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Blog Entry# 5957721
Posted: Jan 31 (22:18)
8 Responses
Last Response: Feb 04 (14:05)
8 Responses
Last Response: Feb 04 (14:05)
Jan 31 (22:18) 22698/MGR Chennai Central - SSS Hubballi SF Express (PT)
Siddharth S^~
Siddharth S^~ 23601 blog posts1 compliments
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Sundays , is always a terror , for the Chennai Bangalore section . For the travellers , it's getting a ticket between the 2 cities post the 2nd half of day. For section controllers , to handle the trains in this section . Many weeklies decide to make their presence felt in afternoon on Chennai Jolarpettai section, and it's back to back handling, along with the freight to be handled .
Jan 28th was one such long weekend . Jan month is a terror for the North trains , when the fog...
more...
Jan 28th was one such long weekend . Jan month is a terror for the North trains , when the fog...
more...
makes not only people but trains too to sleep under the blanket . They get up lazily , have a late slow move and end up delayed by hours . And when they land up in these busy schedules , one cannot make out but wonder whether it's train traffic or road traffic
The WAP4 gives a loud honk on a pleasant winter afternoon . It was way pleasant considering Chennai standards , that the sun was not burning on us when we boarded the rake on PF-7 , which has been standing there for about 3 odd hours. The incoming WAP-4 was staying blocked waiting for the rake to move . And it was time to provide the release
WAP7 pulled into PF-6 just as we were exiting , with the 10+ hours late running 12616 Grand Trunk express . WAP7 of KJM waited on PF-8 with the 12607 Lalbagh express , the evening crowd slowly trickling in . The 2S of this train is as good as a peak hour BMTC bus and CC was way ahead in waitlist when I checked it a month back . I guess it's ages since I actually took a 2S for this section . It requires a huge dare at times now I feel , though in my college days used to be excited for it .
WAP-7 awaited on PF-9 , with the Trivandrum bound 12695 . There were huge crowds waiting for this train in groups for see off. The weekly 12698 missed my attention as I joked to my Dad , " if someone sees only 4 digits of train number , a person bound to Bangalore could get into Trivandrum train departing in just 10 mins gap ".
We just crawled ,trotted , slowly crossing points to move out . No hurry we will go slowly seemed to be the WAP4 motive. TNP WDM-7 shunted the 12603 Hyderabad express rake . A EMU entered into MMCC and another exited
Checked the status of trains online . 12296 from Danapur was running late and had switched points from BBQ line to move into Vyasarpadi . We crossed past slowly from BBQ and showed no signs of hurrying . Vyasarpadi Jeeva was crossed, 12296 was nowhere near the points when we passed through . A slow glide past Perambur, huge crowd was waiting on PF-1. The 12295 bound to Danapur was the culprit for this crowd, and online showed he had crossed Bangarpet towards Kuppam. That's almost another 4 hours of waiting for them, if not lesser. He would be Vande Bharat 's prey too enroute
Perambur, Perambur loco works, Perambur carriage works, Villivakkam all went at slow speeds , and while we approached Korattur it was almost 20 minutes since we left Central. WAP4 started showing its colours and within minutes Ambattur , Annanur, Avadi were despatched like lightnings . Chennai bound 22638 West coast whizzed past us near Korattur . Another LHB rake crossed us near Annanur , and checked online to find it was the 20954 weekly from Ahmedabad. This was followed by the 12163 Super from LTT just before Tiruvallur
Our coach was completely full and almost everyone had thaken their berths, except for few , like me & dad. The LB, MB combo , we had entire berth for ourselves to sit comfortably. Mom was sound asleep in SLB, the SUB and UB allotted to a couple who chose to lie down as soon as they boarded . The bay behind was occupied by a ladies group with 3-4 kids , the kids settling down for window seats on SLB, SUB, all of them neatly positioning watching window. Thankfully they spent time playing physically and jumping rather than meddling the devices . Me & my dad of course had lots to talk, for it's a train journey during the day , and one of regular routes .
The recent rains of December had ensured that water bodies were full ,though the rivers weren't as full. The fields were ready for ploughing, some being ploughed , while some were still green. All the fields has the contrasting white dotted all over, with the Egrets occupying every place on the fields. Drongos filed across, and Open bill storks showed their presence occasionally, their sizes overshadowing the egrets. Stilts walked across the shallow waters of the lakes, while cormorants peeped out of their swim , while a few dried their feathers on tree barks or land . Kingfishers gave aerial views while the Swift's were as usual Swift in their action veering around in various angles across the sky . The views continued till the dusk across almost till Vaniyambadi , but the Kusasthalaiyaaru, and Pennai were relatively not so active
We had a major slowdown at Thiruvallur around 1545 hours, slowly trotting past the platform , clearing the points , but we were still on the main line , not switching to the slow line. The slow run continued till Egattur, where again we picked up speed to touch close to 3 digit figures, having a parallel run with the NMG rake hauled by WAG12B on the slow line, who could have been the reason why we had to be slow , as we crossed Kadambattur
The run continued till Tiruvalangadu, where we slowed down to switch points towards the slow line , to cross past Mosur and Puliyamangalam , to pull into a crowded platform of AJJ, awaiting the continuous trains coming one behind other for weekend. Announcement boarded it was the Hubbali weekly entering , and there were quite some takers for this train too .
A few ladies from neighbouring bay selected AJJ as place to deboard to fetch water , and WAP4 was quick enough to start as already he was delayed by 10 mins owing to the slow runs initially. The pull out bought out tense moments for the group, but luckily the ladies had boarded with chill water bottles in time . EMU from CGL entered into PF-1A as there was another EMU with CGL board stationed on the last corner PF
WAG12B hauled freight gave a parallel company till the exit and we left it to take the JTJ line. 70 kms in about 60 mins and we had noone ahead , while we were leading 4 trains trailing us in short gaps and we had no time to wait
How is this going to be tackled !! The last time I travelled by this train was when it was 17313 way back in 2015 , when departure time was 1350, and we had a long wait at JTJ. Then too Sanghamitra trailed us, as per his RT schedule. Today too he is behind, but delayed by hours . He was followed by Pataliputra , same as then.
To be continued
The WAP4 gives a loud honk on a pleasant winter afternoon . It was way pleasant considering Chennai standards , that the sun was not burning on us when we boarded the rake on PF-7 , which has been standing there for about 3 odd hours. The incoming WAP-4 was staying blocked waiting for the rake to move . And it was time to provide the release
WAP7 pulled into PF-6 just as we were exiting , with the 10+ hours late running 12616 Grand Trunk express . WAP7 of KJM waited on PF-8 with the 12607 Lalbagh express , the evening crowd slowly trickling in . The 2S of this train is as good as a peak hour BMTC bus and CC was way ahead in waitlist when I checked it a month back . I guess it's ages since I actually took a 2S for this section . It requires a huge dare at times now I feel , though in my college days used to be excited for it .
WAP-7 awaited on PF-9 , with the Trivandrum bound 12695 . There were huge crowds waiting for this train in groups for see off. The weekly 12698 missed my attention as I joked to my Dad , " if someone sees only 4 digits of train number , a person bound to Bangalore could get into Trivandrum train departing in just 10 mins gap ".
We just crawled ,trotted , slowly crossing points to move out . No hurry we will go slowly seemed to be the WAP4 motive. TNP WDM-7 shunted the 12603 Hyderabad express rake . A EMU entered into MMCC and another exited
Checked the status of trains online . 12296 from Danapur was running late and had switched points from BBQ line to move into Vyasarpadi . We crossed past slowly from BBQ and showed no signs of hurrying . Vyasarpadi Jeeva was crossed, 12296 was nowhere near the points when we passed through . A slow glide past Perambur, huge crowd was waiting on PF-1. The 12295 bound to Danapur was the culprit for this crowd, and online showed he had crossed Bangarpet towards Kuppam. That's almost another 4 hours of waiting for them, if not lesser. He would be Vande Bharat 's prey too enroute
Perambur, Perambur loco works, Perambur carriage works, Villivakkam all went at slow speeds , and while we approached Korattur it was almost 20 minutes since we left Central. WAP4 started showing its colours and within minutes Ambattur , Annanur, Avadi were despatched like lightnings . Chennai bound 22638 West coast whizzed past us near Korattur . Another LHB rake crossed us near Annanur , and checked online to find it was the 20954 weekly from Ahmedabad. This was followed by the 12163 Super from LTT just before Tiruvallur
Our coach was completely full and almost everyone had thaken their berths, except for few , like me & dad. The LB, MB combo , we had entire berth for ourselves to sit comfortably. Mom was sound asleep in SLB, the SUB and UB allotted to a couple who chose to lie down as soon as they boarded . The bay behind was occupied by a ladies group with 3-4 kids , the kids settling down for window seats on SLB, SUB, all of them neatly positioning watching window. Thankfully they spent time playing physically and jumping rather than meddling the devices . Me & my dad of course had lots to talk, for it's a train journey during the day , and one of regular routes .
The recent rains of December had ensured that water bodies were full ,though the rivers weren't as full. The fields were ready for ploughing, some being ploughed , while some were still green. All the fields has the contrasting white dotted all over, with the Egrets occupying every place on the fields. Drongos filed across, and Open bill storks showed their presence occasionally, their sizes overshadowing the egrets. Stilts walked across the shallow waters of the lakes, while cormorants peeped out of their swim , while a few dried their feathers on tree barks or land . Kingfishers gave aerial views while the Swift's were as usual Swift in their action veering around in various angles across the sky . The views continued till the dusk across almost till Vaniyambadi , but the Kusasthalaiyaaru, and Pennai were relatively not so active
We had a major slowdown at Thiruvallur around 1545 hours, slowly trotting past the platform , clearing the points , but we were still on the main line , not switching to the slow line. The slow run continued till Egattur, where again we picked up speed to touch close to 3 digit figures, having a parallel run with the NMG rake hauled by WAG12B on the slow line, who could have been the reason why we had to be slow , as we crossed Kadambattur
The run continued till Tiruvalangadu, where we slowed down to switch points towards the slow line , to cross past Mosur and Puliyamangalam , to pull into a crowded platform of AJJ, awaiting the continuous trains coming one behind other for weekend. Announcement boarded it was the Hubbali weekly entering , and there were quite some takers for this train too .
A few ladies from neighbouring bay selected AJJ as place to deboard to fetch water , and WAP4 was quick enough to start as already he was delayed by 10 mins owing to the slow runs initially. The pull out bought out tense moments for the group, but luckily the ladies had boarded with chill water bottles in time . EMU from CGL entered into PF-1A as there was another EMU with CGL board stationed on the last corner PF
WAG12B hauled freight gave a parallel company till the exit and we left it to take the JTJ line. 70 kms in about 60 mins and we had noone ahead , while we were leading 4 trains trailing us in short gaps and we had no time to wait
How is this going to be tackled !! The last time I travelled by this train was when it was 17313 way back in 2015 , when departure time was 1350, and we had a long wait at JTJ. Then too Sanghamitra trailed us, as per his RT schedule. Today too he is behind, but delayed by hours . He was followed by Pataliputra , same as then.
To be continued
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Sundays are always a nightmare for the Chennai to Bangalore route. It's a struggle for travelers to get tickets between the two cities in the afternoon. Section controllers have a tough job handling the trains in this section. Many weekly trains choose to run in the afternoon on the Chennai Jolarpettai section, adding to the chaos. Jan 28th was a long weekend and the North trains were dealing with fog delays. When they finally arrived, it was hard to tell if it was train traffic or road traffic. The WAP4 honked loudly on a nice winter afternoon. It was a pleasant change for Chennai, where the sun usually burns us. We boarded the train after it had been sitting on Platform 7 for about 3 hours. The incoming WAP-4 was blocked and waiting for the train to move. Finally, it was time to go. WAP7 pulled into Platform 6 right as we were leaving, carrying the 10+ hours delayed 12616 Grand Trunk express. WAP7 of KJM waited on Platform 8 with the 12607 Lalbagh express, as the evening crowd slowly filled up. The 2S coach of this train is as crowded as a peak hour BMTC bus and the CC coach had a long waitlist. It's been ages since I took a 2S coach for this section. It feels like a daring feat now, but in my college days, I used to be excited for it. WAP-7 awaited on Platform 9 with the Trivandrum bound 12695. There were huge crowds waiting to send off someone on this train. The weekly train 12698 missed my attention as I jokingly told my Dad that if someone sees only 4 digits of the train number, they could mistakenly get on the Trivandrum train departing just 10 minutes later. We slowly crawled and trotted across the railway points. The WAP4 had no hurry to speed up. TNP WDM-7 was shunting the 12603 Hyderabad express. An EMU entered MMCC and another one exited. I checked the train statuses online. The 12296 from Danapur was running late and had switched points from BBQ line to move into Vyasarpadi. We crossed slowly from BBQ and showed no signs of hurrying. Vyasarpadi Jeeva was crossed, but 12296 was nowhere near the points when we passed. It would be another 4 hours or more of waiting for those passengers. The train would also be prey for the Vande Bharat Express enroute. We continued at a slow pace, passing through Perambur, Perambur loco works, Perambur carriage works, and Villivakkam. By the time we approached Korattur, it had been almost 20 minutes since we left Central. The WAP4 started showing its power and within minutes we had passed Ambattur, Annanur, and Avadi, like lightning. The Chennai bound 22638 West coast express zoomed past us near Korattur. Another LHB rake crossed us near Annanur, and I checked online to find it was the 20954 weekly from Ahmedabad. This was followed by the 12163 Super from LTT just before Tiruvallur. Our coach was completely full and almost everyone had settled into their berths, except for a few like me and my dad. We had the entire LB and MB berths to ourselves, so we sat comfortably. Mom was sound asleep on the SLB and the SUB and UB were taken by a couple who lay down as soon as they boarded. The bay behind us was occupied by a group of ladies with 3-4 kids. The kids settled into the window seats and we were thankful that they spent their time playing rather than using devices. Me and my dad had a lot to talk about since it was a day journey on a regular route. The recent December rains had filled up the water bodies, although the rivers were still not full. The fields were ready for plowing, some were already being plowed, while others were still green. The fields were dotted with white egrets everywhere. Drongos flew across, and occasionally we saw Open bill storks, whose size overshadowed the egrets. Stilts walked in the shallow waters of the lakes, while cormorants peeped out and some dried their feathers on tree barks. Kingfishers gave us an aerial show, and the Swifts were swift as usual, flying across the sky at different angles. The scenic views continued until dusk, almost till Vaniyambadi, but the Kusasthalaiyaaru and Pennai rivers were relatively quiet. We had a major slowdown at Thiruvallur around 3:45 pm, slowly trotting past the platform and clearing the points, but we were still on the main line, not switching to the slow line. The slow run continued until Egattur, where we picked up speed and had a parallel run with the NMG rake hauled by WAG12B on the slow line. This might be the reason why we had to go slow as we crossed Kadambattur. The run continued until Tiruvalangadu, where we slowed down to switch points towards the slow line, to cross past Mosur and Puliyamangalam, and finally pull into the crowded platform of AJJ. There were continuous trains coming one after the other, as it was a weekend. We heard the announcement that the Hubbali weekly train was about to enter, and there were quite a few people waiting to board that train too. A few ladies from the neighboring bay chose AJJ as their stop to get water. The WAP4 quickly started as it was already delayed by 10 minutes. The departure brought tense moments for the group, but luckily the ladies had boarded with chilled water bottles just in time. An EMU from CGL entered Platform 1A as there was another EMU with CGL written on it stationed in the last corner platform. A freight train hauled by WAG12B gave us company until the exit and then we switched to the JTJ line. We covered 70 kilometers in about 60 minutes and there was no one ahead of us. We were leading 4 trains that were trailing us with short gaps in between, so we had no time to wait. I wondered how this was going to be handled! The last time I traveled on this train was when it was numbered 17313 back in 2015. We had a long wait at JTJ back then. Sanghamitra was trailing us as per the schedule. Today, he is also behind, but delayed by hours. He is followed by Pataliputra, just like before. To be continued.
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2015 to 2024 is a pretty long time indeed . S6 has increased to S9, B1 to B3 and 17313 is now 22698. And WAP4 has 2 concerns with it now. It's hauling a superfast and its leading the way. There is a trail of trains running behind
A WAG9 hauled freight waited at the Melpakkam byepass as we increase our speed into Anavardhikkanpettai, the siding lines occupied by line up of car carrier silver liveried ventilated mesh rakes . 3 in 3 off the sidings .
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A WAG9 hauled freight waited at the Melpakkam byepass as we increase our speed into Anavardhikkanpettai, the siding lines occupied by line up of car carrier silver liveried ventilated mesh rakes . 3 in 3 off the sidings .
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more...
We have a quick run now, for we don't have to halt at any of the stations where the daily intercities stop. Our coach had been thoroughly watered and mopped during PFTR at Chennai, and with the major crowd settled in berths, the coach is still spic and span
Freights passed us at regular intervals . This is a sort of a break time for passenger trains in this side , before the evening intercities make their way through crossing KPD, the 1st among them would be the Vande Bharat
In the melee of the freights , we lost track of the stations we were passing through , till we approached Marudalam, where the freight was looped across the island platform and the guard made his way out of the cabin. Quickly a LHB coach crossed past us ripping apart the freight... Who was this ...quick online check .. Nagercoil Kacheguda special express via Renigunta running about 90 mins late .
We quickly make our way past Walajah road and my eyes keep watch on kilometre marking on opposite track . The km kept increasing and as we crossed VIT campus and slowed down for a halt, it was just around 2 hours run for 129 kms , as we entered KPD at 1703 hours onto a very crowded PF-1 , waiting for every train that is going to cross now .
A tea vendor catches our attention and we get the 3 cups from the PF window and hand over the cash just in time for the WAP4 to signal departure . Huge crowd on PF-3 was coupled with announcement made for incoming 12295 Sanghamitra from SMVT to DNR , running about 4 hours late . We had a few UR passengers occupying doorsteps, but wasn't abnormal or disturbing. Sleeper coach + limited stop run keeping crowd away from this weekly still, similar to what it was 8 years ago
We slowly change the points moving out as a WAP7 crawls past with the 12295 the SL and UR competing with the crowd , as typical of its everyday run . We accelerated pretty quickly to despatch the station of Latteri,the 20608 Vande Bharat to Chennai quickly whizzes past us near Kavanur the relative speed made the 16 coacher whizz past like a lighting , before we have a slow down again and come to a almost complete halt before Gudiyattam before slowly picking up again to cross past a freight awaiting on the loop .
There were hiccups in the run and we had a good slowdown again trotting past Melalthur and a not a very good speedy run, felt the speed picking up. A loud honk indicated we were to show off something to someone . A series of ICF seater coach + a solo C1 hauled by WAP4 haul was our prey for the day , the 22617 Tirupati SMVT sidelined at Valathoor as we accelerated past him at good speed
The evening show has now started on the opposite side and we were waiting for the action to begin . The online network was kept ready for the same as Dad pipped " Without seeing online , one train can't you say ". I looked back " I used to carry TAAG with me and tell with that.. that feeling was different" he replied . "With trainsnlike Nagercoil Kacheguda weekly specials crossing what else to expect. Online only option . Now see what's coming next ". Who else , Double decker right asked Dad
A WAP7 crossed past as Dad remarked - Vantaana .... I smiled ...LHB UR - SL - AC coaches in consist...Yaaru...18190 Ernakulam Tata Biweekly - Ex Dhanbad slip now slipped off .... Oh oh...get me TAAG soon da , what's all this , he asked. Ordered pa, let's see I replied ...( That it was collected by our neighbours and duly handed over the next day was the icing on the cake, that has kept dad busy entire week as of now )
A WAG9 twins hauled freight crossed us next, before a WAP7 came across with the tiny caterpillar flying past us with the double decker coaches. In the wink the entire 22626 had crossed us and vanished out of sight .
Again a freight consist and I went to the restroom to use and come back .. no train went said my Dad, as I occupied my seat just in time for the 12640 to rush past us . Dad went to the restroom now and just as he returned , there was a flurry of AC coaches blasting past us.. Yaaruda .... 90 mins late running 22354 Patna Humsafar pa, remember long time back after booking bus ticket told ticket was available in this to Perambur, that guy . You people have gone mad , and just see the demand for every damn train running . And still there is demand . And freight is just sandwiched .
Everything happens pa, sometimes freight is given priority too , I said. Yes they have schedule , but see this traffic . Back to back trains just going back , and with delays , every minute counts. One train delayed everything will go haywire and have to be adjusted. Can't imagine the situation
Barely had we finished talking as another LHB consist flew past us , the 13352 bound to Dhanbad from Allapuzha. Oh the crawler and it's slip are now clones to each other . Yes yes and crawler also has picked up speed , I replied , as well approached the 210 km mark , slowly trugging on the bridge , to mark our entry into JTJ. It was now time for the 22619 Tirunelveli Bilaspur express to make the way through
Slowly moving under the flyover , we clank past the points as a WAG9 hauled BOXN prepared to leave JTJ yard behind the 22619. We are sent through into PF-4 and I hope to grab some quick bite. The time is 1810 hours , a 3 hours 10 mins run for the 214 kms . Lesser stops being the only advantage for the speed looks like
Announcement go in succession for the entering 22698, soon to enter 22617, not very back 12698, indicating lead has been taken by 12698 and 12296 is sent back
WAP7 soon pulls into PF-5 and slowly and steadily pulls into a halt , even as announcement said that a train would be passing through PF-5 shortly , raising the question in all the spectators mind - Why did the 12008 stop at Jolarpettai !!
To be continued!!
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