Welcome to Railway Junction

After a long gap of a month, I was visiting Kerala (to be more specific, Alappuzha or Alleppey). I was ‘escorting' my mom, who was travelling to visit her ailing mom (my grandmother!). We booked tickets on 6345 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus – Trivandrum Netravati Express departing on 24 May 2005. We left our home at 1100 AM after an early lunch at 1030. We took an Auto rickshaw to Belapur CBD and boarded a suburban train to Panvel. We reached Panvel quite early (1200 Noon) giving me a lot a time for ‘some' rail fanning. Our train was expected only by 1250. Repeated announcements were made regarding the late arrival of KR4 Ratnagiri – Dadar passenger. Since the section ahead of Panvel is single lined, Netravati will have to wait for the passenger to arrive. Finally, by 1230 announcements were made regarding our trains arrival and we proceeded to Platform #3. While I was busy looking towards ROHA side, I spotted a WAG7. Quickly sprinted towards the FOB and took positions for a photograph. The loco was WAG7 #27094 from Kanpur and was hauling a ConRaj Rake. The sidings of Panvel were quickly filling up. Sometime later, I saw another loco pulling into Platform #2. Later, the loco was identified as WDG3a #14683 from Abu Road ! This was my first sighting of an Abu Road loco. The logo had fallen of from the loco but there were marking on the side of the loco as “Abu Road WCR”. A little later, the Dadar bound KR4 passenger pulled in with WDM2 #17492 from Kalyan. I returned to the platform since my mom started shouting by then.

There were no signs of our train arriving. Sometime later, at 1330, a freshly painted WDM2c #14051 from Ernakulam pulled in with our train. The loco links have been altered now and Netravati express is handled by Ernakulam locos and not Erode locos now. The loco was a ‘baldie' and the paint still looked fresh. Our coach (AS3) was the sixth from the loco. The loco got its tanks filled and we finally pulled out at 1340 after a longish 10-minute halt. The loco quickly picked speed and was smoking hardly. We halted at Somatne to let the Delhi bound 2617 Mangala Express to cross. The train came behind WDM2a #16874 from Ernakulam at 1356. We resumed our run and kept pace upto Pen where we halted for the Mumbai bound 6346 Netravati to pass by. As we left the station, I spotted WDM2 #18926 from Kalyan hauling a rake of BOXC wagons. We quickly regained pace and maintained it right upto Roha where we have a scheduled halt. Roha was reached at 1520 with a delay of 40 minutes. We had a non-stop cruise upto Karanjadi.

Karanjadi became quite known after the Matsyagandha disaster in 2004. The train jumped rails after the loco hit a boulder and some coaches fell down from a bridge. The accident took place between Veer and Karanjadi Stations. The mangled coaches of the ill-fated Matsyagandha express have been scrapped and the berths have been removed and it is stacked up at Karanjadi station. We stopped on the main line and the Diva bound KR6 Sawantwadi-Diva ‘Sindhudurg' passenger was expected on the platform line. The passenger came at 1623 with WDM2 #18693 from Erode at its helm. We left the station at 1625 after the passenger came to a halt. We again stopped at Khed to let the Mumbai bound 0104 Mandovi Express to cross. Mandovi was hauled by Krishnarajapuram WDM3a #14028. We left Khed only to halt again at Anjani. The reason was the Nizamuddin bound 2449 Goa Sampark Kranti Express. The train came with WDM2 #18698 from Erode! A dead WDM3a from Ratlam was being towed behind. We finally left Anjani after this crossing at 1734 and pulled into Chiplun at 1748 delayed by 43 minutes. Here the water tanks are filled and the train has a halt of 10 minutes. At this station we crossed the Hapa bound 6334 Express. On that day, our train had an extended halt at Chiplun and we could depart only at 1810, now with a delay of 55 minutes. The delay was due to late opening of watering taps and the train was held back even though the starter was at “double yellow”. We slowly pulled out of Chiplun while WDG3a #13066 “Shakti” from Kalyan stood witness for the delay. We crawled through many stations and finally halted at Aravli Road (at 1842) to let the Dadar bound 2052 Jan Shatabdhi express to cross. Elaborate announcements were made asking the passengers of our train to stay away from the main line. Finally at 1852, the Jan Shatabdhi made its appearance behind WDM2c #17894 from Ernakulam. We left Aravli Road at 1855 after the crossing. Ratnagiri was reached at 1945, with a delay of an Hour. I went to sleep at around 2030 after my dinner.

I got up at around 0700 AM. This is unusual. Usually, I wake up by 0500. I couldn't sleep the previous night because of a group of 6 people who weren't bothered about others and were continuously playing Cards upto around 0100. Finished all my morning chores before the toilets are crowded and decided to at my seat itself. The run was very smooth in Kerala and Canannore was reached at 0736 with a delay of 18 minutes. We had a prolonged halt of 13 minutes there. Canannore station welcomed me with WDM2 #18450 from Golden Rock. Golden Rock locos work Canannore-Mangalore & Canannore-Coimbatore Passengers. This loco link is regular and spans over 5 days though the distance covered is small. The ride continued south of Canannore at 0749, with a delay of 29 minutes. The ride was smooth and we kept going at good speed upto Calicut which was reached at 0930. Here we crossed the Mangalore bound 6001 Mail. After Calicut , we resumed our ride and pulled into Tanur for a crossing. The section between Calicut and Shoranur is still single lined and work of doubling is proceeding at a good speed and is expected to be completed soon. At Tanur we crossed the Canannore bound 6305 Intercity Express which came behind WDM2c #14076 from Ernakulam. This train is grossly overpowered and it does not warrant a WDM2c. The load is a composition of 12-14 coaches and has just one AC Chair Car. This train previously had a plain WDM2 link. The train simply “whizzed” past us kicking up dust on the platform. The single lined section had a huge number of Caution orders and the speed limit imposed at many sections was a meagre 15 kmph. The train continuously kept losing time and finally reached Shoranur at 1213 with a delay of just 8 minutes. Our lunch was served at Shoranur itself. We departed at 1230, now with a delay of 20 minutes. We kept going till we reached Trichur, at 1310 now delayed by 35 minutes.

As the train pulled out of Trichur, I decided to be at the door and enjoy some good scenery. The speed was maintained at around 60-70 kmph (Approximate) and our first crossing after Trichur was the Hyderabad Bound 7229 Sabari Express which came behind WAP4 #22555 from Erode. The next crossing was the Delhi bound 2617 Mangala Express which came behind WDM2 #18319. We crawled through Chalakudi at 1402. After Chalakudi, we regained speed and we crossed the Mumbai bound 1082 ‘Jayanthi Janata' Express somewhere near Divine Nagar. It came behind WAP4 #22259 from Erode. We kept going till we reached Alwaye (or Aluva). Here, I spotted a WDM3d for the very first time. The loco (WDM3d #11107 from Erode) was doing some shunting works and was shunting a single Caboose! After Alwaye, I was totally stuck up at the door. A group of about 25-30 Gujaratis were going to holiday at Kerala and had kept their luggage at the passage. I remained at the door upto Ernakulam. We halted outside Ernakulam Town for signal. As we halted, the Mumbai bound 6346 Netravati Express crossed us and the loco was WDM2c #14052 from Ernakulam. The loco was still in Erode Livery. Probably our loco (#14051) would have been happy on seeing here immediate sister (#14052) hauling our pairing train (6346, ours is 6345). We halted at Ernakulam Town on the main line itself and many ‘singles' got down. We proceeded into Ernakulam junction at 1458 with a delay of 38 minutes. The Bangalore bound daily special hauled by WAM4-6PE #21260 welcomed me into the station. We departed from Ernakulam junction at 1510, with a delay of 45 minutes. We next halted at Kumbalam (at 1520) for reasons best known to God (and some railway officials!). Many people from General compartments and Sleeper coaches got down since the train remained stationary for a long time. Finally by around 1606, the Ernakulam bound 336 Kayamkulam-Ernakulam Passenger came into the station. We finally left the station at 1619 after a 59-minute long halt. We kept good speed upto Shertalai (Cherthala), where we crossed the Canannore bound 6307 Intercity Express. This train was hauled by WDM2a #16885 from Ernakulam. We reached Shertalai at 1648, now delayed by 50 minutes. The train kept losing time and we finally reached Alleppey (Alappuzha) at 1705 now delayed by an Hour and 30 minutes.

A journey from the heat of Mumbai to the rains of Kerala thus came to a screeching halt. This gives me yet another incomplete Rail fanning trip. The return journey was by Air and thus makes my Rail Fanning Incomplete. Hoping to travel on the return direction from Alleppey on some day, let me conclude my trip report. I sincerely request you to write in to me and let me know your comments and suggestions. For my contact details click on the “Contact Me” link below.