On Board The Flying Saucer

  The 22625 Chennai-Bangalore AC Double Decker express is nothing less than a 'flying saucer' - a 12 carriage train hauled by a WAP-7 class loco.

     

     After hustling through the streets of Chennai on a rickshaw early in the morning, we (my mom and I) arrived at Chennai Central station on time to board the Bangalore bound 22625 AC Double Decker express, luckily we didn't face any traffic woes. While entering the station building, I didn't feel anything different at all from entering the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (then Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai. Besides, traveling to Chennai always reminds me of my 2006 trip with my God Father, Jack McKinnon. The AC Double Decker express to Bangalore was not announced and hence I got a few minutes to walk around for some observation. The station was brimming with early morning arrivals from almost all parts of India. The 12624 Trivandrum-Chennai super fast mail had already been arrived, hauled by a WAP-7 class locomotive of Royapuram shed, then a little later came the legendary 12622 New Delhi-Chennai Central Tamil Nadu express, hauled by a WAP-4 class locomotive of Erode shed and many more arrivals and departures. In the meantime, the AC Double Decker express to Bangalore was announced and soon a WDM-2 class loco of TNP shed shunted the train. This was my first trip on AC Double Decker train although my mom had traveled on numerous occasions ever since its inception. From the outside, the train looked quite immense with high speed carriages made by Linke-Hofmann Busch (LHB), however I was not really happy to see the cramped seating arrangements but was not really surprised either because this train has been made for the 'masses'. 

The 22625 Chennai Central-Bangalore AC Double Decker Express

After settling in, I went to check out the loco link and it was, rather surprisingly, a WAP-7 # 30276 class loco of Lallaguda shed. Usually, this train is hauled by a WAP-7 of Royapuram shed.  Interestingly, even though hauled by the high speed locomotive and with high speed carriages (capable of doing 160 KMPH), the train didn't cross the speed of 100 KMPH anywhere between Chennai and Bangalore maybe due to slack time. My mom and I had been allotted seats in the lower deck, one of the seats was a window seat so I didn't hesitate to ask my mom to occupy the middle seat because railfanning and window seat/doorplating goes hand-in-hand!! 

The WAP-7 # 30276 of Lallaguda Shed at the Helm of 22625 Chennai-Bangalore AC Double Decker Express

     At 7:25 AM on the button, the train started and cautiously pulled out of the station while negotiating the On X-Over speed restriction of 20 KM. The acceleration of a WAP-7 class loco was quite impressive, in less than 5 minutes - the train was cruising around 60 KMPH through the suburban stations of Chennai and later maintained the speed of 100 KMPH. This was the second time I traveled on a WAP-7 hauled train, the first time I traveled was on the 12951 Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani express. 

      This train has got a pretty relaxed schedule, covers the distance of 358 KM in 5 Hours 45 Minutes with an average speed of 62.26 KMPH including seven commercial halts. 

Here are some more photographs: 

    The WAP-7 did a splendid job and the train pulled into Bangalore City Junction 5 minutes before time. I'd like thank my railfan crony Nikhil Manohar for printing my flight boarding passes and handing me over at Bangalore Cantt. station at a very short notice. 

On a Flight back to Mumbai: 

Although, I dislike flying because it is absolutely boring, at least for me, but I wanted my mom to come out of the fear of flying, so I canceled the train tickets and immediately booked an evening flight from Bangalore to Mumbai. I was very impressed with new Bangalore International Airport, much bigger and better than the old HAL airport. The Jet Airways flight was very smooth, arrived Mumbai before time but nothing can come even close to the service provided by Air India. Air India always rocks!! 

Climbing to a Cruising Altitude

Flying over Bangalore - Immediately After Taking Off. 

An Alco-Holic Journey

        On Board 15657 Sealdah-Guwahati Kanchanjunga Express - An Alco-Holic Journey

Confusing title again?!? Well..a lot of the diesel locomotives plying on Indian Railways are manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (now defunct) abbreviated Alco. My train, 15657 Sealdah-Guwahati Kanchanjunga express, was also hauled by diesel locomotive made by Alco and hence the title!!

Upon reaching Kolkata, completing half of the journey, I was feeling very excited because I was inching towards my destination, although I was equally enjoying the train rides. The Guwahati bound Kanchanjunga express was scheduled to leave at 6:30 AM but I arrived at the station 2 hours before the train's departure. This was for the first time, in my numerous trips to Kolkata, I was traveling via Sealdah station and I kind of felt that I was in one of train stations in Mumbai because even at 4:30 AM, it was crowded. After meandering around the station building interacting with some locals in my not-so-good Hindi accent, I returned to station as my train was announced and it had, in fact, already pulled into the station (shunted). I wasn’t surprised to see huge crowd waiting to board the unreserved and non-AC sleeper class coaches considering this train has got a large number of stops and is pretty slow, hence frequented by local travelers than end-to-end ones. My coach, again an AC-3 tier class, was right in the middle of the train; adjacent to the only AC-2 tier class. There was some confusion related to coach numbers and as soon as I settled in, I was informed by one of the passengers that I was on wrong coach; this surprised me because I had boarded correct coach# B -2. Later I learned that the railway officials have had changed the coach numbers, replacing B-1 with B-2 and vice versa, at the very last moment. I didn’t understand the logic behind it and it certainly didn’t  make any sense to me, and for that matter to other passengers, as well.

An AC-3 Tier Coach of Sealdah-Guwahati Kanchanjunga Express

I was skeptical about the on time departure of the train due to all of the confusions but I felt assuaged upon seeing the starter signal’s aspect changed to Yellow from Red and that the train did leave on time. A very few passengers boarded my coach but I knew that it would fill up at Barddhaman Junction. I was lucky that I got an opportunity to check out the train's loco link, it was hauled by a WDM-3A #14020 (An Alco diesel) class loco of Barddhaman shed.  My co-passengers were from different parts of India and one of the families was from my mom’s hometown in Kutch, Gujarat. I didn’t even remotely think that I was going to travel with a Gujarati family on a train bound for Guwahati from Kolkata!

Usually, I avoid the early morning starts and one of the reasons I avoid it is because I feel very stuporous and, as a result, cannot really enjoy the train journey but I did not have other options this time. After negotiating the speed restrictions, the train struggled to maintain speed and it didn't even cross 60 KMPH mark albeit it was rolling over the high speed HB Chord line, hence we reached Barddhaman Jn. 20 minutes behind schedule. I saw a huge crowd was getting ready to barge onto the train but I was hoping and praying that they shouldn't board the AC coach but the God had some other plans!! Although I knew that a lot passengers would board the train but I certainly didn’t anticipate the unauthorized ill-mannered people boarding AC class coaches. I was told that this was a regular feature and nothing much could be done about it. This, however, really beleaguered me because they had completely blocked both the doors with their baggage and I couldn’t open it an inch, so I asked them to vacate the place and move to unreserved coaches because they were not bona-fide passengers. Besides, I conscientiously spent a lot of time at the door on any train journey, and this was no different albeit I was tired and feeling sleepy, so it didn't matter to me who they were, I shooed some of them away! It was very cold outside with temperature as low as 8 Degrees Celsius but I was enjoying the cold wind impinging on my face as the train started to gain speed and got diverted on a non-electrified route bound for Guwahati from high speed HB Chord line. Still some people standing right behind me unmannerly squalled at me asking me to shut the door……but I did not listen to them! I think they swore at me in Bengali, too but I didn’t understand and I continued to be at the door. I would have shut the door, had they been a little genteel but they seemed roughnecks, so I totally ignored them.

A little over an hour into the journey, the train came to a sudden unscheduled halt at a remote station named Bataspur. Upon inquiring, I learned that a freight train had been stuck due to loco failure on the same line and that an indefinite delay was imminent - not a big deal if you travel on any Guwahati bound train! This, however, was, for a change, a blessing in disguise for me because a delay of about 2 hours or more would ensure that I reach Guwahati after dawn. Eventually, the train was given a go ahead after about an hour of unscheduled halt.

The train arrived at Malda Town, a major halt station, 2 hours behind schedule. The loco changed from WDM-3A class (diesel) of Barddhaman shed to another WDM-3A class (diesel) of Malda Town shed. A diesel-to-diesel change just didn’t make any sense to me and it wouldn’t have made any difference, had the WDM-3A class loco of Barddhaman shed continued hauling the train till Guwahati. The train pulled out after a 20-minute halt, delayed by over 2 hours with a new loco and a fresh set of crew at its helm.

               It was 4:30 PM but it became too dark and very cold outside and I couldn't continue doorplating as the weariness was gripping me, so I decided to return to my seat and interacted with some other fellow passengers. There were a lot Indian Navy cadets traveling on an adjacent non-AC sleeper class coach and it was also very interesting to interact with them, as well. Learned a lot of things from them as I always enjoy learning! For most of the time, I sauntered around the train, interacted with many passengers and until we reached New Jalpaiguri junction around 9 PM – 3 hours behind schedule!  After New Jalpaiguri, it was only about 10 hours to reach Guwahati and an additional 3 hours to reach my destination, Shillong – My long journey was about to be concluded!

             The next day I woke up to see the train closing in on Guwahati station, delayed by over 3 hours. Had the train been running on time, I would have arrived at 4:30 AM and thus it would have been difficult to find a cab/bus to Shillong. Upon disembarking, I was lucky to find an Assam State Transport bus bound for Shillong waiting right outside the station. The journey between Guwahati and Shillong was even more captivating with the feeling of joy, and excitement to be in Shillong once again. 

The Assam State Transport Corporation Bus Bound for Shillong from Guwahati

A Journey to the Abode of Clouds

                                                 A Journey to the Abode of Clouds

Prelude

In the recent past, I have been adventuresomely exploring many places in India, traveling on trains for days together alone. I traveled thousands of kilometers on trains in 2013 and this year, I have already clocked around 6000 KM, and I am targeting over 20,000 KM before I drop curtains on my Indian railway journeys forever by the end of this year. I managed to make this trip in the very first month of this year….to my second home – Shillong in Maghalaya aka the Abode of Clouds aka the Scotland of the East aka Pine Capital of India..phew!! Many AKAs huh?!?. I, in fact, wanted to travel in December but due to my busy timetable, I rescheduled it.  As usual, I took the longest possible train route i.e.,via Pune - Kolkata – Guwahati, instead of boarding a direct train to Guwahati from Mumbai – I've never taken the short route! My first leg of the journey started from Mumbai to Pune on a bus then onto the train to Kolkata (boarded the 12129 Pune – Howrah Azad Hind express) then onto another train from Sealdah (the 15657 Sealdah-Guwahati Kanchanjunga express) and finally on a bus to Shillong from Guwahati train station. It took exactly 96 hours to reach Shillong but I absolutely relished the journey!

                                                   

                                            The Beginning of a 96-Hour Journey

Being an impassioned Indian railway enthusiast, traveling on trains bring me a lot of joy – especially on long journeys of over 2-3 days. On the day of travel i.e. 18 January 2014, I was absolutely commoved and felt like dashing out of the house forthwith!  With a huge and quite heavy backpack, I bid goodbye to my mom with a promise to return as planned. I had planned to travel on a bus to Pune, rather than train because I wanted to enjoy the part of the journey through the expressway. The bus wasn’t scheduled to depart until 11:45 AM but I, as usual, arrived at the bus stop too early because I have experienced the pain of missing bus on two occasions! Without much, rather any delay, the bus arrived and that marked the start of my long journey! It was a double axle Mercedes coach, very comfortable and cozy, and, of course, was very cold inside. After a few stops en-route and negotiating the unwieldy Mumbai traffic, we were on the Mumbai-Pune expressway at Panvel - delayed but only just!  I was really impressed by the acceleration of the bus on the expressway – in a few minutes, we were voyaging at 110 KMPH even on some curves.  I thought I was on a train hauled by a WAP-4 class loco!  The arrival time at Pune was 3 PM but I knew it would not reach until 3:30 PM. The 6-lane expressway between Mumbai and Pune is one of the best roads to travel at high speed - very comfortable and smooth. After about 2 hours into the journey, a stopover was taken at Lonavala, some 120 KM off Mumbai, for refreshment and pick some more passengers. It was supposed to be a 20 minute stopover but went on to become an hour – this resulted in a massive delay and dashing all my hopes of reaching Pune before 3:30 PM. Although my train to Kolkata was going to depart at 6:25 PM but I was eagerly looking forward to meet my very good friend Archit Goel! After managing some superb run between Lonavala and Pune – I arrived in Pune around 3:45 PM – a delay of 45 minutes. I, however, did manage to visit the Goels!

At 117 on 12129

The above title may be discombobulating for most but I am sure my railfan cronies, if reading, must have figured out by now!  After saying goodbye to Archit and his family, I hustled up to reach the Pune railway station because I had only about 40 minutes to cover about 10 KM and considering the notorious Pune traffic on weekends, 40 minutes were way too less. After routing and rerouting the shortest way on my GPS device, I arrived at the station mere 10 minutes before departure of my train. Thankfully, the train had arrived at platform # 1,  and as a result I did not have to rush around searching for the platform number. My coach number was B-1, an AC 3-tier class, and I knew it would be close to the loco so I cannonballed along down in that direction without even looking at the coach position indicators on the platform. I managed to board the train just 5 minutes before the departure and faced tough time adjusting my baggage underneath the seat and as a result, I did not get a chance to check out the loco link, one of the things I religiously do before the start of any train journey. I, however, knew that it was a latest diesel loco – a WDP-4D # 40153 class loco of Pune shed.

It was well past 6:25 PM but strangely the train did not depart and rather surprisingly, the 11041 Mumbai-Chennai express, hauled by a WDG-3A class loco of Kazipeth shed, was given a go head before us in the same direction. I wondered what was going through the minds of the section controllers!  After a delay of five more minutes, the starter signal eventually turned Yellow and we slowly accelerated out and after clearing the speed restrictions of 30 KMPH, the train accelerated to about 80 KMPH immediately. What a resplendent performance by a WDP-4D class loco!

After a brisk run, the train entered the first stop, Daund Jn. about 75 KM from Pune, where the train reversed and took the Daund-Manmad route after a 20-minute halt. I was, as usual, by the door (doorplating) as the train gained some good speed. The coach attendant, although, asked me to shut the door, I did not! After about an hour being by the door, I decided to have dinner and then slept early because I wanted to be fully awake for the next action packed day. My mom had packed some very delicious food so I did not order anything from the train’s pantry and I usually avoid the food served from the pantry car. My co-passengers, apparently from the Indian army, were heading to Shillong, as well and we have had some good time together. After discussing various topics ranging from the politics to elections to, of course  my research on leukemia; I called it a day. 

The 12129 Azad Hind Super Fast Express Waiting to Depart Daund Jn. after the Reversal 

I woke up in the middle of the night…rather early morning around 1 AM while my train had arrived at Manmad station. Upon returning to the door (thankfully the coach attendant was fast asleep), I saw the green aspect signal on the up line and I figured out that a non-stop train is going to rend through the station at high speed. Eureka!! In a few minutes the 12112 Amravati-Mumbai super fast express shattered the silence of Manmad station at full speed with full HT horn. What a sight that was!  The train was led by a WCAM-3 class loco of Kalyan shed, not sure about the road number because at such speed, it was impossible to determine (the loco road number). After the loco change from a WDP-4D (diesel) of Pune shed to a WAP-4 (electric) of Bhusawal shed, the starter signal turned green for my train and soon we accelerated out and picked up good speed until it came to an impasse on a loop line. No sooner I figured out the reason for an unscheduled halt than I saw the main line signal aspect changed to green, and it was time for an overtake!  A few minutes later, I saw a small light heading rapidly in my direction on the main line and I knew it was the 12101 Mumbai-Howrah Jnaneshwari super fast express about to overtake at full speed. Once again, with full HT horn and hauled by a WAP-4 class loco of Santragachi shed, it ripped through the main line at full speed.  A spine-chilling sight!!..……After all of these amusements, I went to sleep again. 

The holler of ‘Chai-Chai’ woke me up around 7 AM while my train had just pulled into Badnera station – running on time!  From here on, I was by the door for almost whole day enjoying the high-speed run and the countryside scenes. The train conductor aka the TC, however, upon seeing me by the door for so long, questioned me on whether or not I was genuine passenger,  he eventually let me off only after seeing my ticket and the ID. This situation is not uncommon for me at all! The run after Badnera was fantastic with the train maintaining the top speed even on curves, enervating the coach line up.   

The 12129 Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Super fast Express at Wardha Jn.

BOBRN Class Freight Train.
Clicked this photo while my train was speeding around 100 KMPH. 

The WAP-4 # 22915 of Itarsi shed at Raipur Jn. 

The train pulled into Nagpur Jn. aka the Orange City slightly before time and this gave me the opportunity to check out the unreserved class coaches but they weren't too crowded. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the 12101 Jnaneshwari express on the adjacent platform; this meant that my train was closely following and chased it despite having more stops! This is one of the stations were loco crew changes and after a fresh set of crew took the charge of my train, it accelerated out after a 15-minute halt. I was eagerly waiting to take a video of the famous diamond crossing which is immediately after Nagpur station (Diamond crossing is the track configuration where the coalescing lines provide track connection with each other at right angles). 

The speed the train maintained after departing Nagpur was even more staggering – Although the Maximum Permissible Speed (MPS) was 110 KMPH however, the GPS on my phone showed the speed of 117 KMPH for a very long time. It seemed that the new crew at the helm of the WAP-4 class loco hauling the 12129 Pune-Howrah Azad Hind express had probably gone demoniacal! …and here is the explanation for the above title!   

            A little later in the day at Durg Jn., I met Dr. Dhaval Mavani and another railfan friend from Bhilai. Being a railway enthusiast, I have made so many good friends from all over India and some from overseas sharing same passion! Even though we could spend only about 5 minutes at the station, but it was a nice first meeting, and at Raipur Jn., I met my cousin who brought, a much needed, home food that helped me continue my journey without ordering anything from the train's pantry till the end. We departed on time from Raipur, however, for some strange reason, even after cruising at good speed throughout; the train did go off schedule by almost 30 minutes……. But it did not throw me out of kilter because my connecting train (the 15657 Kanchanjunga express) to Guwahati from Kolkata wasn’t scheduled to leave until 6:25 AM the next day.                  

           After an early dinner, I decided to call it a day from my train spotting activity because after doorplating for almost 8 hours; I started to feel a little outworn. Besides, my destination was still 36 hours away. I did not even realize that I was fast asleep until, I think, one of my co-passengers woke me up as the train was entering the Howrah station platform # 22 at 3:50 AM running absolutely on time. Upon coming out of the station in the wee hours of the morning, I was lucky to find a Sealdah bound city bus and in about 10 minutes, I arrived at Sealdah railway station to board the 15657 Kanchanjunga express bound for Guwahati - 30 hours more to reach Shillong!!

This concludes my journey from Mumbai to Kolkata. The blog on my journey from Kolkata to Guwahati and then to Shillong coming soon!

Rolling Over the Brawny Pamban

   Rolling Over the Brawny Pamban

Most of the journeys in our lives end......but some come with return tickets! Returning to Mumbai from Rameshwaram was not too unmanageable because I easily got confirmed train tickets to Bangalore via Chennai and then to Mumbai on a Jet Airways flight. After enjoying a 3 day trip in and around Rameshwaram, it was time to return home. I was, however, not really happy because I kind of hate to return home, especially when I am on a long trip. I always become a little discompose even if I think about returning home. Anyway, we (my mom and I) checked out of the hotel early because I wanted to spend as much time as possible at Rameshwaram train station for railfanning. Besides, they would have charged us extra, had we prolonged our stay even by an hour. Our train to Chennai Egmore, the 16102 (then 16702) Rameshwaram-Chennai Egmore Boat Mail was scheduled to depart at 5 PM but we reached the train station around 12 PM.  My mom, obviously not a railfan, opted to settle down in a retiring room and I got 5 hours to photograph trains. I took my camera out and strolled the entire length of the platform. Albeit I spotted a very few trains, however I still enjoyed it. I was expecting the station to be not very crowded and tranquil but it turned out to be exactly opposite; maybe due to some festival many people foregathered Rameshwaram on that day. My first spotting of the day was 14260 Varanasi-Rameshwaram express which was idling in one of many pit lines, and then a little later I spotted a passenger train bound for Madurai with a Golden Rock (GOC) shed’s WDM-2 class loco at its helm. I also spotted the Chennai bound 16702 Boat Mail in one of the pit lines - the power of the train was a GOC WDP-3A class loco. This was the very same loco which hauled the overnight 16713 Chennai Egmore -Rameshwaram Sethu express on that day. An hour before the departure, the train was shunted on to the main line platform. Our coach B1 (an AC 3 tier sleeper class) was 4^th from the loco which meant a good walking exercise for my mom to walk almost the entire length of the train which was about 350 meters. I was not expecting many passengers to board from Rameshwaram but I was pleasantly surprised to see the coach filled with a lot of passengers, especially from Gujarat. This turned out to be a 'blessing' for my mother because she got company to talk to but I wondered if I am in Tamil Nadu or in Gujarat.

The 16701/16201 Rameshwaram-Chennai Egmore Boat mail

The GOC WDP-3A Class Loco

      At 5 PM on the button, the starter signal for my train turned Yellow and the GOC WDP-3A class loco accelerated out with 16702 Boat mail bound for Chennai Egmore. I was very excited to travel on this route, especially over the Pamban Bridge – a 2000-meter railway bridge over the Palk Strait connecting the island of Rameshwaram to the Mainland India. The train crawled out of Rameshwaram station at slow pace but gradually gained good speed until Pamban Jn. – the first commercial halt. The sinewy Pamban bridge is located immediately North West off Pamban railway station. After a minute halt, the train accelerated out with a restricted speed of 15 KMPH. No sooner the train left the station than I could see the brobdingnagian Indian Ocean and I became captivated to the fact that the train is going to cross over the Indian Ocean. I stood at the door right from the time the train departed Rameshwaram and I also knew that many passengers will pile up at the door to get a view of the ocean, hence I had already ‘reserved’ my place (right by the door). As soon as the train rolled on to the bridge, I experienced the strong wind current and it became very uncomfortable to hold on to my camera against the strong current while dangling by the door and exposed to the ocean beneath with no real support except for the door handle; I was absolutely not prepared for this. It was a perilous 10-minute ride over the bridge, however it was all worth it. Besides, I love to take risk! It took 10 minutes to cross over to the mainland India – a distance of 2 KM at cautious speed of 15 KMPH. After crossing the bridge, the loco pilot stepped on the gas and the train quickly gained speed to about 50 KMPH before coming to its another scheduled halt at Mandapam,......delayed but only just!  It was very nostalgic for me to travel on this route for the second time; the first time I traveled was back in 2006 when the Chennai Egmore-Rameshwaram route was served by meter gauge trains. 

Rameshwaram-Cennai Egmore Boat Mail Rolling over the Mighty Pamban

                                     (You could hear some people taking right behind me) 

The next stop was Ramanathapuram - 40 KM away. This is one of the major towns connecting Rameshwaram. This town is many centuries old, historically very important and it has been mentioned in the Hindu epic of Ramayana, along with Rameshwaram. Anyway, the train reached Ramanathapuram delayed by over 20 minutes and that got me into a little concern because any further delay would imperil our journey back home, as we had to board a connecting train to Bangalore, and then to Mumbai on a flight, we've had a very less buffer time. I would have, however, been a lot happier, had my journey back home been jeopardized but considering my mom was traveling with me, I did not even think about it. The train's scheduled halt was for 2 minutes but for some strange reason, the train didn't move for a long time thus delaying it further. 

The Boat Mail at Ramanathapuram

            After an out of the blue 10-minute halt, the train accelerated and I, as usual, decided to stand at the door even though it was very dark outside and mizzling. The next stop was Manamadurai Jn - 60 KM away. I was hoping that the train would cover up some lost minutes due to the buffer time....and it did, the train covered some 15 minutes before we pulled into Manamadurai Jn.  This was encouraging and I was quite sure that the train wouldn't take an eonian stop at this station due to the delay….but to my horror, the train once again stopped for ‘eternity’. Meanwhile, I called up my railfan crony - Ranjeet Iyer – in Chennai and asked him to check-in for my flight to Mumbai online. He immediately did it and I could not thank him enough. My concern, however, was billowing with the amount of delay which was setting in due to a very long halt. Albeit the train did cover the delay of 15 minutes, an additional delay of 15 minutes at Manamadurai Jn. ensured that we were again off schedule by 30 minutes. The train eventually did depart around 7:30PM  and alleviated me. Not surprisingly, it started to rain real hard and I decided against doorplating as it was too dark to see anything outside and the coach attendant ‘sternly’ asked me to close the door for securities reasons.

At Manamadurai Jn. 

            It was about the dinnertime and I was very hungry, however the train did not have a pantry car and the food I packed at Rameshwaram was over, besides I forgot to pack some food at Manamadurai Jn. I was, therefore, left with no other option but to wait till Tiruchchirappalli Jn. which was 3 hours away. While the train continued to run with a 30-minute delay, I decided to take ‘Siesta del Hidalgo’.

            A  much later, I woke up to see the train stopped outside Tiruchchirappalli Jn. due to the non-availability of platform but I was pleasantly surprised to see the train running on time. The train pulled into the station at 2230 HRS on time. Luckily, I spotted a food vendor selling Vegetable Biryani near the second-class unreserved coach. Without giving a second thought, I cannonball along. Upon reaching there, I was blown straight out of the water to see the unreserved coach completely packed with people with no place to even stand, every inch of that coach was occupied in every possible way and not to mention the scrimmage resulting from the pandemonium. I was awed! I have traveled on the 2nd class unreserved coach  many times but never seen so massive crowd before. With another 8 hours to reach Chennai, I wondered how would those people travel in such deplorable conditions overnight!

With just 5 minutes into the halt, the starter signal turned Yellow and the train pulled out of Tiruchchirappalli Jn. on time and this made me completely decompressed. I quaffed the Biryani within 5 minutes and decided to sleep as I was very wearied and hoped that the train will continue to run on time.  A little later, however, all my hopes crashed immediately when I found out that the train stopped again….in the middle of nowhere! I figured out that the line ahead was not clear as I could see the Red aspect of the 3CL signal flaring at my train. It was only after a 25 minute unscheduled halt, the signal turned Green and we started - back to square one!  

I was so tired at this point of time that I didn't care whether or not the train runs on time, I slept. After a not so good sleep for about 4 hours, I woke up around 3:30 AM to see the train entering Villupuram Jn. – still running over 20 minutes behind schedule. The train slowly crept into Villupuram station and it was the time for a loco change because the Villupuram-Chennai Egmore route is electrified. The diesel locomotive (GOC WDP-3A) gave a way to an electric locomotive (AJJ WAP1). With another 167 KM to go in about 3 hours – I was very positive of arriving Chennai on time. The acceleration of WAP-1 class loco was so magnificent that it pulled the 19 coach long train with ease and crossed the speed of 100 KMPH within a few minutes – this was very encouraging for me!  It was around 4 AM and I decided to stand at the door again – the coach attendant was fast asleep on the other side of the coach so I was not bothered. The doorplating at high speed was so amazing but, of course, it was also very dangerous primarily because I was not fully awake.

The train was closing in on the suburbs of Chennai after some high speed run, although it was still running late by 25 minutes. We reached Tambaram – a suburb of Chennai around 5:55AM. Chennai Egmore station is about 25 KM from Tambaram and I was again positive that the train will cover this distance within 35 minutes. The train cruised through the suburbs at good speed and at this point I became absolutely sure that we are going to reach on time and that we wouldn't have to hustle up to catch the connecting train. Finally, around 6:35AM, the train pulled into Chennai Egmore station – a delay of mere 5 minutes, which was very acceptable, and as a result, we had almost an hour to reach Chennai Central station to catch our connecting train, the 22625 Chennai-Bangalore Double Decker AC express, to Bangalore City.
 
 This concludes the part -I of my travel from Rameshwaram to Chennai. Part-II coming soon.

.......To Rameshwaram

Rameshwaram Bound

Prelude:

           I hadn’t been on a long train trip for quite some time and upon my mom’s imperativeness, I immediately booked the tickets to Rameshwaram – A small but beautiful town in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. There’s no direct train from Mumbai to Rameshwaram but then that’s so gratifying for any Indian railway enthusiast. What is the fun in traveling from A to B non-stop!!  I always prefer to take the longest possible route!! After researching for over 3 hours for the best possible connecting train to Rameshwaram in the wee hours of the morning, I zeroed in on a train via Chennai but the AC -2 tier class of 11041 Mumbai-Chennai express was badly waitlisted and I knew it wouldn’t make any sense booking waitlisted tickets. Eventually, I settled in for 11021 Dadar (Mumbai) – Tirunelveli Chalukya express to Madurai as tickets were available in AC-2 tier class, and then from Madurai decided to take the Tamil Nadu State Transport aka State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus to Rameshwaram. I've had some more options available to travel via Ahmedabad or Hyderabad but I decided against it as my mom is clearly not a railfan!! The return journey to Mumbai was made via Chennai, and Bangalore. We (my mom, and I) boarded 16702 Rameshwaram – Chennai Egmore express (Boat Mail), and then took 22625 Chennai Central - Bangalore AC Double Decker express to Bangalore, and finally we boarded a flight to back to Mumbai.

                                         On Board 11021 Chalukya Express

     This was the first time I was going to travel on 11021 Chalukya express but I was excited albeit I heard some negative things about this train. My coach# A1 was brand new, manufactured in the year 2012 and being 4^th from the loco was kind of blessing for me!!  The train was scheduled to depart from Dadar terminus, Mumbai at 9:30PM from platform#8 and we (my mom, and I) reached before 9PM which in turn gave me some time to spot other trains arriving, and leaving Mumbai.  The train bound for Shridi town was getting ready on the opposite platform, at the helm was a KYN WDG-3A aka ‘Shakti’ class loco and at the helm of my 11021 chalukya express was a KYN WCAM-2P # 21877 class loco. The train was full but most of the passengers were traveling till Bangalore. After settling in, I decided to check out the loco as usual. This is the first thing I do whenever I travel by train.  It was, as mentioned above, dual voltage 2900HP KYN WCAM-2P class loco. The train departed 5 minutes late, around 9:35PM and slowly came over to the main line after negotiating the cross-over speed restriction (technically known as On X-Over speed restriction) of 20KMPH.  After joining the main line, the loco unleashed the power and with a 17 coach load; it took mere minutes to cross 100KMPH mark through the suburbs of Mumbai….but we did slow down a number of times as we were closely chasing 17057 Mumbai-Secunderabad Devgiri express and we were closely chased by Hyderabad bound 12701 Hussian Sagar express till we reached Kaylan Jn., the first commercial halt.  Notwithstanding my train slowed down and crawled, yet managed to reach 5 minutes before time at Kalyan Jn.  After a 3 minute halt, we were given a starter and got diverted on line bound for south whilst Secunderabad bound Devgiri express took the north bound line. After leaving Kalyan Jn. and negotiating through the neutral zone we were back to Maximum Permissible Speed or MPS of 105KMPH and continued to maintain for a long time and as a result we arrived Karjat Jn. 7 minutes before time.  The banker locos (KYN WAG-7 class) were already waiting on one of the loop lines and got immediately attached to the rear of the train to push it up the mountains. After a protracted halt due to early arrival, we accelerated out cautiously. I decided to be at the door in spite of coach attendant asking me to close the door. I stood there for almost an hour till we reached Lonavala. I was astounded by the beauty of the Bhor ghats (mountain passes) at night with clouds levitating around, cold and brumous ambience. We were doing decent speed even while ascending the steep gradients and hence we reached Lonavala before time by over 10 minutes and I knew we will have a good 15 minutes halt resulting from early arrival. This gave an opportunity to get down and check out the train, and the loco link again.  While doing so I overheard two guys talking about the Indian railways, and the locomotives. After listening to them of their ‘technical knowledge’ about the Indian railways, I felt like correcting them big time. They were talking nonsense!! It was apparent that they have had no clue as to the difference between a diesel, and an electric locomotive. Meanwhile, an announcement went off about the departure of Lonavala-Pune EMU (suburban train) before my train. I figured out that we are going to trail this EMU right till Pune Jn. because unlike Mumbai, Pune suburban section does not have dedicated lines for suburban trains. Immediately after the EMU left, we were given a starter to proceed. We accelerated out, and accelerated well but, as expected we took a lot of unscheduled stops which resulted in 10 minutes delay, however due to slack time between Lonavala and Pune, we managed to pull into Pune Jn. at expected time 1:10AM but only just. The loco changed from KYN WCAM-2P (electric loco) to PUNE WDM-3D # 11384 (diesel loco). I thought a GY WDM-3A would haul my train from Pune as it was lying idle on a pit line right next to my train but a PUNE WDM-3D came in silently out of nowhere. It would have been a great off link, had it been a GY WDM-3A loco attached my train. In the meantime, Hyderabad bound 12701 Hussain Sagar super fast express, hauled by KZJ WDM-3A class loco, entered Pune Jn. 10 minutes before time.  I guess this train was closely following my 11021 Chalukya express.  After about 15 minutes halt, the starter was given to my train and rather not surprisingly 12701 Hussai Sagar express started at the same time.  After carefully negotiating the turn outs, my train was routed to south bound line whereas 12701 Hussai Sagar express, after running parallel for about 100 meters, got routed to east bound line. After leaving Pune, I decided to sleep so hopped onto the upper berth while my mom was fast asleep on lower berth unaware of the drama unfolding outside and unaware of what was I up to. 

            I woke up around 6AM and quickly figured out that we were waiting at Miraj Jn., we had covered some 250KM from Pune overnight. Miraj is a small yet beautiful town some 60KM from the city of Kolhapur in the state of Maharashtra and bordering the state of Karnataka. There was nothing much to spot here except for a passenger train halted with a WDM-3D class loco of Pune shed.  

               An unknown passenger train with WDM-3D class loco of Pune shed at its helm at Miraj Jn.

                                                The line bound for Kolhapur from Miraj Jn. 

               After a 5 minute mandatory halt, we accelerated out rapidly but never crossed the speed of 80KMPH till we reached Belgaum, and then Londa Jn. because I think the section speed restriction was 80-90KMPH. We reached Londa Jn. 10 minutes before time and were given a pronounced halt because I could see Howrah (Kolkata) bound 18048 Amravati express leaving Londa Jn. right ahead of us. This was the first time I was going to travel beyond Londa towards Hubli so I was looking forward for it. It was beautiful outside after we left Londa Jn., it felt like the earth was covered with a green rug. I sat by the door, doorplating as usual. There were a lot of speed restrictions and the section speed, even after leaving Londa, I believe was not more than 90KMPH due to numerous sharp curves and gradients.  All the while, we were closely trailing 18048 Amravati express. We reached Hubli Jn., the South Western Railway headquarter, on time at 12:30PM. I got to see a lot of trains with a variety of locos, including Howrah bound Amravati express hauled by twin GY WDM-3A class locos, which was running right ahead of us from Londa Jn. I got the opportunity to click a lot of photos and even the presence of RPF (Railway Police) didn’t bother me. 

                                       My coach# A1, an AC-2 tier of 11021 Chalukya express

                                                  11021 Chalukya express waiting at Hubli Jn.

                                      An AC-2tier coach of 18048 Vasco-Howrah Aravati express 

   Twin WDM-3A class loco of Pune shed at the helm of Hubli- Delhi Nizamuddin link express

                     After a 15 minute halt and a crew change, starter was given to my train and slowly we crawled and then accelerated out of Hubli Jn. for the next schedule halt at Haveri. We covered the distance of 75KM very quickly and around 1:45PM we reached Haveri.  I didn’t quite have a pretty sight to see upon reaching Haveri. Unfortunately, a train (most probably 06511 Bangalore-Jaipur GR express hauled by UBL WDG-4 class loco) had crushed a man to death and his mutilated body was being video shot by some 5-6 media guys instead of taking the body to the autopsy center.  It was apparent that those media guys just didn’t have any respect for the departed soul!! It seemed that they were in a kind of competition as to who will broadcast first on the NEWS channel. Human run overs by train is not uncommon in India but I didn't see anything like this before. Anyway, we were running before time so again there was a pronounced halt however we departed on time around 1:55PM. This train does not have a pantry car but has the catering facilit so I immediately ordered the food as I was very hungry. The food was reasonably delectable but more importantly I just wanted to douse my hunger. After lunch I decided to doorplate again but it was getting a little boring as there was not much to spot on this section except the never ending fields, and I was eagerly waiting to reach Bangalore. 

                                                         Open field after leaving Haveri
                  The schedule arrival at Yesvantpur, Bangalore was 8:50PM but we reached 10 minutes late due crossing of trains enroute and  the non-availability of platform upon reaching the outer of Yesvantpur,  we were held up for over 20 minutes right outside. There’s a massive 70 minute official halt here with loco reversal hence I got an opportunity to venture outside the station to buy some decent food from a restaurant.  After the dinner, I decided to perambulate around the railway station in order to observe the trains entering and leaving Yesvantpur, and some locos idling. I was hoping that my train will get a KJM WDP-4 class loco but to my surprise it was PUNE WDM-3D which continued after refueling and after getting attached to the other side of the train. The train departed at 10PM right time and after doorplating for 15 minutes through the suburbs of Bangalore, I decided to go to sleep.  A lot of people had disembarked at Yesvantpur so my coach was quite empty which allowed me to take the side lower berth (I guess almost every Indian railfan, by default, request for side lower berth while booking their tickets, whether at the reservation center or on-line). I woke up around 4:30AM to find myself at Erode Jn. in Tamil Nadu state. The train again gets a reversal and gets diverted on the line bound for Madurai. The train bound for Coimbatore from Chennai Central, 12674 Cheran express had already arrived and was waiting right next to my train with an RPM WAP-4 class loco at its helm. Interestingly, this train shares its rake (RSA) with Cennai Central-Ahmedabad 12656 Navjeevan express express.  Around 4:40AM, we crawled out of station and I again decided to doorplate albeit I was only half awake. I was not expecting high speed action here but to my surprise the train did cross the speed of 110KMPH and for the first time ever since I boarded the train in Mumbai, the acceleration of WDM-3D class loco was superb with 17 coach load, it crossed 110KMPH with ease. After spending some time at the door, I returned to my berth to complete my much needed sleep and I was little tired, too. I opened my eyes to see we were exiting Dindigul Jn. around 7am, running right time. Again and as usual, after freshening up, I decided to be at the door. It was beautiful outside with a lot of mountains and some low clouds around but surprisingly no rain.  I spent the entire 1 hour at the door, till we reached Madurai – my intermediate destination to Rameshwaram.  After crawling through the outer of Madurai Jn., we pulled into Madurai Jn. platform# 2 on time at 8AM. Immediately after disembarking, a few railway porters gathered around to help carry our baggages but I politely refused them as I was carrying my backpack and my mom was with her duffle bag. I bid goodbye to 11021 Chalukya express, and also thanked the loco pilots for doing a wonderful job!! I was awed at the cleanliness of the railway station and it wasn’t too crowded. This was the end of my amazing 39 hours train ride but I was ready for a 4 hour bus ride. From Madurai we took the Tamil Nadu State Transport bus service to Rameshwaram, a distance of 161KM.

    WDM-3D of Pune shed at the helm of 11021 Chalukya express at Madurai Jn.,

          Traveling by bus was totally a different experience from that of train, of course it was nice but at any day I’d prefer train over bus or flight. Got a good glimpse of Madurai town while traveling from railway station to bus station, which was 10KM away. I really liked the city, pretty clean and well managed. The newly built bus station was huge and again pretty clean but I really had a hard time communicating with people due to lack of my Tamil language skill however in some way managed to communicate thanks to my Malayam language skill. After asking a lot of people for the right bus to Rameshwaram, I managed to find one just in time. One thing I noticed is that although I was faced by a language barrier, people were still helpful!  It took about 4 hours to reach the Rameshwaram town bus station from Madurai. I have had my GPS on and was constantly tracking the route and was eagerly waiting to travel over the Pamban bridge which connects main land India with an island of Rameshwaram. It was an amazing feeling to cross over the Bay of Bengal on Pamban bridge. Nothing much had changed since my last visit in 2006 except the gauge conversion from meter gauge to broad gauge railway line. Finally we reached our final destination around 12PM. This ended my one way journey of 43 hours from Mumbai to Rameshwaram, covering the distance if 1855KM. It was an amazing journey which I’d like to do it again, and will do it again soon!!

 The route I took from Mumbai to Rameshwaram.

……….Stay tuned for a blog on journey back to Mumbai!!

A Short Trip to Pune

                       A Short Trip to Pune

Onboard 11019 Konark Express:

We Indian Railway enthusiasts have always savored train journeys no matter the class in which we travel.  The steerage class with an emergency window (without bars) is a paradise for any railfan, including me. Well...after returning from the 12123/12124 Pune-Mumbai Deccan Queen express birthday celebration, one of my very good railfan friends Akshay Iyer asked me if we can travel to Pune again for a short rail fanning trip over the weekend. Well…without any indisposition whatsoever my reply was approbatory.  We decided to travel on Bhubaneshwar bound 11019 Konark express and returned by 16382 Kanyakumari (CAPE) – Mumbai express.  We spent a good 5 hours in Pune, though we couldn’t railfan much but time spent was more worth than railfanning for a change.

         We luckily got confirmed tickets both ways without any difficulty.  We traveled on 6^th July 13 and returned the next day.  The 11019 Konark express was hauled by a pair of KZJ WDM-3A class loco, and surprisingly both were in live mode. I have seen this train with twin power many times but this was probably the first time I saw both locos live.  While Akshay boarded the train from the starting point i.e. Mumbai CST, I decided to board from Dadar (a suburb of Mumbai).  I reached Dadar station well before time and spotted a few suburban train services to and fro Mumbai CST and a little later 12142 Patna-Mumbai superfast express hauled by KYN WCAM-3 class loco running on time.  Albeit this train belongs to Central railway (CR), maintained by Mumbai division, it had all but Central Railway carriages (coaches).  All AC class coaches belonged to South Western railway division (SWR), the non-AC sleeper class coaches belonged to Northern railway (NR) and so on, I was really surprised to see this. I, for a minute, thought that train has been transferred to Eastern Central railway (ECR) zone.

         I called up Akshay to find if our train will depart on time and if Nagpur bound 12139 Sewagram express departed, his reply was affirmative.  After about 15 minutes (3:15PM), I spotted Sewagram express entering Dadar station with KYN WCAM-3, the entry was quite rapid and after a 2 minute halt, it left.  No sooner the announcement was made on arrival of 11019 Konark express than I saw it entering Dadar platform #5. The starter signal was already set for its departure even before the train arrived. It was, of course, hauled by a pair of KZJ WDM-3A (diesel) class loco. Our coach was 9^th from the loco, a non-AC sleeper class with window berths.  As usual after a 2 minute halt, the train chugged out of Dadar, the acceleration of twin power was clearly felt.  After about a Kilometer into the journey, the train was doing approx 100KMPH through the suburbs of Mumbai with an awesome chugging sound which we could hear in spite of being reasonably far from the locos. At Thane Jn., we overtook 12619 Matsyagandha express bound for Mangalore hauled by GOC WDP-4D (the dual cab diesel loco) around 70KMPH and also crossed an unusually late running 11014 Comibatore-Mumbai express hauled by KJM WDP-4 class loco. This train was running late by over an hour, wonder where did it get delayed!

        After Thane Jn., unfortunately we slowed down and almost came to a halt many times. Perhaps Sewagram express, which was running approx 5 minutes ahead of us on the same track, didn’t get clearance. We continued to accelerate and decelerate but we reached Kalyan Jn. on time (4:05PM), a major junction station 52KM from Mumbai.  We spotted Sewagram express moored on platform #4 as our train entered platform #5 (of Kalyan Jn.). The halt time for both the trains is about 3 minutes and soon both the trains got the starter together. While Sewagram express got diverted on North East line, our train took South line. Both the train started almost at the same time, and ran parallel for a few meters.

         After negotiating through some sharp turn outs and a neutral zone (a short section of insulated and dead overhead wire) (however neutral zone does not matter to a diesel loco), the train accelerated to 100-105KMPH once again and maintained it for a long time, even on sharp curves and under heavy rain. The train, therefore, was running way ahead of schedule and as a result reached Karjat Jn. (100KM from Mumbai) 5 minutes before time (4:45PM). Here the helper locos, known as bankers, got attached to the rear of the train to assist in climbing the tough gradients of Western Ghats (mountain pass). A pair of KYN WAG-7 was attached and in about 3 minutes the train started. However, for some unknown reason we took an unscheduled halt of about 7 minutes moments after starting.   Perhaps, the lead and the banker locos were not synchronized.

           The line between Karjat Jn. and Lonavala (25KM) carved through the Western Ghats by the Brits is nothing less than heaven, especially during monsoon. As the train climbs up, the beauty increased with clouds kissing the mountains, numerous small waterfalls along the railway lines, and many tunnels.  The speed is restricted to 50KMPH due to sharp curves, and a possibility of landslides this gave me an opportunity spent a lot of time at the door to take videos and photos.  As our train started to climb, I spotted 19311 Pune-Indore express with BL WCAM-2 class loco descending the mountains, also spotted 11302 Bangalore-Mumbai Udyan express with its usual KJM WDP-4 class loco link, and 11030 Kolhapur-Mumbai Koyna express with another KJM WDP-4 class loco.  A little later our train took another unscheduled halt at Khandala station for about 10 minutes which gave an opportunity to passengers to get down and click the beauty around.

BL WCAM-2 with 19311 Pune-Indore express descending the Western Ghats.

Konark express climbing the Western Ghats

At the door of Konark express

Entering one of many tunnels between Karjat and Lonavala.

          We entered Lonavala, a scheduled halt, around 5:40PM.  Here the banker locos KYN WAG-7s got separated, after helping the train climb the gradient.  From here we were left to cover another 64KM to reach Pune Jn.  After departing Lonavala, the train constantly maintained a speed of 90-100KMPH without slowing down significantly till we reached the Pune outer.  As a result, the train was running ahead of its schedule by a good 15 minutes……. however not surprising it was held up at the outer signal for about 10 minutes due to non-availability of platform, and for a crossing of 16532 Yesvantpur (Bangalore)-Ajmer express hauled by KJM WDP-4 class loco. Our train finally entered Pune Jn. platform#4 after negotiating the turn outs at 20KMPH hence got delayed by 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, after leaving Lonavala, Akshay and I got busy discussing about the problems faced by the people of North East India, the Chinese busyboding in Arunachal Pradesh and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh entering India through the state of Meghalaya. I suppose the discussion got interesting as our fellow passengers seemed quite interested in our topics though they didn’t share their PoVs.

Entering Lonavala station.

                                     Our train running parallel with the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

To Mumbai on 16382 Kanyakumari (CAPE)-Mumbai express:

After spending some good time in Pune with my railfan friend Archit Goel, it was time to head back home on 16382 CAPE-Mumbai express. A big thanks to Archit for coming all the way to Pune station to drop us in his car at midnight. We reached well before the arrival of our train, around 12:15AM and as a result got some good time to spot some trains. Kolhapur bound 17411 Mahalaxmi express had already arrived on Platform #4 and a pair of PUNE WDM-3D class loco had already taken charge of the train,  after replacing KYN WCAM-3 class loco. This is one of trains which recently got transferred to South Central railway (SC) from Central railway (CR) zone and now it shares its rake with 17416 Kolhapur-Tirupati express.  The announcement of arrival of our train (16382 CAPE-Mumbai express) was made and it arrived 10 minutes before time around 12:35AM, at the helm was GY WDM-3D class loco. Our coach was right in the middle, again a non AC sleeper car.  The train got quite empty after a big chunk of people debarked at Pune. Meanwhile, GY WDM-3D class loco was replaced by KYN WCAM-2P class loco (from diesel to dual voltage electric loco). The 12702 Hyderabad-Mumbai Hussain Sagar express arrived on platform #1 right behind our train hauled by KZJ WDM-3A class loco. The starter to our train was finally given around 1AM after the loco change and as we bid goodbye to Archit, we accelerated out slowly negotiating the sharp turn outs at 20KMPH. I was feeling tired and wanted to sleep so I occupied side lower berth and so did Akshay. While I slept for most part of the journey, Akshay was wide awake.  I woke up to see our train entering the suburbs of Mumbai, running almost 25 minutes before time. KYN WCAM-2P class loco did a fantastic job of maintaining the speed of around 100KMPH even through the suburbs of Mumbai. We finally reached our destination, Mumbai CST, 15 minutes before time around 4:35AM and while we were exiting the station, an announcement was made on arrival of 12702 Hyderabad-Mumbai Hussian Sagar express. We were really surprised as the scheduled arrival time is 5:05AM and as we were about to board a suburban train, we saw it entering platform #9 of Mumbai CST, 25 minutes before time.

          In the end, we boarded a suburban train (EMU) at 5AM to head home thus ending yet another train trip but, of course, many more to follow. A very long trip to South India is coming very soon!! 

Link: 

http://reflectionsofpassions.blogspot.in/