This train is locally popular as Amarsankat Exp instead of Amarkantak Exp as it is always late in the DN direction(Bhopal-Durg) and inspite of being superfast, it is always held back to allow the mighty 2409 Gondwana Exp(Raigarh-NZM),8030 HWH-Kurla(Shalimar-LTT) Exp and sometimes 5159 Chhapra-Durg Sarnath Exp to pass, all the above are dailies.
So finally I got another opportunity to test this local Superhero(Superfast) train which runs daily between Bhopal-Durg. I had missed a previous chance to travel by 2854 DN Amarkantak between Raipur-Durg as I choose not so fame 5159 Chhapra-Durg Sarnath Exp. This later proved to be a wise move as though both trains departed within the space of 10 min (07.30 & 07.40 that day) from Raipur, it SF(Superfast) trailed the Exp train(5159) for the entire 37 Km long stretch.
Coming to this occasion, I usually don't travel by this train and instead take either 2129 Pune-HWH Azad Hind Exp or 2101 Jnaneshwari Exp at day or 8029 Shalimar/HWH-LTT/Kurla Exp at evenings. But seeing the train unusually empty, couldn't resist the temptation. I was informed by one of my friends that S6 was marked for local(suburban) travel between Durg-Bilaspur and that later proved true as no TTE came to examine my ticket even though I had one.
The train departed dot at 18.20 from Durg and the WAM4 from Bhilai immediately took control as it was just a 15 coach affair. Within 10 min came the 1st stop, Bhilai Power House but not before we enjoyed a panormic view of the new Domino's at Bhilai, bustling with activity. After a 2 min halt, the train marched forward and the massive Bhilai Steel Plant(BSP) was exposed which shone like New York City at night. After all this excitement, the train stopped near the dark loco shed of Bhilai which now homes a few WAP4s & WAG7s/WAG9s along with a plenty of WAM4s.
It again started after a few minutes and never looked back though the halt meant that we reached Raipur at 19.07(+12 min).
I wished the train good-luck for the rest of the journey before heading through the station-exit amidst the massive sea of people !!!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
1st MEMU Ride in 3 Years
It was a long while since I had travelled in local trains(even EMUs) and my last MEMU ride happened in the summer of 2006. MEMU stands for - Mainline Electric Multiple Unit. These trains are vestibuled unlike EMU trains and also have wider windows then any coaches with barred windows.
Let's now get to the point. On this occasion, I was travelling from Durg to Raipur(in Chhatisgarh,India). Durg station was a 10 min walk from my College. I set off at 16.30 and reached Durg stn. at 16.40. This came as a not-so-pleasant experience as the front glass panes of the station building were removed for change and the building appeared haunted with bats flying around !!! After seeing off my friend who had to board a Nagpur-bound train, I set off in pursuit of my MEMU standind on PF5. I decided to take the MEMU for the sole purpose of enjoyment. I was quite empty and the only passengers were students from neighbouring colleges. I occuped a window seat in the 3rd coach from the Engine(0r whatever). The train itself consisted of 8 coaches. We got Amber signal at exactly 17.00. After clearing the TSR of 10Kmph, the LP began to press the throttle and I got what I had anticipated - great acceleration by the MEMU as compared to any other Superfast(or even Rajdhani/Shatabdi). But my delight was short-lived as the train halted at the next station, barely 4Km away. This was to be the trend of the short trip as the MEMU halted a total of 10 times(including overtakes) during the course of the 37 Km long journey.
The one thing about the MEMU that completely freaked me out was its braking system, which consisted of short bursts of hard braking which sounded similar to a bus. The section between Durg-Raipur is triple-lined and the SECR controllers used this to full effect by halting our train just before Kumhari station to allow the mighty 2070 Janshatabdi Exp(Gondia-Raigarh) to pass at a blazing speed, complete with 17 sparking coaches behind a powerful Bhilai WAM4. I didn't understand their logic. Why not to halt at Kumhari itself ? This could have allowed the passengers to alight for a drink.
Anyways, we proceeded ahead to reach Raipur finally at 18.25 instead of 18.00, taking 85 min for just 37 km and cementing my view of not travelling by locals, atleast in near future.
Best Wishes,
Animesh Kishore
Let's now get to the point. On this occasion, I was travelling from Durg to Raipur(in Chhatisgarh,India). Durg station was a 10 min walk from my College. I set off at 16.30 and reached Durg stn. at 16.40. This came as a not-so-pleasant experience as the front glass panes of the station building were removed for change and the building appeared haunted with bats flying around !!! After seeing off my friend who had to board a Nagpur-bound train, I set off in pursuit of my MEMU standind on PF5. I decided to take the MEMU for the sole purpose of enjoyment. I was quite empty and the only passengers were students from neighbouring colleges. I occuped a window seat in the 3rd coach from the Engine(0r whatever). The train itself consisted of 8 coaches. We got Amber signal at exactly 17.00. After clearing the TSR of 10Kmph, the LP began to press the throttle and I got what I had anticipated - great acceleration by the MEMU as compared to any other Superfast(or even Rajdhani/Shatabdi). But my delight was short-lived as the train halted at the next station, barely 4Km away. This was to be the trend of the short trip as the MEMU halted a total of 10 times(including overtakes) during the course of the 37 Km long journey.
The one thing about the MEMU that completely freaked me out was its braking system, which consisted of short bursts of hard braking which sounded similar to a bus. The section between Durg-Raipur is triple-lined and the SECR controllers used this to full effect by halting our train just before Kumhari station to allow the mighty 2070 Janshatabdi Exp(Gondia-Raigarh) to pass at a blazing speed, complete with 17 sparking coaches behind a powerful Bhilai WAM4. I didn't understand their logic. Why not to halt at Kumhari itself ? This could have allowed the passengers to alight for a drink.
Anyways, we proceeded ahead to reach Raipur finally at 18.25 instead of 18.00, taking 85 min for just 37 km and cementing my view of not travelling by locals, atleast in near future.
Best Wishes,
Animesh Kishore
Monday, September 21, 2009
Introduction
Hi all,
This is my first ever blog post. I'll start by giving a brief history about Poorva Exp. This train started in 1956 as the first fully air-conditioned train between Amritsar-Howrah/Bombay and was initially called "Air-Conditioned Exp". There were 2 pairs of trains - 1 went from Amritsar-Bombay and the other from Amritsar-Howrah. Both passed through New Delhi.
The former is now called 2926/2925 Paschim Exp and still goes from Amritsar-Bandra Terminus in Mumbai. A portion of this train comes from Kalka(near Chandigarh,Punjab) which an important base for tourists going to hill resort and capital of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla. There is a Narrow Gauge(NG) toy train connecting the 96-Km distance in 4 & 1/2 hrs.
The latter is now called Poorva Exp and now runs just between New Delhi - Howrah. Initially, there was only one route going as 81/82 Exp through the Grand Chord(Mughal Sarai(Near Varanasi)-Gaya(for Bodhgaya)-Dhanbad(Coalfields)-Asansol(in WB)-HWH) and the net distance was 1441 Km. MGS-BSB-ALD is a single un-electrified track and 2381 takes 03.35 hrs to cover it as compared to 2303 which takes 02.05 hrs via. MGS-Mirzapur-ALD. Both the distances are almost same.
But, later, another sister of 81/82 Exp, 03/04 Exp was started between NDLS-MGS-PNBE(Patna or Patliputra)-ASN(Asansol)-HWH. This line remained un-electrified until the advent of the 21st century and this longer route covered 1530 Km.
Paschim Exp became the 1st vestibuled train in IR. The trains(Paschim and Poorva) became popularly known as Deluxe Exp during the 60s and 70s and even now I hear some people referring Poorva as Deluxe. All the while through my childhood I wondered about the strange nomenclature among my elders while the name was clearly "Poorva" and not "Deluxe" in any Time-Tables. It now is clear to me that it was renamed as Poorva in early 90s, around the same time Sleeper class(SL) was introduced.
To end this nostalgia, here's an account of a journey I took aboard 2303 Poorva Exp as a 7-year-old:
I remember travelling by 2303 UP Poorva in early 2000(or maybe 1999) and the train was double-headed by a pair of WDM2s between Chittaranjan(CRJ)-MGS, where it changed to electric traction (WAP4). That was probably one of my most memorable journeys aboard 2303. Right from the beginning, being the peak of summer, we got reservation in an extra SL coach marked as "RUSH" which was 2nd from the 2 WDM2s. The train at that time comprised of 23 coaches, 5 AC, 1 Pantry, 2 GS, 2 SLR and 13 SL(+1 Rush), making the composition 24. It was one of the very few 24-coachers at that time. The train kept getting late through the barren plateau of north Bihar but made up time at night and reached NDLS 10 min before schedule. Could you believe it !!! Compare this to today's situation, where almost no train arrives at NDLS on time, owing to the dense morning traffic on the CNB-NDLS sector. Another highlight of that journey was the constant sweet & melodious honking of the P4 throughout the night. This was probably because of the fact that I was in the 2nd coach from loco. Another memorable moment was me witnessing the detaching of the 2 WDM2s probably for the last time at MGS(Nowadays a single HWH P4 takes it all the way to NDLS).
Stay tuned for more. I will be able to write only a weekly post because of my studies(I don't have access to PC in college).
Best Wishes,
Animesh Kishore
Raipur, India
This is my first ever blog post. I'll start by giving a brief history about Poorva Exp. This train started in 1956 as the first fully air-conditioned train between Amritsar-Howrah/Bombay and was initially called "Air-Conditioned Exp". There were 2 pairs of trains - 1 went from Amritsar-Bombay and the other from Amritsar-Howrah. Both passed through New Delhi.
The former is now called 2926/2925 Paschim Exp and still goes from Amritsar-Bandra Terminus in Mumbai. A portion of this train comes from Kalka(near Chandigarh,Punjab) which an important base for tourists going to hill resort and capital of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla. There is a Narrow Gauge(NG) toy train connecting the 96-Km distance in 4 & 1/2 hrs.
The latter is now called Poorva Exp and now runs just between New Delhi - Howrah. Initially, there was only one route going as 81/82 Exp through the Grand Chord(Mughal Sarai(Near Varanasi)-Gaya(for Bodhgaya)-Dhanbad(Coalfields)-Asansol(in WB)-HWH) and the net distance was 1441 Km. MGS-BSB-ALD is a single un-electrified track and 2381 takes 03.35 hrs to cover it as compared to 2303 which takes 02.05 hrs via. MGS-Mirzapur-ALD. Both the distances are almost same.
But, later, another sister of 81/82 Exp, 03/04 Exp was started between NDLS-MGS-PNBE(Patna or Patliputra)-ASN(Asansol)-HWH. This line remained un-electrified until the advent of the 21st century and this longer route covered 1530 Km.
Paschim Exp became the 1st vestibuled train in IR. The trains(Paschim and Poorva) became popularly known as Deluxe Exp during the 60s and 70s and even now I hear some people referring Poorva as Deluxe. All the while through my childhood I wondered about the strange nomenclature among my elders while the name was clearly "Poorva" and not "Deluxe" in any Time-Tables. It now is clear to me that it was renamed as Poorva in early 90s, around the same time Sleeper class(SL) was introduced.
To end this nostalgia, here's an account of a journey I took aboard 2303 Poorva Exp as a 7-year-old:
I remember travelling by 2303 UP Poorva in early 2000(or maybe 1999) and the train was double-headed by a pair of WDM2s between Chittaranjan(CRJ)-MGS, where it changed to electric traction (WAP4). That was probably one of my most memorable journeys aboard 2303. Right from the beginning, being the peak of summer, we got reservation in an extra SL coach marked as "RUSH" which was 2nd from the 2 WDM2s. The train at that time comprised of 23 coaches, 5 AC, 1 Pantry, 2 GS, 2 SLR and 13 SL(+1 Rush), making the composition 24. It was one of the very few 24-coachers at that time. The train kept getting late through the barren plateau of north Bihar but made up time at night and reached NDLS 10 min before schedule. Could you believe it !!! Compare this to today's situation, where almost no train arrives at NDLS on time, owing to the dense morning traffic on the CNB-NDLS sector. Another highlight of that journey was the constant sweet & melodious honking of the P4 throughout the night. This was probably because of the fact that I was in the 2nd coach from loco. Another memorable moment was me witnessing the detaching of the 2 WDM2s probably for the last time at MGS(Nowadays a single HWH P4 takes it all the way to NDLS).
Stay tuned for more. I will be able to write only a weekly post because of my studies(I don't have access to PC in college).
Best Wishes,
Animesh Kishore
Raipur, India
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)