The introduction of 'Deccan Queen' between the two premier cities of Maharashtra on June 1, 1930 was a major landmark in the history of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. This was the first deluxe train introduced on the railway to serve 2 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 2 rakes of 7 coaches each one of which was painted in silver with scarlet mouldings and the other with royal blue with gold lines. The under frames 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.