This travelogue is 2808 words long

The exciting day began with a rather un-exciting cry of the alarm. It was just 0430 in the morning, and the mercury was dipping low at sub 20 levels. It was icy cold and my eyes were too heavy. Finally I rose from the bed to finish off regular morning chores and get ready for the long and exciting 513 kilometer long journey. The journey was to last around 11-and-a-half hours as per my estimates. Finally, I was ready to move and set journey from my brother's house on the Bannerghatta road to the Bangalore City railway Station. I reached the station at around 0540. I browsed through the titles on sale at Higginbotham's at the common area of the station. I had plans of purchasing a ticket through the Unreserved Ticketing System for extension of my ticket. But the long queue at the counter pulled me back.

I was back at the book stall to get a copy of the latest regional timetable, but that unfortunately was not available. I took a copy of the day's newspaper and proceeded towards the platform. Platform one had the rake of Lalbaug Express. The coaches were open but the lights weren't on. I walked towards the Foot-Over-Bridge. At the begin of the flight, I saw a granite plaque announcing many “firsts” of the area. It included the date of electrification, first train to run on electric traction and so on. I walked up the stairs and saw the rake of my train on Platform 2. I slowly ascended the stairs, and it was chilling cold. I could feel the pinch of the cold wave that blew across the station.

Leg 1: Bangalore to Coimbatore by 2677 Coimbatore Intercity Express

The train, 2677 Bangalore – Coimbatore Intercity Express, was preparing for its departure. I checked out my coach (C1, 01151AB based at Basin Bridge Jn – BBQ – in Chennai Division). I walked in and found that mine was a window seat on the three seater row. The two other co-passengers were old aged ladies. I walked out of the coach to check the loco. My coach was the 14 th from the loco. I slowly walked forward towards the loco. On Platform 3 was the rake of the Ernakulam-Bangalore Bi-Weekly Superfast Express. Platform 4 had the rake of the Chennai-Bangalore mail.

I closed towards the loco. That was a shining Erode WDM3D #11108 all set to do the honours of my train. So that was all set to be the first journey for me on a WDM3D hauled train! The rake of the bi-weekly Ernakulam express had a WDM2 from Krishnarajapuram at its head. The loco was all set to shunt the rake towards Bangalore Cantonment station (where it is stabled until evening). Lalbaug had a shining WAP4 all set to fly out of Bangalore . I walked back towards my coach, and slowly took a note of the coach composition, which was like: Loco-SLR-GS-GS-GS-GS-S7 to S2-PC-S1-C1-GS-GS-GS-SLR; making up a total of 18 coaches. That was peanuts of the 3300hp beast up front.

The empty rake of the Ernakulam bi-weekly slowly made it way out at around 0600. The Ernakulam train had 20 coaches including 2 AC-3T and 14 Sleeper coaches! The loco of the Chennai Mail had a Diesel loco at one end, and the loco gave out a very thick smoke as she pulled out the rake towards the coaching yard. I had a quick glance at the reservation chart and found that the coach was more-or-less empty with hardly 55-60% reservation and that too most passengers were reserved to Salem or Erode. I had a talk with the TTE and quickly changed by seat. I took a two seater row, and settled down for a good aisle seat.

The train inched out sharp at 0618, delayed by 3 minutes. The train picked up speed, and the train slowly pulled into Bangalore Cantonment station. We crossed some train at this station. We left Cantonment at 0637. I was deeply engrossed in reading the newspaper and did not notice the train crossing Baiyappanahalli. The TTE came around and checked the tickets. I looked out and saw the train climbing up the ramp. An unidentified train rushed through the main line as our train picked speed. It was still cold, unbearably cold, outside and I returned to the ‘warm' coach. I had a copy of India Today magazine and read through the book. The train was steadily speeding up. We crossed about two trains in quick succession. We pulled into Hosur, for our first halt in Tamil Nadu, at 0730. About 2-3 passengers got into our coach, and the train slowly pulled out at 0734; now delayed by 14 minutes.

I stood by the door intermittently. At around 0820, we crossed the Salem-Yeshwantpur passenger. The train had two locos (one probably dead; right behind the leading loco). The leading loco was WDM2 #17476 of Krishnarajapuram. We finally pulled into Dharmapuri at around 0845. Quite some crowd got down from the train. Our train finally pulled out at 0850. The section from Dharmapuri to Omalur is picturesque, and the section is full of sharp curves and gradients. The train slowly ascended into Omalur. At Omalur, an electrified line came and joined our line. The junction station had two main lines running through, and two loop line. The jurisdiction of South Western Railway ends just outside the station (at chainage 11/900 to be more exact). The station is under Southern Railway's Palghat Division.

A long BOXN rake hauled by WAG5 twins #21117 and #23927 of Vijayawada Loco Shed entered the station and we were made to wait for her to vacate the main line. The loco notched up and the train picked speed rapidly. We finally pulled into Salem station at 1010, early by 8 minutes. I walked once again towards the loco to take a good picture. An RPF constable was roaming around the loco. He walked towards the rear of the train, and I took an image of the loco. The train left the station sharp at 1020. I roamed around the door. At Magudanchavadi, we crossed the Mumbai bound 1014 Express with Erode WDM3D #11112 at its helm.

We pulled into Sankaridurg at 1059, and left at 1100. The up and down lines are separated by a huge distance between Sankaridurg and Erode. The UP line was invisible at many places. Suddenly, I noticed the Electric Loco shed appearing. This loco shed houses some of the best locos in this part of India . The loco shed is camouflaged between huge trees. I spotted about 7 WAP4 locos inside the loco shed. The loco inched towards the station. I heard the horn of a loco, and mistook it for a loco checking its horn inside the shed. I walked towards the other side of the coach to have a look at the line towards Trichy.

Guess What? I saw an Ernakulam liveried loco approaching the station! That was Tondiarpet WDM7 #11009 closing in to the station with a passenger train. The coaches had the board “Tanjavur-Thiruchhi-Erode”. Our train, and the passenger pulled into Erode side by side, and the time was 1122. The Coach Attendant got down and filled water for our coach. We had an 8 minute break here. The train pulled out at 1130. We overtook two BCNA rakes here. One had a Ludhiana WAG7, while the other one had an Itarsi WAG5. I spotted two “De-Rated” WDM2s lurking around the yard. They were WDM2 #18376-0, and WDM2 #18325-0. The “-0” suffix were probably to indicate their “de-rating”. They both were Erode babes!

My train picked speed rapidly after Erode, and the loco showed off in style after masters from her home took charge of her! The loco kept speeding up. We crossed Tiruppur right on time. We crossed the Dhanbad Express with a “Barbie Doll” WAM4 of Arakkonam at its helm. We slowed down into Irugur. Irugur is the root cause of Coimbatore station's neglect. The line from Irugur to Coimbatore North is still a single line, and that is a major bottleneck. At Irugur, I saw a long tanker rake being reversed into a HP unit there. The loco was Unmarked WDM2 #17714 in typical Erode attire. My train had an agonizing 10 minute long wait there for the proceed signal. We finally inched out at 1249. I was staying still at the door looking at the country side of the place where I was born and brought up! The track sides were still as dirty as they were in 2003 during my last visit!!!

The train slowly inched through Peelamedu. The train slowly approached Coimbatore North station. The station is still as it was in 2003! I was disappointed at seeing the pace of development of my birth town! The train pulled out, and was once again stuck up at Coimbatore Outer signal. The train stopped right in front of the school where I did my kindergarten! My mom says that I used to crawl outside my class to see trains rushing through! The school and the railway track were separated by an 80-feet wide road. My mom also worked at the same school. I recalled all fond memories of the school as the train still stood there! I was getting tensed about missing my onward connection! The train finally pulled into Platform 3 of Coimbatore Junction at 1320, delayed by 10 minutes. I saw an Arakkonam WAP4 (#22648) preparing to haul the train back. The rake of the Intercity Express is shared with Kovai Express. (That explains the Chennai base of our coach!). The rake returns to Chennai as Kovai Express.

I got down and literally ran towards the ticket counters. Meanwhile, I saw an MEMU dozing off at platform 5. As I neared the loco, I saw that the 3D babe was already un-coupled and the loco slowly moved out. One has to walk down into a subway to reach the ticket counter. The entire crowd from the coach was choking the exit, and it took a full 5 minutes for me to reach the subway from the platform! I rushed towards the ticket counter. There were 3 functional counters, and all had a very long queue. I selected the innermost one. I stood in the queue for about 10 minutes to get a ticket for my 132 kilometer journey ahead to Trichur. Continuous announcements were being made about my train. She was already on Platform 2.

Leg 2: Coimbatore to Shoranur by 611 Coimbatore-Kannur Fast Passenger

I rushed up the subway once again, and entered platform 2. There she was! The 649 Coimbatore-Kannur Fast Passenger was preparing to depart. The loco in charge was WDM2A #16861 from Golden Rock. I roamed around to the book stall, and then slowly walked towards the rear end of the train in hot pursuit for a “hot seat”. I wanted a seat on the right side of the train, preferable with an emergency exit! I did not get them anywhere! I finally took a seat on the 11 th coach of the 13 coach train. The coach, 83410AB, was based at Nagercoil in Trivandrum division while the train runs entirely in the Palghat division! The train had the boards “Coimbatore-Kannur-Mangalore”. The loco was ready for the roll ahead, and the starter turned Yellow. The train pulled out sharp at 1400.

The loco smoked up heavily as she rushes through slightly green territory towards Podanur. The old and now decommissioned Metre-Gauge alignment ran parallel to our track all the way upto Podanur. Podanur was the erstwhile headquarters of the division, and is now the terminus for Metre Gauge trains on the Pollachi-Madurai route. There was quite a lot of MG rolling stock lying around the station. Our train pulled into the station at 1410. All empty seats were filled, and there was huge luggage loading in the SLRs. We slowly moved out at 1415. The loco was a decent smoker. As we moved out of the station, I noticed two MG locos, #6309 & #6730 roaming around. The train picked speed soon. The MG tracks took a sharp right curve and disappeared! The train kept a decent pace as we sped through Madukkarai without stopping. The train next halted at Ettimadai. Ettimadai is an important halt due to the good number of educational institutions in the surrounding. Some big names have their engineering or technology colleges there.

The train pulled out of Ettimadai at 1435, and we kept rolling towards Kerala. We crossed over into Kerala and stopped at Walayar – The first station in the state of Kerala. I was a regular traveler on this route (by road!) until 1999. The railway route is more scenic than the road route. The train pulled out of Walayar at 1446. The tracks run through a very thick forest. The air was cool all around. We kept going at a real good speed until we reached Palakkad. Palakkad, or Palghat as in railway records, is a major station and a railway divisional headquarters. I spotted twin WDM2s #18420 & #17474 of Ernakulam getting attached to a BCNA rake at the yard. The train was more crowded at this station. We had a 7 minute long halt at this station. As we were preparing to move out, the PA system announced that the Hyderabad bound Sabari Express was expected soon. My train pulled out of the station with filled water tanks at 1518.

The Hyderabad bound Sabari Express crossed our train right outside the station. The loco in charge was WAP4 #22218 of Erode. The passenger showed off in style as we sped through many small halt stations. Our next halt was a Palappuram. We reached there at 1539, and left at 1540. After PLPM, we next halted at Ottappalam. Ottappalam is another major town in the route, and a sizeable population got down here. The train then picked speed, and then slowed down as we approached Bharatapuzha Halt. The station is now no more. I remember reading about its closure about 3-5 years back in a regional newspaper. In no time, we branched off towards Shoranur, and the train pulled into the station at 1605 onto Platform 2. The Coimbatore bound Fast Passenger was on Platform 1. The loco doing the honours was WDM2 #17811 of Erode. I got down here, and went in to the refreshment room to fill up my tummy!

Leg 3: Shoranur to Thrissur by 649 Shoranur - Ernakulam Passenger

After some light food, I found my way towards Platform 5, where my onward link was stabled. I slowly walked towards the loco, and luckily found a vacant window seat on the right hand side of the 2 nd coach from the loco. The loco was getting energized. She was WAP4 #22390 from Erode, and the train was 649 Shoranur – Ernakulam Passenger. The 8 coach train had a 5000hp beast! The coach that I selected was 91405, based at Shoranur. Our train pulled out sharp at 1655. The train had a real good crowd from Shoranur itself. The beast accelerated out as if she was working light. We crossed the Bharatapuzha River some minutes later and crossed over into Trivandrum division. We had our first halt at Vallathol Nagar. We left the tiny station at 1710. The loco accelerated quickly. We reached 90s in a matter of a few seconds of starting! The loco pilot brakes hard when he approaches a station to bring the train to a complete halt.

We halted at small stations ahead before reaching Punkunnam. Punkunnam is a suburb of Trichur, and the train got jam packed at this station. I had a very tough time reaching the door to get off from the train. The train was more of a commuter train, and the loco was working as if the train was an EMU. We pulled into Trichur at 1745. I got down from the coach, and was seriously surprised to see the crowd in the rear coaches. The ladies coach was already stuffed, while other coaches could accommodate may be a handful more! The beast accelerated out of the station with her “light” load at 1748. Just then, I heard the announcement regarding the arrival of Guruvayur-Trichur passenger, and I rushed to have a glimpse of the loco. The loco was WDM2 #17677 of Erode. This passenger uses the lie over rake of Guruvayur-Chennai Egmore Express. Thus the passenger had 17 coaches including a few Sleeper cars, a Pantry and two AC coaches!!! I got out of the station before the train came to a complete halt, and hired a rickshaw to the bus station. I took a bus to my home town, Kodungallur, about 32 kilometres away. The bus driver was a maniac straight from an F1 track. He drove the fully crowded Leyland bus as if he was commanding a Ferrari! That was scaring, and I was scared out of my wits! I was happy when I reached my destination alive and in a single piece!

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