Passengers travelling on the Mumbai-Pune route will now have a panoramic view of the ghats through the Vistadome coach. The Central Railway (CR) will be introducing a Vistadome coach on the outstation train Deccan Express that operates between the two cities daily.

The Vistadome coach is a 40 seater 360-degree view coach that is glass-roofed. The glass roof lets passengers enjoy the outside view. The coaches have wide window panes, and seats that rotate to 360 degrees to provide passengers with a better sightseeing experience.

The coaches also have 12 LCD television screens for entertainment, a mini-fridge, automatic sliding compartment doors, an oven, juicer grinder and toilets fitted with ceramic tiles. The fare structure of the coach in the Deccan Express has not yet been decided but will be higher than the fare of a regular ticket.

Initially, the coach was introduced on the Mumbai-Goa route in 2017 for passengers to get the view of the Western Ghat in the Jan Shatabdi Express.

“The rake of Dadar-Madgaon express will be shifted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and will be integrated with the rake of Deccan Express that operates between CSMT and Pune. The Vistadome coach will enable passengers to enjoy the view of the ghats section,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relation officer, Central Railway.

However, the Deccan Express is not operational currently as the train has been cancelled due to low occupancy, owing to the travel restrictions in Maharashtra to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Passengers associations have welcomed the move and have said the Vistadome coach will become popular on the railway route.

“There are people who travel daily between Mumbai and Pune for work and post the opening up of train services the coach will become extremely popular among them. The Lonavala and Khandala section of the railway line is scenic and this would also attract many tourists who come to Maharashtra and travel by outstation trains. The railways should further introduce the Vistadome coach in other trains including the iconic Deccan Queen. The coaches will become a good source of income for the Central Railway.” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.