coaches on Deccan Express are seasonal. That would make sense.
I was actually keen for the one-off experience and ready to book it, but given the solid response on opening weekend, I dropped the idea (due to crowding).

And I think it suits Deccan Express (with its halts) as you are there to enjoy the journey.
DQ runs with limited spots and serves the "biz" commuter. I wouldn't want vistadome on it. Let us enjoy the many stops of Deccan Express. What's the rush? ;)

Thanks. Why are the bankers attached even for a 10-coach train? Especially if it is hauled by a powerful locomotive like WAP7?

And what is the purpose of a sending the 4 wheeled caboose separately? Actually, do we have the 4 wheeled caboose any more? I don't remember to have seen any.

There's only so much tension that a coupler can handle. The Thull and Bhor ghats are amongst the steepest in the country (1 in 37 If I'm right), and thus the tension in the couplers will be very high while ascending the ghats and if additional support is not given, rake parting may arise.

With regards to the 4 wheel brake van, yes they are now a rarity, replaced by the longer 8 wheel brake van. The reason why 4 wheel cabooses are not permitted on the ghats are due to the fact that they are smaller and the mass inertia characteristics are different from the rest of the rake. The 8 wheel longer brake van eliminates this problem, and thus the whole rake can go up or down the ghats easily.(with bankers or breakers of course :))

Thanks

Ani

Great, now I can look and weep at the slums and sorry state of the drainage system on the Kalyan-Ulhasnagar stretch in glorious detail.


Also passengers on one side will only get to see the rockface in the ghats.

Have to disagree, that's just 1670 for a round trip. Tourists will happily pay that for the experience. Money is not a question these days for a lot of people. I guess this will come out cheaper than Ola Outstation Cabs.

Can they find 88 (44*2) 'tourists' everyday on a commuter route who will pay these prices? I doubt it.

The Mumbai - Pune route is always crowded and almost all trains go full, obviously not in Covid. So when things are back to normal, I'm sure the coach will be full.

Its a concept without much thought behind it. Lets see what is the USP of the ghat section? It is the misty ride through the slope during rains, with fog and low lying clouds moving in through the windows and doors, the waterfall spray that hits you through the windows of a non AC coach. Its also the wafting smells of the piping hot wada pavs and batata wadas which the vendors sell enroute. It is also the smell of fresh rain soaked vegetation, the ozone smell of the overhead wires and the cool smell of the rolling fog.
Can any of these visual, aural and sensory experiences be taken in via a sealed air-conditioned coach? About increased visibility, you get all you want to see once you stand at the open door of a regular coach.

Sharing a recent video on YouTube for the vistadome coach.

https://youtu.be/n86OaPUq-NA

I didn't know the seats could swivel! Looks good and the pricing is more digestible now, still I wish it was a few hundred bucks cheaper to be accessible for more people.

Why would any one pay for the actual "views" alongside Indian railway tracks.

Right from garbage from trains to slums to human excreta Indian railway tracks are considered one of the biggest dumping grounds in the world. Why would I pay to see such "views". ? Thank you but no thank you. :thumbsdown

And this is coming from a die hard railfan and an IR lover but sorry the IR has simply failed to answer the cleanliness problem on and at its territory. Let's fix these first than we can come to beautification and vistadomes.

Absolutely correct.
Passengers travelling in trains departing early morning from Mumbai CST get "good views" along the tracks around Masjid station, Sandhurst Road and even upto Kurla.

What I feel is that Central Railways is targeting passengers who want to get a good view of the Bhor ghats. However as mentioned before, Mumbai to Pune ride is almost useless as you have banker engines in the rear from Karjat to Lonavala, which is the highlight of the journey.

Visatdome coaches on Mumbai - Pune Deccan express are running full.

Source: Mumbai Mirror , 04th July 2021.
Link: https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/...w/84108479.cms

Buoyed by the response on the Bhor ghats, the Bangalore - Mangalore route (via the Shiradi ghat) is also getting a Vistadome coach this week starting July 7th, per:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/citie...204967676.html