Trains I boarded in this month

Feb 1 : Guntur to Tirupati - 17261 Gnt Tpty Exp
Feb 9 : Tirupati to Vijayawada - 17405 Krishna exp
Feb 12 : Vijayawada to...
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Renigunta - 20678 Mas VB
Feb 14 : Renigunta to Visakhapatnam - 22606 Purulia Exp
Feb 15 : Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada - 12727 Godavari Exp
Feb 16 : Vijayawada to Tirupati - 12764 Padmavati Exp
Feb 23 : Tirupati to Vijayawada - 17487 Tirumala Exp
Feb 24 : Vijayawada to Machilipatnam - 12750 Bidar Mtm exp
Feb 24 : Machilipatnam to Gudivada - 07870 Mtm Bza Memu
Feb 24 : Gudivada to Tirupati - 17247 Ns Dmm Exp
Feb 26 : Tirupati to Lingampalli - Will Book
Feb 29 : Lingampalli to Tirupati - Will Book

Part - 4 : The Sequel.
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For those, who have not read
Part - 1: /blog/post/5903996
Part - 2: /blog/post/5913406
Part...
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- 3 : /blog/post/5961290
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At 10:02 hrs, the chuggers with the diamond logo loudly sang it's customary song to give some way for them, duly indicating departure from maltekdi. Realised there was only a very thin chance for me to catch the Tapovan express. Chug - Chug - Chug, the ALCo twins puffed out the smoke, and slowly strolled towards Nanded, though we arrived at 10:05 hrs on the platform 2 i.e, mainline platform with a delay of 2h 35m, to find that the other platforms were empty, clearly indicated that I had missed the tapovan express.
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Took a stroll to entrance on the platform - 1 side, and noticed the display board to find that both departure of tapovan and arrival of our train was supposed to be at platform 2. Can't know the reason behind receiving it after tapovan, but it could have been much useful if our train was received at platform - 3 without trolling much since we entered Nanded division, so that a cross - platform transfer could have been ensured for people bound to parbhani / Jalna / Sambhaji Nagar / nagarsol(shirdi). Or if it has got a better priority in Hyderabad division, the magnitude of delay could not have grown to this extent. Anyways, things had happened, and my stomach was growling in its own language, sternly advised me to break the fast for the day.
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Since the level of tiredness has evolved a lot in these hours, started to think that when, at the earliest would I be able to reach my destination since I have an exam the very next day. So, continued marching towards the bus stand, that's mere less than a kilometres distance, which was situated in a dusty environment. Immediately after reaching, had some break fast and enquired about the bus service towards Sambhaji Nagar, and the people in the counter were, it would take an hour or so for the next bus. Checked the road distance between Nanded to Aurangabad to find that the train is 40 kms shorter, and would take comparatively lesser time. Was able to see MSRTC buses to various destinations like bidar, latur, adilabad, kinwat, akola, and some TSRTC buses towards bhainsa.
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Headed back to the railway station to find that the next train bound for Aurangabad was at 12:30 hrs, probably at platform - 1. Though 60 minutes was remaining for that train to arrive at platform - 1, and checked the running status of our train to find that our train has already entered the Maharastra and traveled few kilometres, but did not reach mudkhed by then. But for my surprise, the platform is already crowded with no place to sit on the bench. Now, a classical DLW liveried WDM 3A twins of Moula ali, previously belonged to gooty, made entry with the electrification tools van at the platform - 1 from Purna side. Slowly strolled to platform 2, since there was place to sit, and was less crowded comparatively.
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Time went on and it was 40 past 12. Since that was the onset of summer, the temperature was very high and in the scorching heat, it was difficult to sit, sweating out more. Now that at platform - 1, the crowd increased to a greater extent that there was no place to stand. Checked out the live station status at the WIMT to find the next train towards Sambhaji Nagar, erstwhile manmad passenger from Kacheguda, at the time of my journey it was Rotegaon express, now that it is extended to nagarsol, was detained for more than 20 minutes at Mugat that is few stations ahead of mudkhed, and Narkher bound intercity express from kacheguda was closely following it. The Kacheguda bound express from Narkher was undergoing reversal at Purna.
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Now that another 40 minutes has gone, no announcement was made for any train, and no signs for any of the train to arrive. Checked the WIMT status to realise that our train has been detained further at Mugat, and Narkher bound intercity from Kacheguda has been detained at the next station, magnitude of delay significantly increased for both. Realising the priority it gets in the delay, checked the next train towards Sambhaji Nagar other than the Rotegaon passenger, it was Pune bound daily overnight train from Nanded, that is supposed to depart at half past 3. Checked the current availability in the same to find there was only 6 seats vacant between pune and sambhaji nagar, booked it off without any hesitation, and got upper berth. After a long time, heard a quadrilingual announcement made for Narkher bound express from kacheguda to arrive at platform - 2, indicating that it had overtook the Rotegaon express at Mugat.
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Time was now ticking to 14 hrs, and a loud honk, suggestive of EMD was heard, finally sign of a train arriving. and Gooty based single cab EMD, with usual livery and short hood front, slowly pulled the Kacheguda bound express from Rotegaon into platform - 1, with was bustling with the crowds, with a delay of 1 hour. And another gooty based single cab EMD, with Narkher bound express from kacheguda, made its entry at mainline platform simultaneously, with a significantly huge delay. Finally a train arrived from mudkhed side I sighed. It was very much surprising to see a passenger, disguised as express with 19 general coaches. But, it would be very useful to accomodate the people as this passenger and it's RSA are unique passenger trains in their entire stretch and they are crowd pullers as well.
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And given the overcrowding of sleeper class by unreserved passengers in Marathwada region, this is better though it deserves some extra pairs of passenger train in this region with good priority run (mentioning this since most passenger trains here get less priority run wise and tends to get delayed). And, train is being a better option compared to buses here, which are comparatively much slower. Quadrilingual announcements were made simultaneously for the delayed sachkhand express, that is supposed to arrive at platform - 4 around this time, and for both the trains to depart, and they simultaneously March out with the sounds, thadak - thadak. Now that one more hour was remaining for my train to depart from Nanded and my train taking a deep sleep at the sick line along with the locomotive it is supposed to haul it.
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Now that from a distant could hear a faint honk, suggestive of EMD locomotive, was coming closer from Purna side, and now, this EMD was appearing as if it was drenched in the blue paint with stripes in the center, freshly painted. Yes, it was a krishnarajapuram based single canned EMD with bleed blue livery, that was steadily decelerating at the mainline platform with Kacheguda bound intercity express from Narkher. There was good boarding crowd in my platform as deboarding. And now, that the announcement was made for Rotegaon bound passenger, disguised as express to arrive at the main line platform, and within few moments, EMD with a similar description mentioned above, but the three difference being the serial number, the shed it belonged to and the orientation of the locomotive. Yes, the latter one belonged to gooty that towed the heavily delayed Rotegaon express at platform 2. Now deboarding was greater than boarding, given the delay of the train and within an hour that Pune bound express also departs in the same direction, is much faster than this one to reach Jalna, sambhaji nagar regions. The Kacheguda bound express departed from the mainline platform, that is platform 3, after a brief halt.
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Quadrilingual announcements were made for the triweekly from one of the major port city in the south east part of our country, to arrive at platform - 1 shortly, as Rotegaon bound gaadi took a short nap at Nanded. A gooty based double cabbed dull white EMD pulled a brownish red empty LHB coaches into platform 1 shortly and it was 10 minutes to 15 hrs now, yes, the train from vizag arrived it's destination with a delay of more than 75 minutes. One need to note the line-up getting affected due to the detention of Rotegaon bound express, few stations ahead of mudkhed, for reasons unknown. After a while, when it was minutes past 3, the EMD that is bleeding blue, steadily accelerated with the 19 coacher from the mainline platform.
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Twas only 15 minutes remaining for our train to depart Nanded and no signs of our locomotive and rake to wake up from the deep sleep, Now a gooty based single cabbed hummingbird, made a silent and steady deceleration into mainline platform. It was a tiny load Nanded bound passenger from manmad, arriving before the stipulated time. Twas only 10 minutes more for our train to make its departure in the scheduled time and quadrilingual announcements started for our train to depart at its scheduled time from the mainline platform. Meanwhile, heard a loud honk blazed out from the puneri EMD that was coupled with the rake of our train, indicating that it woke up from a deep sleep, now slowly took a stroll towards the Purna side and eventually, reversed back into platform - 2.
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One noteworthy thing was, when the puneri EMD with two cabs, blazed out the honk at the sick line only, that the unreserved class passengers they managed to open a door of general compartment and started boarding while the rake was shunted to the platform, and within the rake reached the platform that sitting became full in that train and now crowd started squeeze into the single unreserved coach that was present next to generator car. Not sure of the coach that is present in the rear end, went towards my coach and boarded the train, settled in my seat. 5 minutes after the chaos of the crowd to board this daily train bound to pune, We started accelerating our from the mainline at Nanded at the scheduled departure time, attained MPS after a short while and maintained it till Purna outers.
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One noteworthy thing is that, this was introduced with 15 LHB coaches, with 4 3A, 5 SL, 1 2A, 1 1A, 2 UR, 1 EOG and 1 SLRD, and it's RSA, the Panvel bound train from Nanded via pune, had good number of UR and 13 sleeper classes. Both should have given RSA at LHB version with a CC of the latter i strongly believe, given the overcrowding on my train. TTE came to my coach once train made a slow arrival into Purna, and made all the people without the reservation ticket to go towards unreserved coach. Once TTE had disappeared, again that unreserved passengers slowly started to appear. This situation was not controllable as the no of coaches were very less. As our train arrived Purna, could see the pair of locomotive that hauled our akola bound special from Tirupati, all the way from Tirupati to Purna, taking a deep sleep.
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We depart Purna after halting briefly , as gooty based dual cab EMD with a tiny rake of akola bound passenger train from parli departing simultaneously. The scenes of our hummingbird thats hauling our train, making a rapid acceleration after departing Purna through the Purna river bridge in the evening light and the calm weather, That dhak - dhak, dhadak - dhadak sounds, was an audio visual treat as it negotiated a big curve ahead. Also, could also witness the hummingbird emitting out the smoke as it accelerates, from my coach.
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The co passengers in my bay initiated conversation with me, and yes, chatted with them for quite some time and they were courteous. Since that I had travelled for more than one and a half day, which was quite tiring, started to sleep in bouts while sitting. Woke up in the middle to find our train at parbhani with a delay of 10 minutes at the mainline platform. Yes, it was making its customary jerk indicating the arrival, that woke me up. Meanwhile, the Rotegaon bound express, which departed much ahead of us was sleeping at parbhani after getting looped and people bound to partur, selu, Jalna, sambhaji nagar and manmad changed to our train and now that the Rotegaon bound express becoming quite empty.
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And, we got starter after a brief halt, and we started to move out of parbhani steadily, overtaking the Rotegaon bound express. I also, resumed my sleep. Woke up for a moment, where our train was looped for more than 30 minutes, with identical looking WDG 3A twins based at moula ali with Nagarsol bound superfast from narasapur and sachkhand express back to back, with a delay of more than 4 hours crossed us at selu. Again resumed my sleep, once our train departed selu to woke up at Jalna at platform - 2, the mainline platform, and hyderabad bound express from Aurangabad (erstwhile passenger) that was rescheduled by 2 hours on that day, arrived at platform - 1, with moula ali based WDG - 3A twins. Now that we were delayed by 30 minutes, expected janshatabdi from CSMT to arrive any time at Jalna, thought that we could be halted for some more time for halt.
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When I checked the WIMT, it showed that the janshatabdi has departed badnapur. A sudden jerk, indicating departure of our train, steadily accelerated and maintained MPS. Was quite shocking since for my knowledge, there was no looping station between badnapur and Jalna, and that WIMT showed that Jalna bound janshatabdi is 5 kms away from Jalna. To my surprise, after few moments that our train attained maximum speed, could see two trains looped at my left side. But, there was no platforms on the either side. When I saw a small building (supposing it to be a cabin), the station building read dinegaon. I was never aware of such a station till date. The Marathwada express bound to Dharmabad, the state border from manmad with moulali ALCo twins and Jalna bound janshatabdi from CSMT was looped at the adjacent loop lines as we cruise through the station at maximum speed. Meanwhile the people in our bay was chatting for some time, and to my right side, was able to see an airport after crossing chikalthana station. Indicating that we have reached the city limits of Aurangabad, people in my bay started getting ready to deboard the train. We arrived at platform - 1 of Aurangabad after few minutes, exactly on time. It took more than 5 minutes for us to deboard the train since many unreserved passengers and reserved passengers from my coach deboarded and my seat was in center of the coach.
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Sighed with a great relief after arriving at the destination. As per plan i was supposed to reach here by afternoon. But was content that atleast that I could reach by night. Thank God, I was able to reach my exam center atleast the night before exam. Went towards hotel, for a good night's sleep after a trip of nearly 48 hrs, and to face the exam the next day.
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It has been a very long write - up till now. For people who read it till this point, please give a comment. It would really encourage me. Thumbs up for you.
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Thank you for reading everything patiently.

24.11.2018
In a quick 2 Day trip to #Shirdi, a Close friend and I decided to add a couple of routes to our IR mileage. So it was decided that, instead of returning home the usual way, we would take a train to #Hyderabad, which went via #Aurangabad, #Parbhani, #Parli #Vaijnath and #Bidar.
The 17001 Sainagar Shirdi - #Secunderabad Express is a bi-weekly train which departs Shirdi on Saturdays & Mondays to arrive Secunderabad on Sundays & Tuesdays. It has RSA with 17017/8 Secunderabad...
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- #Rajkot Tri-weekly Express. We boarded this train on the evening of November 24th. After a sedate run till #Kopargaon, we made up with a brisk run till #Manmad Outer. A slow and sluggish entry into pf6 was lightened up by a jubilant skip of Manmad by the 22121 #Mumbai LTT #Lucknow AC SF. Our dinner arrived here, ordered through the Travelkhana app. It was a bit of an injustice to call it a mixed veg subji, for it had nothing more than Cauliflower and Capsicum.
I called it a day after we left from #Nagarsol. The next morning I woke up, got down from my Upper Berth and freshened up, just as we were nearing #Vikarabad Jn. A Cup of tea at Vikarabad put me in the mood for the day. After a long halt, we swept across the rest of the stretch pretty effortlessly, before being put to Loop in Hafizpet, for the imminent overtake by the 12213 #Duronto Express bound for #Delhi Sarai Rohilla. If not for Hafizpet, we couldn't have been overtaken anywhere else, for there was no more loop all the way till Secunderabad, where the Duronto was supposed to reach ahead of us.
We reached #Begumpet with some marginal delay, and it was an enjoyable run, in a well maintained train. Would recommend this to all.

Mumbai Suburban Trip in One Day Part: - 3.
continuity of part :-1 /blog/post/4164073 & part:-2 /blog/post/4169027
Train:-5-96111 Thane-Karjat Slow.
Rake:-5333-5335-5336-5334.
From:-KOPR to KJT.
Train:-6-96011...
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Karjat - Khopoli Shuttle.
Rake:-2129-2131-2132-2130.
From: - KJT to KHPI.
Train:-7-95006 Khopoli-CSMT Fast.
Rake:-2129-2131-2132-2130.
From:-KHPI to KYN.
After getting on-board 5333A karjat local from kopar, Rajesh was already in the coach from thane itself he was seating near the track side window , Even Himanshu took the window seat and both started noting down all the timing , meanwhile Parth & Sahil was standing near the door to capture the crossing , I felt hungry, Removed the snacks from my bag that I carried with me from home, the FC coach had just 8 people, Reached Thakurli at 11:16, just after we departed from Thakurli, BRC WAP-7 30466 with 14805 Yeshvantpur-Barmer ac express crossed, , 1047/48 as badlapur fast overtook our local at Thakurli outer. Wag9 31114 with
12188 Mumbai CSMT - Jabalpur Garib Rath Express, (green locomotive & green rake),

1047/48 as badlapur fast overtook our local at Thakurli outer, Mock rake 4501 was also standing at kalyan, halted kalyan at 11:25 there was a huge crowd for second class, few people also boarded fc later after knowing it was a fc they got down and changed the coach, Even few people boarded fc, departed kalyan at 11:28, karjat – csmt f local was entering kyn pf:-7

Reached vithalwadi at 11:28, departed ta 11:29, The Bombardier rake acceleration was so much better & smooth, even the blowers were kept on, and as it is a winter season, the heat didn’t affected, and cold breeze was flowing. After crossing Ulhasnagar Chennai express with kalyan loco crossed, Reached Ambernath at 11:35, half of the fc got empty, Even the second class was getting empty, Kyn wdg3a 13426 with Chennai express crossed, departed Ambernath at 11:37, Achieved top speed of 105 km/hrs within few minute, a superb acceleration, halted at badlapur outer as BUD – Csmt local had departed, Reached badlapur at 11:43, New led indicator were installed at badlapur station, Departed at 11:45, The old building of Neral is still the same as it was, there were few place dig up , might be for new FOB. Even the iconic locomotive kept near the entrance of the East side is visible from train now. Reached bhivpuri road at 12:06, the csmt end had been dig and new foundation for new Fob work had started, even the ticket counter on the station had been renovated and new led indicator had been installed, loved to see that station developing. Entered karjat at 12:14 the km mark 99/6. 2 Wcam3 21961 & 21945 bankers were standing idle waiting for their duty

We had a buffer time of almost 1 hrs for our next time to Khopoli, we decided to have out lunch at karjat itself as we had less buffer time at Khopoli, we was difficult to go out of station buy food and get in the train in time , so we asked a local guy about the restaurant in and around the station, he told us about 2/3 places near the station, after walking towards the karjat end there was a small Refreshment / restaurant type of small cabin, we asked them at the counter whether it was by Irctc or railway , The guy told it by central railway . After settling down, we asked for the menu, Himanshu had some chikki & sabudana vada, while Sahil had mendu vada & idly Parth had puri bhaji, I & Rajesh had missal pav, followed by cold soft drink, it was a bit hot climate in karjat. We almost finished our lunch by 12:55 still he had 20 mins left so I went near the karjat end of the pf while others were roaming on the csmt end, Brc wap7 30459 with Pune – Nzm duronto express skip karjat at a 12:57 pm , Csmt bound local arrived at pf:-3 it was 2077 Siemens local which was recently Painted in bombardier livery.

Wag9 31408 with concour rake was entering pf:-1 and going into the karjat yard. Our karjat bound local arrived at pf:-4, it had come from Khopoli and was going back to Khopoli itself, as Karjat – Khopoli local. 27400-27110-27118 had come down from the Ghats for their next duty. 2130 was our next local for Khopoli; the fc coach was completely empty only 5 of us were in the coach. Departed Khopoli at 13:15 sharp, ASN Wag 5H 23635 & 23709 with coil rake was standing in kjt yard waiting for starter towards kyn.
There was this board before the train enter the Ghats, 60 Km/hr speed for express trains in down direction, & 55 km/hr speed for all vacuum brake trains

Reached Palashdari at 1:23, had entered the branch line for Khopoli, after departing from Khopoli it was a single line, with absolute block signalling system, only 1 train to enter in entire station. Reached kelavli at 1:28, these are were remote station, only booking cabin were present. The station was well developed with the station height near the footboard. Reached dolavli at 1:30 pm & lowjee at 1:34 between dolavli & lowjee got a wonderful view of the Western Ghats, there was a tsr place of 30 km/hr between lowjee & Khopoli.

Reached Khopoli at 1:42, Railfan Pranit Gawand had come to meet us who stays in Khopoli. We had to change our coach also as we had to catch the connecting train from kalyan for kasara, and we had less change over time. So we went to the second fc of csmt end and at 1:48 the local departed, was glad to see the punctuality so accurate in that section. The fc was occupied by the local college boy who got down at dolavli. We were made to wait at Palashdari as we had to join the mainline and bankers were going towards kjt, kyn wdp4d 40347 with 11075 LTT – bidar express crossed at Palashdari entering the Ghats with Wcam3 21961 And 21886 And at karjat station 16631 Csmt – Tvc express with 21945 27400-27110-27118 as bankers was waiting for starter. Departed karjat at 14:15. Siemens rake 1034 empty rake was going towards lnl for pune service. After departing from Neral Tkd wdg4d 70819 with PQHS crossed. After that we all took a small nap before getting off the local at kalyan. Rajesh woke us up at Ulhasnagar, the local was packed. After departing vithalwadi we decided to go on the door, But you never know how much time you have to wait at kalyan home and get the starter to enter the platform, as Kalyan is always a busy station, but luckily within 30 – 45 sec of halt we were given the single and train departed, making our next changeover which was within 5 min possible. We reached kalyan pf:-6 at 3:05. As soon as train stopped we jumped over and changed our platform and went to pf:-3/4 for our kasara bound local. After changing the platform, buying few snacks for a very long journey 22109 Ltt – NZm ac express arrived kyn.
Dlw wap7 37007 with 22109 Ltt – NZm ac sf express
Next kasara bound journey in next part .

Continued from /blog/post/1986084
10. PULLING into VASCO& the RR FIASCO.
A scheduled halt at Kulem which lasted 10mins; saw us click a lot pics. A fully loaded Freighter was allowed to ascend the ghats as soon as we arrived. It was banked by EMD triplets from UBL. Post Kulem; barring a 2min halt at Kudchade, we barrelled ahead at MPS till Madgaon. ERS WDM2A led Mangalore passenger rushed southwards as we crawled to a halt at MAO home. A few minutes later; we were given the starter to enter pf3. Mangalore Madgaon Intercity...
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Express was expected on pf2. Trivandrum Rajdhani led by its customary link GOC WDP3A; pulled into pf1 for a scheduled halt. We waited quite some time for it at MAO, and were given the green as soon as the Rajdhani arrived. Post Madgaon it was a rainy ride till Dabolim. KJM WDG4 led Goa express crossed at Suravali and the Janshatabdi from Dadar led by a GOC WDP4D; rushed past just as we veered away to the left immediately after Majorda Jn. The rains gave us a break as we crawled into Vasco; a good 70minutes late.
Being a port terminal; the station saw very less passenger activity. On most days the station wears a deserted look after the arrival of the last passenger from Kulem. The clerk in charge of verification and allotment of Retiring rooms was a bit surprised when I flashed my RR printout copy.
“Maine socha aap aaoge hi nahi” [I thought you will not come at all]
‘Train late thi sir; mein kya karta?” [The train was late sir, what can I do?]
I understood his shock; I had booked the RR from 8 in the morning; although my train arrived at 15:05 in the afternoon. But it was my turn to be shocked when he asked me to pay up an additional Rs. 150 for the ‘EXTRA’ Person.
I Protested, “Sir, humne Family room book kiya hua hai 3 logon ke liye. Yeh extra ka kya chakkar hai?” [Sir, we had booked a Family room for 3 people. What is this about the Extras?]
‘Sir, aapne double bed room book kiya hai, yahan family room nahi hain. Extra ek aadmi ke liye extra paise lagte hain’. [Sir, you have booked a double room. There are no Family rooms here, You have to pay up for the Extra person.]
I was too tired to argue and didn’t want to create a scene either; something which I regret even now. We got rooms at 1/3rd the cost of the cheapest hotel available in the vicinity. I paid up after a consultation with the buddies.
NOTE: IRCTC will allow you to book Family rooms in Vasco. But the Station doesn’t have any Family rooms. All are double Bed rooms. If you think you have paid already and there is no need to pay again; then you will not be allowed into the room.
After completion of formalities, all of us dumped our bags into the room; and took a well deserved rest. Chats, Chai and a walk in the beach made better of an evening which was preceded by a very hectic 24hours. A Bonus spotting was a surprise encounter with the reptile kind on our way back to the station. An all in one package, that’s what this trip was.
11. ‘Thanni la Gandam’; THE JINX RETURNS
The rains overnight did not deter our spirits to go Railfanning at the banks of the Zuari River, near the bridge. We hoped for a cloudy day; but it went bad to worse to hopeless. After spotting the passenger from Ratnagiri and the Mumbai bound Mandovi, we decided to abandon spotting the Mumbai – Mangalore ‘Rocket’ Superfast; as NTES showed it to be running late by more than hour. And with no proper shelter to give some cover; staying there any longer in the incessant rains was a waste. The 3 of us on 2 Activas; decided to head towards Dona Paula. Despite the rains, we somehow managed to ride. Just as we were descending the road bridge; a loud ALCo honk caught our attention, it was the Rocket. Our impatience got the better of us. Well; this was just the beginning, there was more to come.
While riding to Dona Paula; I figured something was wrong. Even at the breakfast stop en-route where we had some not-so South Indian Dosas from a so-called Malabar Restaurant; I didn’t realize that ‘I DID NOT CLOSE THE ZIP OF MY CAMERA BAG& HAD JUST DUMPED IT INTO MY SHOULDER BAG’.
DAMN!!!! My camera was drenched in the rain. This turned out to be the scariest moment of my life. After failed attempts to get the camera working in Dona Paula; I rode back to Vasco and hunted in Google Maps for any Canon Service centre in and around VSG.
NONE
Hell hath no fury like my mother if she had gotten to know that my carelessness destroyed my camera. The Locals mentioned that any sort of repair work; would be done only in Panji. Damn!
Blame my brains for planning a trip to Goa in the monsoon season. Of all the places that I could have gone to; Goa and Mumbai were the ones I chose.
‘It is Fate Adi; this could have happened in your own home; don’t curse yourself so much. Think of what can be done next.’
I lost my appetite out of fear; the two of them had to literally drag me to an Udupi restaurant for dinner.
12. JOURNEY ONBOARD THE FOOD KING – One more in the ‘First Time’ list
I rang up Akshay; who was on his way to Goa to join us in the rest of the trip. He gave assurance that there would definitely be a CANON Service centre in Mumbai; and asked me to relax a bit. How I wished I could.
The Station Manager at Vasco was kind enough to guide us on the taxi and bus fares in Vasco. We were to board the Mandovi Express the next morning from MAO at 08:30. He assured that Taxis won’t charge any less than 800 bucks for a drop to MAO. He did mention though that there was a bus at 05:30 starting right from in front of Vasco Station, and that would drop us at Madgaon KTC Bus Stand; from where we would get Autos to MAO. We found that to be a good alternative.
At a net expense of Rs. 65 per head; bus and auto combined; we couldn’t have asked for a better mode of transport to MAO. Akshay was already there waiting for us on pf1; having arrived by the Goa Express. We could also spot Mumbai LTT bound Netravati Express. It left within minutes after we reached. We freshened up and I guided Sriram and Sri to the Benjo Restaurant in pf1 for some hot Buns. Akshay and I decided to skip it; I was lost in trying to get my camera working well again and Akshay was not hungry.
Immediately after the Ernakulam bound Duronto arrived and departed; our ride to Mumbai; the Mandovi Express was shunted into pf1, by its own power; an offlink –GOC WDP4D 40106. The UBL EMD cycle was broken somewhere. We settled down in our seats in S4 and were on our way at exactly half past 8.
The primary reason for including this train in the itinerary was the food; and I must say; the ‘FOOD KING’ as the Mandovi is fondly addressed by Railfans; did not disappoint. I do admit for missing out on the Ksheera Upma; for which I got ample scoldings from @binnu; will try it out next time macha.
The run of Mandovi was a very relaxed and laidback one. With plenty of halts; food and trains were enough to keep me going on such a slow train. The rains gave us company all the way to Sawantwadi road; where we crossed the Madgaon bound Konkankanya Express.
The crossings kept coming; freight, express and all; but the one which we looked out for came after Ratnagiri; at Nandgaon road to be precise. The southbound Trivandrum Rajdhani led by GOC WDP3A crossed us here. With the crossing of the Rajdhani done; we kept wondering where ‘The Overtake’ will happen. On a Wednesday journey in the Mandovi; the TVC Raj can be spotted both ways; towards Mumbai there is an overtake; while towards Madgaon there is a crossing. What we didn’t realize at that moment was, that it was the monsoon schedule; which meant that Mandovi would reach Panvel well ahead of the northbound Trivandrum Rajdhani. A Candid pic clicked at the time I was verifying the same; led my Guruji to ridicule me.
‘What has the world come to? So – called railfans and what they do? The same old stare-at-your-phone while the attractive world outside a railway carriage passes these souls by... ’
Well, now I really didn’t how to counter that one.
As mentioned earlier; food was one of the main reasons for including Mandovi in this trip. The breakfast options were Bread Cutlet, Bread Omlette& Cheese Sandwich. Lunch was served somewhere near Sawantwadi road. Options included Egg Biryani with Egg Curry; Veg Biryani with Onion Raita and Chinese Hakka Noodles. All options were tried. And taste was quite good; while the price was not much of a pinch on the pocket. Samosa was served with two side dishes that day. In the morning; when I bought a plate near Pernem; we got the spicy green chutney along with the Samosa. The raw aroma of the green chillies mashed with coariander and possibly a dash of ginger to save the taste buds; was a great flavour to go along with the Aloo Samosa which itself was quite Tasty. In the afternoon; we bought a plate of Samosas with what we call ‘Milagai Podi’ down south. It was equally tasty. A Cup of chai washed down the throat after these flavours refreshed the mood. It is worth mentioning, that the chai along the entire route was quite tasty. Surprisingly we had chai at 4 different rates that day; Rs. 5; 7; 8& 10. And the quantity varied accordingly. Thankfully though; the taste was more or less the same.
The disappointment of not spotting a Ro-Ro rake that day was compensated by the plethora of crossings along the route. Mumbai Mangalore ‘Rocket’ Superfast at Thivim, Konkankanya at Sawantwadi road; Dadar Sawantwadi Rajyarani at Kudal, Trivandrum Rajdhani at Nandgaon road; Dadar Madgaon Janshatabdi at Vilavade, Mumbai LTT Madgaon Double Decker at Nivasar; MAO bound Mandovi at Sangameshwar road, Netravati Express at Karanjadi, Matsyagandha Express at Roha, Mumbai LTT – Hubballi express at Panvel, and Mumbai CST Firozpur Punjab Mail at Parsik Tunnel made up the list of notable crossings. An added bonus spotting was the overtake by the legendary Geetanjali express; led by an SRC WAP4 roaring through Thane as we pulled in for a scheduled halt. The array of departures from Mumbai, along with the fast and slow locals made up for the rest of the evening as we crawled into Dadar pf6 for a halt; from where we walked over to the Western lines and took an EMU to our retiring rooms in BCT.
13. MAYANAGARI MUMBAI
After completing the long verification process in BCT; we headed to our retiring rooms in the third floor. The rooms were quite spacious for a 2 bed room and were quite ancient too in terms of looks. The layout was quite interesting. There were 2 dorms; 4 air conditioned rooms& 4 non AC rooms. Rooms 7 to 10 were non AC. While 7& 8 were on the third floor, room 9& 10 were a floor down; the access of which was from the third floor only. In short if anyone was to get room 9/10; they would have to take the lift or stairs to the third floor, verify their details with the attendant, and walk through the entire corridor to the flight of stairs at the other end; from where they will have to descend towards their rooms.
The next day, my friends woke up to take the 06:55 CST KSRA Fast to Khardi; for some RF. Ironically, I decided the location and couldn’t go with them myself. After taking some more rest; I went down to the Janata Aahar canteen for some simple yet scrumptious breakfast, consisting of 2 slices of bread coated with butter; a piece of cutlet and some dip tea. After roaming around the platforms of BCT till the departure of the Saurashtra Express; I went back, changed, noted down the address of the CANON service centre and boarded a Virar fast towards Goregaon. The map attached in the justdial link misguided me to Goregaon whereas the Centre was located near the Western Express Highway Metro in ‘Andheri’. A long walk from Goregaon station to the Hub mall and, several enquiries later, I managed an auto which took me to the building where I was headed. A simple phone call to the service centre would have gotten me there even earlier; but no. Google maps zindabad. And common sense goes for a toss.
Thankfully the issue was not that serious; and was resolved in a few minutes. While coming back; I boarded a 332 double decker bus to Kurla after getting my camera checked. Initially; when I spotted the metro, the idea of taking a metro to Ghatkopar and local from thereon seemed good. But a couple of double decker buses that went by changed my mind. I was boarding a double decker bus after nearly 2 decades. Even when they were prevalent in Chennai about 15 years ago; didn’t travel in them, not even once. The fascination for the upper deck had not decreased even a bit; the child in me was still alive. I was glad.
332 dropped me in Kurla west after a bumpy ride of about 45minutes. When I went in, I got a call from my friends that they were on board a fast local headed back to CST. I boarded the local just after theirs and joined them in the FOB connecting DR and DDR. Everyone was tired& we decided to take some rest and visit the Gateway in the evening.
14. DOUBLE DECKER AGAIN, GATEWAY, RECOLLECTING HISTORY& VIRAR LOCAL
Yes, the fact that I had boarded a double decker bus got the interest of all of my friends. On our previous trip, we had spotted the Double Decker bus plying in route 124 which connected BCT& CST. This time, we waited patiently and our patience was rewarded. Within 15minutes of us reaching the bus stop, we boarded a 124 headed straight to the upper deck. En-route Akshay talked about the history of the famed Bombay Underworld, the book Dongri to Dubai; Haji Mastan, Varadajan Mudaliar; and the most famous of all – Dawood Ibrahim. A lot was talked about the history of Mumbai; its underworld, the development of the railways, the city and much more; as we meandered through the crowded streets. Time flew and before we knew it; we were in front of the Gateway. And so were hundreds of others.
Akshay and I were at it again; discussing the history of Gateway; the terror attack on the Taj Hotel, the movie ‘A Wednesday’ & eventually the discussion came back to Railways. Sriram and Sri spent their time clicking snaps and looking around. They had been here already. After spending about a couple of hours there; we headed out and boarded a Taxi to take us to Churchgate. We had to vacate our Retiring rooms and settle in the dorm of BCT for the next 12hours. Unfortunately we couldn’t manage a 48 hour booking; and hence this arrangement had to suffice. We boarded a Virar Fast from CCG but thankfully didn’t have to go to DDR. If you have visited Dadar during peak hours you know why I am being thankful.
Sriram and Sri had managed an AC room for the night; so we dumped our bags in their room and left for dinner. The BCT railwire WiFi was fast enough to attract the three of them into the platforms. After purchasing the platform tickets; we went towards the Dadar end of pf5 and stayed there till the Indore bound Duronto was shunted in; which was around 23:10. Even the RPF personnel was surprised when we said ‘We stay in the retiring rooms’; probably her perception of the next gen was different. Maybe she didn’t expect us to roam around the platforms of BCT when the last train was shunted in and we didn’t board, maybe she assumed something about us. Maybe......
15. ELEPHANTA VISIT, LUGGAGE AT DADAR& GETTING LOOTED.....
Akshay headed to Pune by Indrayani on some personal work and asked me to save his seat in 11013; as he would be boarding the same. He had forgotten to change the boarding point 24hours before the departure time; and hence both of us were dependant on the TTE. After he left, the rest of us checked out; went to the Janata Aahar Canteen again, had breakfast and headed to Dadar. The reason for depositing the luggage in Dadar’s Locker room was; Sriram and Sri were to board the 12163 Dadar – Chennai ‘Super’ Express from there later in the day. And after seeing them off; I was contemplating doing the local train ride to Tilaknagar; the station closest to LTT. We went to Dadar (W); and took a Taxi for a quick visit to Siddhivinayak Mandir; and later boarded a bus from there to Gateway. En-route we also had a darshan of Haji Ali Mosque; the visit to which is still pending. After purchasing tickets; the three of us headed to the jetty to board a boat to the Elephanta caves.
The boat made its way through all the bigger ships parked off-port; and after an hour or so we reached the Elephanta caves. Poor planning and sea ride during full moon day; got the better of us. The rains didn’t help either. After somewhat exploring the Elephanta caves; which included a Rs. 10 per head ride from the jetty to a certain distance onboard the Toy Train, we returned back. I was not at all surprised to see the boat owners trying to make a quick buck during the 1hr ride back.
Rs. 10 for a cup of chai; Chips sold at MRP; Extra 20 bucks for a ride in the boat’s upper deck; they left no stone unturned in making brisk business. Back at Gateway; the rains lashed out furiously; Umbrellas and raincoats were out; and people lunged on to the share taxis headed to various destinations. We boarded a CST bound Taxi and reached the station in about 15minutes. Avoiding the long Queues; I headed straight to a gentleman sitting near an ATVM machine.
‘Kahan jaana hai beta?’ [Where do you want to go Son?]
‘Uncle, 3 ticket Dadar ka de dijiye.’ [Uncle, please give me 3 tickets to Dadar]
Within minutes we were in the platforms. Here is where common sense was flushed and thrown away. In urgency to board the next Dadar bound local, we boarded a Karjat Fast and didn’t even realize it until we pulled out of CST.
WE HAD BOARDED A KARJAT FAST DURING PEAK HOURS AND WERE SUPPOSED TO GET DOWN AT DADAR.
Realization dawned on us quite late; due to the heavy rains; tracks were submerged near the ramp before Masjid; and locals followed a caution of 15kmph. Railway staff was busy in pumping out the water. It was at that time I paid some partial attention to the lady whose voice echoed amidst the chaos in the coach.
“.................................... karjat .................................... 15 dabba..........................; pudil station byculla”
I silenced the other two who were chitchatting away right next to me; and asked them to pay attention. By then; the Hindi Announcement also came to an end; and the aunty started speaking in angrezi.......
“This is a 15 car Fast Local bound for Karjat, Next station is Byculla”; this was enough to freeze all of us for a moment.
I yelled at them; ‘Ada paavigala; erum bodhu gavanikkave illaya da? Ellathayum vittutu Karjat vandi laya erradhu?’ [You Idiots; didn’t you notice while boarding? Of all the locals, you had to board a Karjat Fast ?]
All three of us started discussing the perils we would face while getting down; a gentleman interrupted our discussion.
‘Thambi, endha ooru neenga?’ [Brother, Where are you from?]
‘Chennai Sir’ [I responded.]
‘Dadar la dhaane eranganum? Naanum ange dhan eranga poren, naan solra maadhri seyyunga’ he said – [You want to get down at Dadar right? I am also going to get down there; do as I say]
‘Station platform ku ulla pona udane; konjam doorathula oru First Class board onnu varum, appo ready aayikonga. Konjam doorathula rendavadhu board varum, adhu thaandina udane running laye erangirunga. Vandi nikkara varaikkum porumaya irundha ungala eranga vida maatanga; ulla thalli vitturuvanga. Naan correct ah signal kudukkaren; adhe follow panni erangidunga’
[As soon as the train enters the station; in a little distance, a First Class Board will appear; get ready at that time. In some more distance; one more First Class board will come, at that time get down while the train is still in motion. If you wait for the train to stop, the crowd won’t allow you to get down. I will give you the signal at the exact place; get down immediately.]
It was just like how he described; as we approached Dadar, there was this sea of people waiting to board the train. And the gentleman got down as described; and the three of us followed suit. Thankfully, we didn’t get crushed underfoot. I swear, never am I going to board a Karjat Fast again, in my life. The gentleman was probably headed to the Western line; I gave him a wave to thank him; as he disappeared into the crowd on the FOB.
Then later; after some snacks from a stall on pf5; we settled on a bench towards the KYN end of pf6, watching all locals and Express trains go by. The Chennai bound ‘Super’ was already occupying pf7& the Tirunelveli bound Superfast Express was on pf8. It was then that I saw the crowd of all outgoing locals. It was enough to make me back down on my decision of taking an EMU ride to LTT. At around 18:45; just as the Vidarbha Express announcements got the crowd on pf5 buzzing about; I decided to take a Taxi to LTT. The lashing rains and Mumbai’s infamous traffic made me take this step. A Taxi was asked for; and I agreed for the price of Rs. 500; and reached LTT in just about 40minutes. Later, local RFs made me realize that the meter fare would have turned out much lesser; one more lesson – learned the hard way.....
16. THE PATIENT WAIT AT LTT; and a COMEDY TURNED TRAGEDY
After buying some dinner; I went to the Sleeper Class Waiting room on pf1, my cell and camera batteries required some charging. I was constantly in touch with Akshay, when another friend called up. This guy is my neighbour in Bangalore; and was travelling in my train with me upto Bangalore, albeit in a different coach. He left from his brother-in-law’s house in Bhayandar at around 19:00, which on a non-monsoon day should have been just right. But his bad luck was dancing on his head; his local was held up somewhere near Goregaon for about 45minutes, and thereon moved very slowly. He got down at Andheri at 21:30, and managed an Auto from there to LTT. Despite all the desperate attempts by the ‘bechara Auto Driver’, they couldn’t make it before 22:40, my memories of missing KSK got refreshed.
In his own words; he arrived at 22:40; paid the Auto Driver; and ran into the station. He saw the digital display board saying “11013 Coimbatore Express D 22:35 PF 4” and jumped into the train on pf1, and onto the tracks of pf2, only to find Kushinagar on pf3& his train missing from pf4. He requested me to pull the chain and hold the train for a bit; but I politely refused; not used to doing such activities.
There were a line of arrivals and departures at that time; LTT-Shalimar departed from pf2 at 22:00; followed by LTT-Rajendranagar (T) express at 22:15 from pf5. The next in line was my train which was led by a KJM WDP4 and departed on time. Saket Express arrived at around 21:00, and pulled into pf1.
Negotiating the turnouts, my train twisted and turned its way out of Mumbai; as I bade goodbye to the financial capital of India; swearing to come prepared next time. It was time to head home as of now.
17. THE JOURNEY BACK HOME; a PRAYER TO REPEAT HISTORY.
The LTT – CBE Express crawled through the waterlogged 5th and 6th line stretch upto Thane; invariably delaying the run. We took a good 65minutes to reach Thane; stopping and starting quite frequently. The Mumbai Solapur Siddeshwar Express overtook my train as we were struggling to pick up speed. With three back to back departures in a span of 35mins; water-logging doesn’t really help maintain the pace. Akshay gave me a call to verify that that my train had departed. I promised to stay awake till Kalyan to look out for TTE. But the TTE didn’t make his appearance at all; missed the train due to traffic jam maybe?
As we pulled into Pune, I woke up to realize that we were close to 1hour late. We came to a halt on pf3; I looked out for Akshay; and could see him banging the door. It was latched from the inside. I immediately went and opened it. And both of us woke the guy sleeping on Akshay’s berth; the guy’s seat was in S5; and he had fallen asleep in the same berth no. in S4. No energy left to chitchat anymore; the two of us wished each other Goodnight and went to sleep; only to wake up a couple of stations before Solapur. The delay of 1hour was maintained. I was nervous. This train has a horrible history of late arrivals at Bangalore City; with arrivals in the range of 22:15 to 01:30hrs; instead of the scheduled 21:50.
A few weeks prior to this trip, I had gone to receive Appa who was coming by 12027 Shatabdi Express from Chennai. Surprisingly that day; the 11013 CBE express arrived SBC on time at 21:50& and the Shatabdi ended up arriving 20mins late. I would have loved it if this episode were to repeat. The present scenario didn’t seem favourable though. As we pulled into Solapur; Akshay quickly bade me goodbye and ran towards the Ticket counter to buy a ticket for the further journey to his home. He boarded the Basava Express which arrived at the same time. The only respite he had was that there was a loco reversal for Basava Express at Solapur and he could come back in time to board it. We pulled out after a scheduled 10mins halt. New Delhi bound Karnataka Express crossed us at Hotgi Jn. led by twin GTL WDM3Ds.
Tilati is a totally different station now. It is not what it used to be about 18months ago. The station now has 2 loops apart from the mainline and the second platform is also ready. Doubling has eaten away a beautiful station with scissors crossing layout. I still remember seeing a board at the home signal of this station in the WADI end; ‘NO LOOP FOR KARNATAKA EXPRESS AND BTPN’. The use of that board had come to an end now.
YPR SUR Superfast was looped for us in Akalkot road& Wadi Solapur Passenger crossed us at Ganagapur road. As we barrelled ahead at MPS; the blue sky with cotton-like clouds gave a welcome relief from the constant rains over the previous few days. The run between Solapur and Wadi was spectacular. The special spotting in this stretch was the scissors crossing at Bablad with the Mumbai bound Udyan Express. We got the starter as soon as Udyan entered the loop and started reversing into the back end line. It was a nice parallel run with the reversing Udyan. Our delay had come down to 40minutes by the time we reached Gulbarga.
A Lot of unreserved Passengers boarded the train at Gulbarga and some of them went upto Krishna; the river had a fair amount of water. Most of the other passengers got down at Raichur. A Passenger train headed towards Gulbarga departed immediately after we entered Wadi Jn. On any other day, due to the delay with which we had reached Wadi, we would have been overtaken by the Pune Secunderabad Shatabdi Express. But that day, the Shatabdi itself was delayed by about 40minutes. This meant we could walk out of Wadi Jn. without any further increase in delay.
Turn right; Proceed to Bangalore City.
Bangalore Nanded Express headed by a GTL WDM3D; Chennai Mumbai mail led by a GY WDM3D; Kanniyakumari Mumbai Jayanthi Janata Express led by yet another GY WDM3D; were some of the key crossings in the otherwise damp run from Wadi to Guntakal. A nice siesta post Manthralayam rd, saw me wake up at Guntakal home. We were still lagging behind by about 30minutes; when we pulled into pf5. After an extended 20min halt, we departed towards Gooty Jn. As the KJM EMD was cooling its heels in pf5; the Dadar bound 12164 Super Express arrived pf4, led by AJJ WAP1 22007. A Pune WDG3A was ready to take charge of the same train till Pune.
It was a brisk run upto Gooty Jn., from where we took a right turn to move towards Bangalore. We were about to enter that stretch where 11013 usually gets delayed on most occasions, since it is the only train on most days which arrives Bangalore from this side in the evening. In most cases, this train is looped for all outgoing trains departing from Bangalore in the afternoon. Some smart controlling and the delay is usually maintained or reduced; if otherwise, 11013 bears the brunt. My anxiousness was getting the better of me. I was even considering going upto Hosur or Dharmapuri in case we were delayed a lot; since even an Express bus fare from Dharmapuri would be cheaper than the Auto fare I would have to pay from SBC to home; that I would be wasting more time is another story but hey, it was cheaper.
But fortunately; the delay didn’t increase. The weather became more pleasant as we moved towards Dharmavaram. Bangalore Cantt Vijayawada Passenger crossed led by a GTL ALCo. A couple of unscheduled halts later, we crawled into pf1 of Dharmavaram Jn.; where we crossed the Jaipur bound bi-weekly Superfast Express led by MLY WDM3A twins. The train pulled out of pf2 as soon as we came to a halt on pf1. Bhubaneshwar bound Prasanthi Express crossed us at Satya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam, a scheduled halt for both trains. Later on GY WDP4D led Kondaveedu Express was looped for us in some wayside station. Pretty soon, we reached Chakarlapalli and entered the loop for allowing the Yeshvantpur Kacheguda express to pass. At the very next station Malugur, we were looped again; this time for a crossing with our counterpart; the 11014 Coimbatore Mumbai LTT express, led by a KJM WDP4. It was twilight by this time, and as we crossed Hindupur, darkness had set in. Basava Express crossed us at Hindupur; followed by Bangalore City Hindupur passenger at Someshwara. Bangalore City Kacheguda Superfast led by KJM WDG3A twins crossed at Thondebhavi. Yeshvantpur Bidar Express led by a KJM WDM3A, was waiting in Makalidurga loop as we cruised past. At Oddarahalli, we were looped to make way for the New Delhi bound Karnataka Express, led by twin GTL WDM3Ds. Bad luck was when we were received into pf1 of Doddaballapur, pf2 was occupied by a freighter (blocking the view), and in a few minutes; the Nizamuddin bound Rajdhani express rushed through