The introduction of Deccan Queen between the two cities of Pune and Mumbai on June 1, 1930, was a major landmark in the history of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the forerunner of the Central Railway.This was the first deluxe train introduced on the railway to serve two important cities of the region and was aptly named after Pune, which is also known as Queen of Deccan (Dakkhan ki Rani).Initially, the train was introduced with two rakes of seven coaches each one of which was painted in silver with scarlet mouldings pwm solar charge controller and the other with royal blue with gold lines. The underframes of the coaches of the original rakes were built in England while the coach bodies were built in the Matunga Workshop of the GIP Railway.The Deccan Queen, initially, had only first class and second class accommodation. First class was abolished on January 1, 1949 and second class was redesigned as first class, which continued up to June 1955 when third class was introduced on this train for the first time. This was later re-designated as second class from April 1974 onwards.
The coaches of the original rakes were replaced in 1966 by anti-telescopic steel bodied integral coaches built by Integral Coach Factory, Perambur. These coaches incorporated the improved design of bogies for better riding comfort and also improvements in the interior furnishings and fittings.