A new experience of traveling by Duronto trains

When Mamata Banerjee was Railway Minister in the UPA Government in 2009, she had introduced a series of trains called Duronto – the word, in Bengali, translates to mean wild or untamed!! The trains would have AC as well as non-AC seats and meals, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian would be served in the train itself as is the system in the Rajdhani express.
As per initial plans, there would be a total of 12 Duronto trains – and, as Mamata Benerjee indicated, these new non-stop fast trains would take less time than even the Rajdhani express to complete their journey. The reason for this would be absence of intermediate stoppages because these would be pint to point.
Of course, there would be a few technical halts to facilitate staff and loco change.
Pune-Howrah Duronto express started from 9th October 2010 and its frequency was bi-weekly - departing from Pune at 3.15 pm on Saturdays and Mondays to reach Howrah at 7.40 pm, Sundays and Tuesdays. There would be operational halts at Daund, Manmad, Bhusawal and Nagpur.
The train consisted of 16 coaches, nine would be AC III-tiers, three AC II-tiers, and one coach as AC-I. The train would also have a pantry car as well and would cover the distance from Pune to Howrah in 28 hours as against 34 hours taken by the Azad Hind Express which was the only train available till then to go from Pune to Howrah direct.
Well – I had an opportunity to travel in the Pune Howrah Duronto last year during the Puja holidays and it was indeed a pleasant experience. The staff pampered the passengers no end and brought out delicious eatables right from the beginning of the journey. From evening tea with snacks to dinner and then next morning from bed tea to breakfast flowed by lunch and evening tea. The waiters were courteous and gave no reason to grumble.
The only thing lacking when compared with other mail or express trains was the absence of the hustle and bustle at stations when the train halts. Since there were no halts, I missed out that part of the journey.