Back on track

Well in case you didn't already knew, this post is about the restoration of train services on the Howrah-Mumbai route. It had to happen and it did happen and finally, after months and months of waiting, train schedules have been completely restored across the Howrah-Mumbai route, the final nail in the coffin, the Kharagpur-Rourkela section perhaps delaying this announcement by a few days.

Well, I also have a new trip report to upload about my recent trip of Odissa on board 18426 Durg-Puri Intercity express. I'll post that in a few days. Interesting trip.

New happenings

Well. Seems like a long time ago since I've posted. A lot has happened since here locally at Raipur, like the introduction of a train from Hyderabad to Darbhanga, ongoing development of a shopping mall just outside the station, installation of TV sets to notify passengers of train schedules (and to a more bizarre extent, make them hear 'Bhajans'), and even more bizarrely, the installation of water pipes to sprinkle water on the platforms to make them cooler in the Summer.

On the national level, still no clues to when the normal schedules will resume on the Howrah-Mumbai line, although partial restoration has indeed taken place, with 18030/18029 Shalimar Exp and 12151/12152 Samarsata Exp returning to their normal schedules. As for the others, we'll have to wait as the situation has sadly slid into a power struggle between the state governments of Odessa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Until then, keep excepting weekly postponement to schedules.

Duronto Technical halts

I know Durontos are end-to-end trains and all that stuff....But just in case any of you are interested in knowing their technical halt timings for - You know, railfanning - then  they're now available at erail.in.

So go ahead, catch India's non-stoppers stopping...

Train Augmentation/Diminution - At last !!!

I've undertaken innumerous train trips. But even after so many years, I was still perplexed about how a train is augmented or diminished - and that too, en route. The obvious difficulties came in convincing my parents to let me wander off to the business end of the train (i.e. the loco) in wee hours alone to catch the action. But not anymore. After 18 long years, I finally got my cut. The occasion was a ride aboard the 18242 Ambikapur (ABKP) - Raipur (R) exp-cum-pass. That too just past the New year's day 2011 on a cold winter morning. This train does it on reaching Bijuri, some 300 km from the state capital when it reaches there at 00.30. 

That night it was 15 min behind schedule and reached the spot at 00.45. So, after a bit of hesitancy, I finally made up my mind and stepped out of my B1 coach. And there was my prize. The 3 coaches coming from Chirmiri were already parked on the adjacent PF, and as I looked on, our now-detached WAP4 #228xx from BSL towed it to the front end of the rake. I stepped back inside, not daring to venture to the front to see more action, the night was quite chilly - but still, mission accomplished. This train actually provides a fair bit of action. There's also a reversal en route its short 470km trip to Durg to add to this augmentation at Anuppur Jn.

Guess that pays for the bill... 

Random Thoughts...

Hi there,

It seems like a long time since i last wrote. A lot has changed in IR since then, but two of the biggest stories this year remain the sabotage of the 2102 Gyaneshwari exp way back in June, and an equally significant announcement by the IR about changing the numbering system of trains.

But the bigger picture than the Gyaneshwari derailment has been the subsequent rescheduling of all trains on the SER and the inconvenience caused to millions of passengers. Some trains like the 8030 Shalimar-Kurla Exp have been stopped overnight at stations like CKP on a daily basis. Most unfortunate trains on this route have been runnign with a regular delay of around 5-6 hrs. 

And that's not all. The deadlines keep on extending fortnightly. I wonder if the ban would be lifted before the WB Assembly pols next year.


Anyways, the numbering change means that all train numbers will now be prefixed be "1". Seems a good move considering the huge traffic of ever increasing passengers trains the IR runs. On the hindsight, it also means our beloved Poorva Exp (via Patna) gets an interesting set of nos, namely 12304/12303 (Which can be better abbreviated as 1234). The train Poorva (via Gaya) gets numbered as 12382/12381...

That's all for now...
Ciao...

Trip Report : Across 5 states - Part III(A)

Hi to all,

Here's part III (A) of the trip-report-cum-Observations at
Asansol Jn.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Part III (A): Observations at Asansol Jn on 28 Jan 2010
---------------------------------------------------------------------

After enjoying Kolkata enough it was time to return. Once again, luck
was against me and I had to cancel my plans to take 30 Jan's
2152 Samarsata Exp from HWH-R and instead take 29 Jan's 3288 South Bihar
again and that too at an awkward time of 03.45 from ASN. Not that I
complained too much, as I got LB confirmed ticket in A1 coach.

So I took to the GT Road to ASN in the morning of 28 Jan in order to
spend time in ASN. But that proved to be a mistake as I reached ASN by
15.45 with nothing to do except loiter around. To add to that, it was a
completely new city to me (though my father knew it well) and there were
very few restaurants on the main GT Bypass-ASN-DHN/CRJ Road. But I
finally found one and ate Chicken Chowmein which was both cheap at Rs.50
(surprisingly) and good.

I finally arrived at ASN at 17.00 and received yet another shock as
apparently Mamta Di's bid to remove the red colour off station seemed to
hit ASN as well which had turned a Light blue (& Navy blue stripes)
colour. I preferred the vintage Maroon/Red more. Thankfully, they'd
spared the BKP1 loco stationed firmly in front of a repaint.

So, I decided to take the retiring room (located on 1st floor of PF5/6)
but was told that it was only for those coming from some place on a
train and should take the Upper Class Waiting Room. But since it was no
better than the ordinary waiting room apart from the Pay-for-use toilets
and also, the party who had reserved that room had been delayed, I was
given a room on payment of Rs. 300 and given a GMO-ASN ticket of the
same day as proof of my journey by the Room Attendant, concreting the
fact that anything was possible in India.

I took to the AC room with 2 single beds and an attached toilet as big
as the room itself. I had never seen a toilet this big - even it movies!

Anyways, after locking my stuff in the room, I decided to hunt for the
ER TT and got it from PF4.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mask_kishore/4353450508/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/mask_kishore/4352702581/


At 19.00, I decided to position myself on PF5 to catch some late evening
action and wasn't disappointed. Here are the observations -
1. HWH P4 brought in 2020 RNC-HWH Shatabdi Exp on PF5 at 18.40(+16). It
went after 2 min.
2. HWH WAP4 #22286 brought 2304 Poorva Exp (via PNBE) at 19.07(+5.41).
Saw a GRP official banning entry of passengers into 2009 make SLR in
view of the accidents in UP. 2304 left at 19.15(+5.29). 2314 was delayed
by 13 hrs and expected by 22.15.
3. HWH WAM4P #20645 brought in Hatia-BWN Pass on PF6 at 19.15.
4. The biggie - HWH P4 #22611 came with 2313 Sealdah Raj at 19.20 on
PF4. The Rajs/Duronto/Yuva Exp along with the late running DN Rajs were
responsible for the shortage of chicken in the IRCTC restaurant that
day!!!
5. HWH-NDLS Yuva Exp came at 19.32 behind HWH WAP4E #22235.

After that dream stay at ASN PF, I decided to feed myself at IRCTC's
restaurant on 1st floor, PF5/6. As explained earlier, the delayed Rajs
caused a shortage of chicken curry and even though the restaurant
boasted of extravagant items on the menu like Chicken Schezwan Noodles &
Strawberry Pudding, all that was available was Egg Curry & Veg Thali.

Well, the interesting part is that while the cashier was talking about
availability of a single plate of Chicken curry, the caterers were
completely denying it. Here I witnessed one of the finest examples of
regional sentiments. My father, who knew Bengali, was able to talk the
cashier into giving us the Chicken Curry-Rice even though hordes of army
men failed to retrieve it.

In the end I concluded that probably the caterers were saving the
chicken for themselves.
Well, that concludes Part-A of my return journey. After the dinner, I
retired into my room to catch up on some sleep which I knew wouldn't
come.

Keep tuned in for Part-B which will cover the actual journey back
home...

Regards,
Animesh Kishore
Raipur

Trip Report : Across 5 states - Part II

Hi to all,

Here's part II of the trip-report

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part II : 3306 Gaya-Dhanbad Exp [Gaya-Dhanbad], Date - 26 Jan 2010,
Distance - 199 Km, Time - 03.45 Hrs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Well my initial plans to travel next day by 2302 to HWH were thwarted as
2302 had joined the list of trains running late due to fog and was
running late by 12-15 hrs daily. Anyways, So I cancelled the tickets and
decided to go to DHN instead to visit my uncle and continue my onward
journey to HWH by car. I decided to take the evening intercity Exp (3306
Gaya-DHN Exp) to DHN. Since there was no CC on this train I was forced
to travel by II (sitting, UR) which I dearly dreaded.

Another shock came on reached Gaya Jn. at 16.30 that this train comes
from DOS in the form of 702ECR DOS-GAYA Pass. That came as a rude blow
to my hopes of grabbing a seat. And on top of that, the train showed no
signs of appearing at 17.55 even as the departure time from Gaya is
17.45.

Then suddenly, out of dusk and smoke-filled air, suddenly came a white
beauty, Gomoh WAP7 #30213 and our ride along with it.
I quickly thanked the Gods for compensating the missed P7 encounter
aboard The mighty HWH Raj. After some heated glares and exchanges, I was
able to grab a track side window. The white beast jerked forward at
18.10(+25); making me wonder if the LPs for these intercity trains are
given P7 training before handling established trains like Kalka or
Rajdhanis.

Nevertheless, the P7 started showing its true mettle after clearing
Phalgu River Bridge and in no time we were doing MPS of 110Kmph. I think
giving P7s to intercity trains is a good idea, given that 3306 itself
has 15 halts en route a distance of 199 Km, which comes out to a halt
every 13 Km. Since it was already night, I couldn't enjoy the
Gurpa-Ghujandi ghat section fully, but could thankfully open the window
as temp. was O.K here in stark contrast to the chilly conditions in
PNBE.
Koderma was reached at 19.30(+23) while Parasnath, which came at
20.44(+18), gave me a pleasant shock. The last time I was here, it was a
small station with 4 underdeveloped PFs and the Raj/Poorva halt had just
been introduced. But this time, the Jain community had proved their
influence in the form of and additional PF and richly crafted sculptural
designs on the PF wall/building.

In the meantime, announcements were for the announcement of 2301. As
soon as we left, I went to the door asking a gentleman to occupy/reserve
my seat and surely enough, the King of ER 2301 blasted past us behind
the customary GZB P7.

The power of the 6000 horses was clearly evident as 3306 reaches NSC
Bose Gomoh at 21.00(+6) & reached Dhanbad Jn. at 21.23, ahead of
schedule by 7 min, thereby covering the 29 odd Km between GMO & DHN in
20 min at Avg Speed of 87 Kmph.

Finally, Dhanbad gave me another couple of surprises -
1. It was so clean & organized that it resembled a Shopping Mall!!!
2. The Ambassador taxis were back at the entrance, this time in a white
livery. There's a bit of history as I've learned from my father. There
used to be plenty of these Ambassador taxis in the 80s-90s era, which
one could use to travel throughout the then Bihar or even in WB. But
they disappeared lately due to pressure from modern cars. They used to
sport Yellow livery those days.

It is good to see them back!!!

Regards,
Animesh Kishore
Raipur