After a pretty busy weekend, it was time to get back to Mumbai. I had to bid farewell to the city that I had visited for the first time – though with a bit of grief, we (I and my Dad) walked out of our hotel room, settled the bills and crossed the road to get into Trivandrum Central Railway station. A few hours before this, I had checked from my hotel building, and found out that it was a WDM2 assigned to work my train. We walked into the station and found that the rake was yet to be shunted in. We walked the entire length of the platform, and reached almost half the way in when we saw our rake backing into the Platform. The rake was shunted in by WDS6 #36014 of Golden Rock. My coach (B4, #03107 based at Trivandrum Coaching Depot) was the 19 th coach in the 21 coach rake formation.

The coach formation was like: Loco-SLR-GS-S1 to S10-PC-S11-A1-B1 to B4-GS-SLR. After leaving our luggage inside the coach, I walked up towards the loco to confirm if it was the same loco that I saw in the morning working my train. I walked up and confirmed that it indeed was the same loco – WDM2 #16671 of Ernakulam. I was a bit sad to see a plain WDM2 being given charge of such a long train, but the loco proved that she is pretty worth of working the train! The train pulled out of Trivandrum Central sharp at 1000. There were quite some Diesel locos roaming around the station, and the one which caught my attention was Ratlam WDM2 #16815. The exit out of Trivandrum was slow, and the train kept low speed all the way till Trivandrum Pettah (This section has a permanent speed restriction as per official sources). We crossed the Kanniyakumari Express (from Mumbai) at Pettah – WDM2 #17674 of Erode did the honors on this train. The train picked speed rapidly after Pettah.

We picked up really good speed by the time we reached Kochuveli Home signal. We crossed a twin Gooty WDG3A (led by #14685) freighter at Kochuveli. I just had another glance and saw a train on the other line – that was the Trivandrum bound Intercity Express from Ernakulam with WAP4 #22217 of Erode in charge. About 6 minutes later, we crossed another train – this time with Arakkonam WAM4 #21304 in charge. The train was unidentified – though I strongly suspect that the train was the tri-weekly Bangalore-Kochuveli Express. We then crossed the Vanchinad Express – WAP4 #22557 of Erode did the job. The train came to a screeching halt some distance after Kadakavur. The guard got down from his coach, and found out that the brake pipes between B2 and B3 had uncoupled. The pipes were then re-coupled and the brake “flag” was reset. The entire process ate up about 10 minutes of time, and we started moving only around 1038.

I had fun standing at the do watching the semi-ghat section near Varkala. We slowed down towards Varkala Station. The Chennai-Trivandrum Mail crossed us right outside Varkala station – WAP4 #22388 of Erode did the honors on this train. We reached Varkala at 1053 – now late by 20 minutes! We left Varkala at 1057. It was an eventless run upto Kollam. At Kollam station, I spotted WDM3A #16084R of Ernakulam standing light to proceed towards Trivandrum. Prof. Venugopal of RailKerala/IRFCA had come down to the station to meet me. We chatted for some time. Prof had to leave early due to his official commitments. My train left Kollam at 1133 – late by 23 minutes. The rake of the Madurai-Kollam Passenger was parked on Platform 5 – Erode WDM2 #17676 was caught napping with the rake. It was an absolutely eventless run after Kollam.

I remained indoors for most of the time for the journey. I went back to the door only as the train was approaching Kayamkulam. I was instantly rewarded for getting back to the door! A twin Erode WDM2 (led by #16564, coupled to #17599) hauled BTPN rushed past my train just outside Kayamkulam station! We pulled into the station at 1209, and left at 1212 – now delayed by 22 minutes. It was more eventless a run after Kayamkulam than the one between Kollam and Kayamkulam. The train literally rushed past green environs at MPS. We slowed down only at Haripad. My train reached there at 1227. We crossed the Ernakulam – Kayamkulam Passenger here – It was WAP4 #22665 of Erode doing the honors for this train! We left Haripad at 1231. Our next halt was Ambalapuzha where we reached by 1255. I was at the door after Ambalapuzha. I spotted WAP1 #22008 of Arakkonam standing at the Alappuzha C&W depot with the rake of the evening passenger to Ernakulam. We pulled into the station at 1312 – late by 22 minutes. The rake of the Chennai Express was on Platform 3. An unknown WAM4 was hiding behind the rake. Platform 2 was occupied by the rake of the Kannur-Alappuzha Express – WDM2 #17483 of Ernakulam did the honors on this express.

We left Alappuzha at 1316. Lunch was served soon after this station. It was all a normal food with Rice, Sambhar, and a mixed Veg dry dish, Curd, Pickle and Water. We next stopped at Chertala. We left Chertala at 1345 – now late by 30 minutes! It was another eventless run after Chertala. We were made to wait for quite some time outside Ernakulam. We were welcome to Ernakulam by WDM3A #18925 of Pune dozing off near Platform 2. We stopped on Platform 1 at 1418 – now late by 13 minutes. The rake of the weekly Guwahati-Ernakulam Express occupied the main line. We left Ernakulam at 1426. Platform 2 was occupied by the evening passenger to Shoranur – WAP4 #22727 of Erode was hooked up to the rake. Ernakulam WDM2 #16859 and WDM3A #18596 were seen loitering inside the DLS. WAP4 #22258 of Erode was seen leading a pack of locos at the Ernakulam Electric Loco trip Shed.

I stood at the door watching the track formations around Ernakulam Junction, when I noticed a caution signal on the other line! A couple of minutes later, WDM3D #11194 of Erode rushed past my train with our pairing train – the Trivandrum bound Netravati Express – in tow. We crossed the Sabari Express at Aluva hauled by an unknown WAP4. We crossed the Guruvayur-Ernakulam passenger at Angamali – WDM2 #16459 of Ernakulam did the honors on this train. We crossed the Venad Express with an unknown WAP4 near Divine Nagar. We pulled into Thrisur at 1549, late by just 4 minutes! Announcements were being made that the Dhanbad-Alappuzha express was running behind schedule. My train left Thrisur at 1556 – late by 6 minutes. We crossed the Bangalore-Ernakulam Intercity Express somewhere near Punkunnam. Ernakulam WDM3A #18536 did the honors of the intercity. We crossed the Dhanbad-Alappuzha Express outside Wadakkancheri. We made a brief halt at Shoranur home, and finally pulled into the station at 1637 – early by 3 minutes. Erode WAP4 #22548 was seen standing on Platform 2, Arakkonam WAM4 #21297 was seen on Platform 3 with the rake of the Ernakulam Passenger. Arakkonam WAP4 #22695 was seen standing dead at the sidings. Some minutes after my train reached, WDM2 #16666 of Golden Rock pulled in with a Dead Ernakulam WDM3A (#16293R) and the Mangalore-Coimbatore Fast-Passenger in tow. The Erode WAP4 that I spotted earlier (#22548) swung into action and moved in to take charge of the train.

My train was cleared from Shoranur at 1645. The train slowly crawled out of Shoranur. It is a single line from Shoranur to Pallipuram, and the only “crossing” station on the way is Karakad. We had an eventless slow run from Shoranur to Pallipuram. The train slowed down at Pattambi but did not halt. We had to enter the loop line at Pallipuram since a freighter was on the mainline. The load was a LPG tanker, and was worked by WDM2 #17583 of Ernakulam coupled to WDM2 #16678 of Ernakulam. The train had a marvelous run from Pallipuram to Kuttipuram. We pulled into Kuttipuram at 1720, early by a minute. The Ernakulam intercity (from Kannur) was on the other line – WDM2 #16878 of Golden Rock did the honors. We left Kuttipuram at 1723. It was another eventless run till Tirur – where we reached at 1739. Tirur is a major freight loading point for Netravati Express, and has an official halt of 5 minutes. This sometimes extends upto 10 minutes. This day too wasn't different, and my train halted for 6 minutes. We left Tirur at 1745. We next stopped at Parapanangadi. We left Parapanangadi at 1801 – delayed by a minute. While my train pulled out, there were announcements that the Chennai mail was running late.

We crossed the Chennai Mail a little later on the way. WDM3A #14076 of Ernakulam did the honors on the train that day. It was a breathtaking run after Parapanangadi. We crossed the Kannur-Shoranur passenger near Feroke – WDM2 #17711 of Golden Rock was in charge. My train made an unofficial halt at Kallayi (probably since were too early!). We pulled into Kozhikode station at 1837, early by as much as 23 minutes! A while later, WDM2 #17946 of Erode pulled into Platform 3 with a BCNA rake. The Mangalore-Trivandrum Express pulled into Kozhikode at around 1900 being an Erode WDM3D. My train finally pulled out of Kozhikode at 1905. The train made an unofficial halt at Tikkoti (this happened on my last trip too!). We crossed the Kannur-Kozhikode passenger outside the station as we slowly pulled towards Kannur.

We reached Vadakara at 1959, and left at 2007, now delayed by 12 minutes! Dinner was served as the train left the station. The menu was same as what was served for Lunch! The run ahead was eventless, except for a few crossings in between. We reached Thalassery at 2033, and left at 2040. We reached Kannur at 2116, late by 6 minutes. The Trivandrum bound Malabar Express was pulling out of Kannur by then – A golden Rock WDM2 did the honors. We left Kannur at 2124 – late by 9 minutes. I rushed off to sleep as soon as the train hit the main line. It was an undisturbed sleep that I had, and I got up at around 0545.

The train pulled into a station at 0600. It was dark outside, and I had a mad dash to the door to find out the station – It turned out to be Canacona! The train was late by an hour and 2 minutes by then! We left Canacona at 0602. The train had a mad dash after Canacona. The pilot enjoyed pushing the WDM2 to its limits, and the train had a good run! The poor little WDM2 did struggle with the 21 coach rake, but she never did give chance to say that she was inferior to a WDM3A! We finally pulled into Madgaon at 0637 – delayed by 47 minutes. It was pretty cold outside, and the station wore a deserted look. I managed to catch a glimpse of the Sky Bus for the first time! A “powerless” freight rake occupied the main line at the station. My train pulled out at 0654, now late by 54 minutes. While moving out of Madgaon, I spotted Golden Rock WDM2 #16861 readying to pull out with the Diva Passenger, and WDP4 #20037 dozing off at the siding.

It was an eventless run from Madgaon to Verna. We slowed down a bit at Verna. We overtook a BCNA rake hauled by WDM2 #16682 of Golden Rock at Verna. We pulled into the loop line at Karmali for a scheduled halt. We reached Karmali at 0732 – delayed by an hour and 4 minutes! The Okha-Ernakulam Express rushed past my train at Karmali with WDM3A #14127 of Ernakulam doing the honors. We left Karmali at 0741. We next stopped at Thivim. We left Thivim at 0805, delayed by 55 minutes. My train had a non-stop run from Thivim to Kudal. We pulled into Kudal at 0851, and left at 0853 – late y 59 minutes. We had another non-stop run from Kudal onwards. We were made to stop on the main line at Vaibhavwadi Road. The Madgaon bound Konkan Kanya Express pulled into the loop line with WDP4 #20044 in-charge. This train has a halt here. It was a real non-stop run after Vaibhavwadi Road.

I always enjoy the curvy route between Nivasar and Ratnagiri, and make it a point to remain at the door during this section. The curves are so sharp that the entire train is always visible! We pulled into Ratnagiri at 1108, late by an hour and 8 minutes now! The Madgaon bound Jan Shatabdi was waiting for us on the loop line here! The loco in charge was WDM3A #14080 of Ernakulam. We left Ratnagiri at 1114, late by an hour and 9 minutes. We were loop-lined at Savarda. A BCNA rake hauled by twin WDG3As (led by #14558) of Kalyan crossed us here. We then crossed the KR5 passenger to Sawantwadi road at Kamathe – WDM2 #16865 of Golden Rock did the honors on this train. We pulled into Chiplun at 1303 – late by an hour and 50 minutes! We were welcomed to Chiplun by WDP4 #20022 working the Madgaon bound Mandovi Express. We left Chiplun at 1315, now delayed by 2 hours!

Lunch was served as the train pulled out of Chiplun, and it was the same boring menu this time too! As I moved towards the door to dispose the remains of the serving, we crossed the Mangala Express – an unknown WDMx of Ernakulam was in charge. The train ran non stop after Chiplun. My train then pulled into the siding of Kolad. I was sure of the reason why we were there! We crossed our pairing train – the Trivandrum bound Netravati Express – here! WDM3D #11107 of Erode was in charge of the train. We crossed over to Central Railway from Konkan Railway at around 1526, and we pulled into Roha station at 1528.

We were taken on Platform 2. The rake of the Roha-Diva-Roha passenger was resting on the siding close to Platform 3. Kalyan WDG3A #13066 was incharge of the passenger today. We pulled out of Roha at 1531.My train was once again side-lined at Pen. This time we crossed the Mangalore bound Matsyagandha Express – WDG3A #13370 of Kalyan did the honors. I was expecting an Ernakulam WDM3A there – but the loco seemed to have conked out somewhere! We slowed down at many stations enroute including Jite and Apta. We finally slowed down after Somatne as we approached Panvel. The train slowly crawled past the Home signal. We were welcomed to Panvel by WDG3A #13366 of Kalyan working a Container train. The train finally pulled into Platform 1 and came to a halt at 1706 – delayed by an hour and 54 minutes! The train was before time at most station the previous day, and ended up with a huge delay the next day!

I had a mad rush to the ticket counter to validate my coupons, and then had to rush to take an EMU back to Belapur. The Netravati Express left towards LTT somewhere around 1710. There ended a long trip to almost the southern tip of India!

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