My First trip to Delhi May 2009
I needed to take admission in Dehradun college and had to come to Gurgaon campus for Direct interview/Admission. We decided to go unreserved like the millions of migrants from WB,UP, Bihar etc, but the only difference I chose a train with that ensured the most comfortable ride aka 12825 RNC-NDLS Sampark Kranti SF. With my brother as co-passenger who already had a wretched ride in 12817 but that later.
So in month of May, my jouney started off from KMME at 11 pm at night. There...
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had been heavy rains that day, trains from HWH were running late, high speed winds had uprooted couple of trees so we walked to KKME barely a 1 km from my home. I requested for ticket to NDLS and booking clerk told me "Beta Kalka Mail goes to Old Delhi not NDLS". I told him I knew it but I wanted ticket to NDLS and explained I am not using Kalka Mail. He gave me a ticket Rs 195 (damn cheap)
We had to reach GMO to catch 12825. As per the plan we were to catch ASN-DHN pgr and 13009 Doon for DHN-GMO. Instead we had honors of 12339 HWH-DHN Coalfield SF which ran as passenger as local Memu was cancelled. Damn it with Kalka mail chasing it we feared it would ot us but it didnt. Instead we had to wait for 30 mins for it to arrive at DHN. When it finally moved in at DHN pf 3 its general was as usual jam packed and somehow we squeezed at Gate only praying that the 30 min. journey DHN-GMO ends quickly. It felt as eternity though but we reached at 1.30 am at GMO. The train was expected at 3.10 am but was announced late. No regular trains crossed as Doon and Mumbai mail were late. Around 4.15 12307 HWH-JU SF crossed us.
At 4.55 am our train was announced, it rushed in and without caring to check all coaches we boarded the First SLR coach. Surprisingly all its single seats were empty, (imagining what I had just seen in Kalka Mail) Good Gracious.
RNC SK dpearted at 5.05 am with morning slowly lighting up the sky. The Red engine then (WAP-4 now) honked madly as it raced ahead skipped PNME halted at HZD and KQR but Skipped Gaya. My bro told me how his train 12817 had been ransacked by Unreserved passengers at Gaya. Meanwhile I thanked my stars that my train chose to skip it. Despite late by 2 hours it slammed GMO-MGS in 5 hours flat. We covered 1 hour delay as we moved in at pf 4 at MGS while 12307 had gone ahead. (Just few months back in January I had my longest ride in 13009 HWH DDN Don express which had taken full 10 hours for DHN-MGS). My brother got down at MGS bought some water and snacks and asked me to shift to 2 coaches behind. I was like "Are u kidding me". Why shift when we have a side seat already. He said Trust me u wont regret it. As an true General guy I left my seat, keeping some paper on seat to still claim it back but bro told me none can now board this train from MGS as it is Jharkhand SK while we are in UP. When I reached 3rd coach I was most amazed to see an entire long berth section empty. So we slept on long berth (cushioned) and had a sleeping journey better than any Sleeper train ever I had amazed at this awesome train.
We departed MGS post a 30 min halt. We OT 12307 at Chunar (WOW SF ot SF). Then I had a long sleep, crossed ALD in afternoon (only remember the Yamuna crossing). It was terribly hot and train too moved quickly. We covered MGS-CNB in 5 hours to reach CNB at 3.35pm pf 1. There was a water riot on station literally with passengers fighting for every drop. Some NGO or station ppl had arranged additional containers to provide water. Our train departed after a 15 min halt and quickly flew through the fastest section storming through Phaphund, Etawah and station with suffix bad. (Firozabad and Shikohabad). I enjoyed the evening at and at 7pm had a halt at Tundla jn on leftmost pf. I wondered how so much daylight at 7pm while it gets pitch dark at my area.
Then I hard a loud engine noise and grand Wap-7 moved in with 12003 LKO Swarna Shatabdi with LHB (at that time it did not halt there though).
Post TDL started the crossing of mighty Rajdhani gang back to back while I counted 4 that crossed one after the other. The train kept on slowing down as we approached ALJN. My bro told me when you smell a terrible unbearable odour you know its ALJN. Soon the odour came and so did the station. While it stopped in outer it skipped the station at 8.45pm.
From ALJN began real crawling where train would run, halt run. Close to CYZ it was so congested that I could see train ahead rear light and engine light behind. We again skipped GZB stn with me wondering it halts at outer, why not stop at station silly train. It took full 3 hours for ALJN-NDLS. As we corssed bridges and underpass ROads of Delhi I was just Dazzled with the amount of Cars on Delhi Roads of out glorious Capital. We reached NDLS at 11.45 pm, unfourtunately missed the last metro by 15 minutes (the only sad part of my journey). My brother mobile phone hanged up and it took another 15 minutes to get it up. We called our local cousin who came with bike and we had a tripling ride to Uttamnagar below the Metro pillars carefully avoiding the traffic cops. We had a late dinner and slept off.
Thanks for Reading.!!! Do share your first metropolitan city ride