We undertook a trip in this train from Thivim to Thane in Dec 2023 and sharing the below tips based on my experience:
1. Cleanliness: Good cleanliness and a well maintained passenger coaches. There is Onboard Housekeeping Service (OBHS) on this train and the staff sweeps the coaches (AC) atleast once during the journey and additionally when asked to clean. The toilets were in satisfactory condition and you may ask the staff to clean if they are unclean.
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2. Punctuality: Book this train only if you have ample time and are not in a hurry to get to the destination. It is usually gets rescheduled by atleast an hour from MAO itself due to the pairing train arriving late. Gets thrashed by Vande Bharat, Janshatabdi and Tejas even before Ratnagiri thereby increasing the delay. The arrival timing at Thane is 10.23 pm but it usually arrives after midnight which makes it difficult to find the last mile connectivity from Thane. It is the same case with 11099 as well which gets a delayed departure from Source. It is looped in most of the cases for crossings and gets low priority in the Konkan Section.
3. Food: This was the train in which rats were found roaming in the Pantry Car and hence we absolutely avoided food onboard. I anyways avoid food on any train on IR (barring Ahuja Caterers) but this train has a bad history. If you are boarding from Madgaon or Thivim, get Parathas or other food items packed via food aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy who deliver at the stations. You get Puranpoli, Ghavane Chutney (Neer Dosa Chutney) and Fried Modak at Kankavali Station which may be packed if you wish to avoid food onboard. For anyone still eager to try food onboard, Cup noodles, Omlette, Cheese sandwich were available in snacks while Veg and Chicken Biryani were available for Lunch and Dinner
4. Ticket Availability: Barring a few instances of Peak Season, tickets are easily available in this train. A lot of seats are reserved for VIP Quota which gets released at chart preparation if they are not allotted.
5. UR Coach: As it isn't a daily train and gets less patronage, you may expect UR to be relatively empty than Konkan Kanya, Mandovi and Tutari Express
6. Railfanning: As it covers South Goa, North Goa, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts in daylight, it is a good train for railfanning. Besides, it gets looped on multiple occasions as it gets less priority in the section which can be a boon for railfans
7. Safety: No safety issues observed during my travel and trains running in the Konkan section are relatively safer.
Have a safe trip.
Vivek
