Mumbai – Nashik – New Delhi Ajni Express Launched

Ajni Express, the first in its kind rail formally launched today (October 29) which runs on the Central Railway route between Mumbai and New Delhi via Nashik. This superfast train is the 4^th direct train to the Capital via Nashik and reaches New Delhi in the shortest possible time.

During the inaugural run the train delayed by over one-and-half hour in Nashik for want of ‘path’ for the train to move towards Aurangabad. On Sunday night the train took 4 hours to reach Manmad junction from Nashik road station. Other trains usually take 55 minutes to cover a distance of 73 kms. On this an office said, “The time-table of the train is very loose and it will be improved soon.”

Ajni express has one first AC coach, three second AC coaches, ten third AC coaches and two end-on-generation (EoG) coaches, akin to the configuration of the Rajdhani Express, and covers the 1,520-km journey in 19.5 hours from Mumbai to Delhi. The 6 intermediate halts being – at Nashik Road, Bhusawal, Bhopal, Jhansi, Gwalior and Agra Cantonment – before reaching its destination. Now passengers can book online tickets for 22109 Dn LTT – NZM AC Express and 22110 UP NZM-LTT AC Express till December. The train schedules are now in a set pattern and therefore the tickets can be booked up to 120 days in advance.

Originating from Maharashtra, The Rajdhani largely caters to travellers in Gujarat as the train covers not more than 70 km in the state. Santosh Mandalecha, Zone Railway Commuters Committee president  informed “The LTT-NZM will however cater to the requirements of the state as it will travel up till Bhusawal and benefit the passengers in Nashik, Pune, Aurangabad, besides Nagpur. Now that the booking is available in advance, the Railways need not bother about occupancy issue.”

This train will give a sigh of relief to frequent travellers to Delhi. Also, the train has got a formal recognition. The affix ‘0’ in 02109 – meaning holiday special – has now been replaced with regular numbers, 22109 and 22110, for its respective journeys. This will benefit pre-planners. The good part is the train starts its journey in the evening and reaches New Delhi in the morning; it makes it the best travel arrangement, in either direction.

With the launch of Ajni Express it is believed that the train that was already announced in the railway budget in March would soon be upgraded to Rajdhani status from the current Super-Fast status.