This travelogue is 1825 words long

The unpleasant alarm shook me to alertness on a cold winter morning. The time was 0430. It was chilling around. I got up, and had a bath in hot water. I was ready to move by 0500. My brother got ready, and revved his Innova to life. The roads were more or less empty, while there were a good number of BMTC buses on the road. He drove down towards Yeshwantpur, and we reached the station by 0640, with 40 minutes to spare for my train's departure.

As the car entered the parking area of the station, I saw the rake of my train waiting on Platform 6 with a Pune WDM3A ready to rush. My brother took Platform tickets from the machine installed at the entrance, and we slowly strolled in. My coach was at the rear end of the train. My coach was AS1 (WGACCN 03130, based at Dadar), and that was the 10 th coach in the 14 coach rake. The rake composition of the train was: Loco-SLR-GS-S1 to S7-AS1-A1-GS-SLR-VPU. After keeping all my baggage, and locking them, I walked to have a look at the reservation charts.

The coach had good occupancy, while the train, in general, had poor occupancy. Many seats in Sleeper coaches were empty. I had a look at the entire train while my brother went to get a bottle of water for me. I had a look at the power, and that was WDM3A #17910R of Pune. After taking a photo, I was back near my coach. I stood there chatting with my brother and his wife (my Sister-in-law). The starter turned Yellow at 0725, and my train, 1018 Yeshwantpur-Dadar Chalukya Express, pulled out of the station at 0730 already delayed by 10 minutes! The train picked speed shortly after entering the main line.

We were “loop-lined” at Chikbanavar for a crossing. Most passengers were still settling in, while the attendant was busy distributing bed rolls. Some passengers were already asleep, and the TTE had the tough job of waking them up for checking! We crossed the Bangalore bound Rani Chennamma there. The loco was WDP4 #20031 of Krishnarajapuram. We pulled out of the station, and picked speed quickly. Works of doubling in the Bangalore-Tumkur section is in quick progress. At many places, the new track is ready. I settled in my seat busy reading a novel “Transfer of Power” by Vince Flynn. The train was speeding, and I enjoyed reading the novel as the train kept a good pace.

We pulled into Tumkur at 0638. I bought a packet of “Idli-Vada” from there. The packet had two idlies and one “Medu-Vada”. The train pulled out at 0644, now late by 14 minutes. We kept up the good show until Ammasandra. At Ammasandra, we were once again sent to the loop line. The Main-Line had the Shimoga Town-Bangalore passenger waiting for us. The loco in charge was WDM2 #16586 of Krishnarajapuram. The train once again picked speed on re-entering the main line. We entered Tiptur at 0940, now delayed by 11 minutes. The run from Tiptur to Arsikere was uneventful. I enjoyed the approach into Arsikere. We pulled into Arsikere at 1018. I was hungry once again, and picked up another packet of the same good old “Idli-Vada”. We pulled out of Arsikere at 1030, now delayed by 20 minutes.

We were “loop-lined” once again at Banavar (1045). At this station, we crossed the Bangalore bound Intercity Express from Hubli. The loco in charge of the 21-coach rake was WDP4 #20034. We started moving at 1105 after the crossing. We pulled into Kadur at 1130, delayed by 41 minutes. We left after a brief halt, and pulled into Birur at 1145, now late by 45 minutes. We overtook the Bangalore-Shimoga Passenger here. The loco in charge was WDM2 #17335 from KJM. This passenger starts from Bangalore as a combination of Shimoga and Hubli Passenger. The rake is bifurcated here, and one part continues to Hubli. We overtook the Hubli portion at Shivani, about 37 kilometres from Birur. The loco in-charge of the Hubli portion was WDM2 #17664 of KJM.

We had a spirited run until Chikjajur. The train was sent to the loop line, and the train crawled through the station. Chikjajur is another junction station where ‘trains marry'. As my train was pulling in, I saw Krishnarajapuram WDG3A #13035 moving out after bringing in a passenger from Hubli. The rake is amalgamated with the rake of “Chitradurga-Bangalore” passenger. The Chitradurga portion had WDM2 #17446 from Krishnarajapuram at its helm. My train picked speed after the “slow” run, and we were at 100 once again.

A man came around to take orders for lunch, and I gave mine. We pulled into Davangere after a spirited 116 kilometre non-stop run from Birur, at 1315, now delayed by 31 minutes. The station was heavily crowded with passengers waiting for a Bangalore bound passenger train. We pulled out at 1320, and slowly crawled towards our next halt at Harihar, just 13 kilometres away. We reached Harihar at 1330. The Bangalore bound passenger was waiting for us there. The loco in-charge was Krishnarajapuram WDG3A #13053. Lunch was loaded here. We pulled out at 1345, now late by 40 minutes.

The Vegetarian Lunch “package” had Chapattis, Rice, a dry vegetable accompaniment made of Ladies Finger and Beans, a spicy gravy and Curd. The lunch look “un-appetizing” initially, but the food was tasty. The gravy could have been a bit “less spicy” though. Overall, Harihar Vegetarian Refreshment Room (or Harihar VRR in short!) gets an 8/10 for their platter! Most people in my coach went in for sleep, while I continued reading the novel. In the mean time, the train entered and left Ranibennur. I was busy reading the novel, and I was fully engrossed in the action packed sequence of the book.

We entered Haveri at 1435, late by over 41 minutes. Announcements regarding the impending arrival of our pairing train, and the Bangalore bound Jan Shatabdhi was continuously being made over the PA system. My train pulled out at 1438. We overtook a WDG4 hauled BCNA rake there. The loco in-charge was WDG4 #12032. We were “loop-lined” at Karajgi. Some minutes later, our pairing train – Yeshwantpur bound Chalukya Express – blasted past with WDG3A #13051 from Pune in charge. We were once again “loop-lined” at Savanur. This time, it was for the Bangalore bound Jan Shatabdhi. The loco in charge was WDP4 #20020.We crossed the Hubli Arsikere passenger at Saunshi. The loco in charge was WDM2 #17685 from Krishnarajapuram.

We finally entered Hubli at 1610, delayed by 20 minutes. We were received on Platform 3, which is by-and-far a very “under-developed” platform. Not even a “tea-stall” was anywhere in sight near my coach! A few more passengers joined my coach, and the train was ready to leave. The coach was cleaned before departure. A passenger from Londa pulled in, with WDM2 #16349 from Pune doing the honours. We pulled out at 1620. Platform 2 had two rakes parked one behind the other. The first one was the rake of a Gadag-Hubli passenger (loco was WDM2 #17585 of Guntakal), and the second rake was the Hubli-Londa Goa link express (Loco was WDM3A #18757R of Pune).

The run from Hubli to Dharwad was un-eventful. We pulled into Dharwad at 1642, and pulled out at 1645. The rake of the Mysore Express was parked on platform 3, and the loco today was WDM2 #17437 of Krishnarajapuram. We crossed the Ajmer-Bangalore express shortly after Dharwad. The loco in charge was WDM3A #17994 of Krishnarajapuram. We had a silent run until Alnavar. We reached Alnavar at 1735. I spotted twin MU-ed WDG4s (#12019 & #12014) roaming around the main line at the station. We crossed the Tirupati/Hyderabad bound Haripriya Express at Tavargatti. The loco was a Pune WDM2 (#16019). Usually this train gets a Guntakal loco. So that was probably a breakdown!

We reached Londa at 1820. Hot snacks were served here. We left Londa at 1830. It was pitch dark by then, and the loco was speeding under the cover of darkness. The run was magnificent, and we pulled into Belgaum at 1945, delayed by 50 minutes. There was a huge crowd, waiting for an unknown train. Dinner was to be served by Ghatprabha VRR. We reached Ghatprabha at 2046, against the scheduled arrival time of 1954. The vegetarian meal consisted of chapattis, a Veg accompaniment, Rice, Dhal and Curd. The food was tasty, and gets 9 on 10. The packing was brilliant. We reached Kudachi at 2128, delayed by an hour and 9 minutes. I was not able to sleep, and remained awake till we reached Miraj.

We pulled into Miraj at 2208, delayed by 33 minutes. I was barely awake, when the train pulled out of the station. Minutes later, I woke up again and the train was pulling into Sangli then. The time was 2230. I slipped into deep sleep then. That sleep was too deep, that I woke up only by 0600. The train was near Badlapur then. I remember seeing Badlapur station ‘flying' past. Toilets were getting crowded. The train pulled into Kalyan at 0635. There was one WCAM3 hauled express train waiting to depart towards Igatpuri. The Pune bound Indrayani Express also pulled in at the same time. At around 0638, the Mumbai CST bound Vidharbha express pulled in with a WCAM3. We were given the starter at 0640.

I got into a toilet as the train pulled out of Kalyan. By the time I got out of the toilet, we were fast approaching Diva. I saw a WCAM3 hauled express rushing towards Kalyan. Inside the Parsik tunnel, we crossed the Nanded bound Tapovan Express. At Thane, we crossed the Gorakhpur bound “Kashi” Express. The train crawled through Thane, and picked speed soon after Thane. We crossed the Pune bound Intercity Express near Ghatkopar, and flew through Kurla. I regularly used to see this train (Chalukya Express) flying through Kurla where I used to wait for a train towards Thane (Where I attend my college). The train sped through Sion and Matunga. We slowed down, and the train crossed over to the lines that lead to the terminus. We slowly crawled into Platform 8 of Dadar Terminus, and the time was 0720 Sharp! We were ON-TIME. The rake of the Chennai-Dadar Express was on Platform 7, ready to be shunted out.

I rushed out of the station, only to be welcomed by a long queue at the ticket counter. I purchased a coupon booklet, and punched coupons for the value of my ticket. Just as I entered Platform 6, the Mumbai bound Vidharbha express (the same one, which we overtook at Kalyan) pulled in. I took a Kalyan bound fast local and got down at Kurla. Then changed over to the Harbour system, and took a local home! The magnificent, picture-perfect journey ended 29 hours after I began it at 0900!

I am eager to know how you liked this report! Please send in your comments and suggestions (brick-bats also welcome) to binaiks [at] gmail [dot] com