Delhi to Lucknow
Only 2 trains were in the competition, basically because only they had seats available, the exclusive Tejas and the dribbling Double Decker which I chose. It started from ANVT and had quite some seats empty from there [ many people boarded from Moradabad instead ]. I had a level seat at front [ neither in lower deck nor upper, so the true experience of traveling in a DD was missed ] but the people, wow. Atleast two folks decided to make their seat a sleeping one by keeping legs...
more... onto the headrest of my seat instead, protruding onto my head, when sitting. The sunroof was lowered on the window panes, so instead of lounging on the window seat, I went and stood by the door. The train literally crawled upto GZB, where at a point, there was a four way parallel/anti-parallel action.
I footplated all the way upto Moradabad. This section had some speed limits, though some sights like the train curving on the Ganga at Garmukhteshwar Bridge were good [ the British era bridge apparently was even curving, but it has been demolished now]. After Moradabad, the train became a passenger and stopped atleast ten times before hitting Bareily an hour late. It did some mps action later, though most folks around me were engrossed in the India cricket match at that time. It arrived at LKO Outer Alamnagar at 1145 hrs. Do note that the Tejas which starts 1.5 hrs later from NDLS had already reached by now. By now, another train trailing us ANVT-Danapur Express also came and stood on next platform. Both trains remained standing until the LJN-Kathgodam express could roll out. After that, we expected our train to move, but nope. The Danapur bound train that goes to LKO NR got the yellow signal. I just took my carry bag and jumped ship. That train started and stopped couple of times before ultimately rolling into LKO NR half an hour later. En route, I saw the Chandigarh bound LJN-CDG Express which was crowding the tracks and stopping the Double Decker from going there.
Oh, and this is where you shouldn't trust third party apps like Where is My Train or even NTES data always. The former showed that Double Decker had reached LJN at 0030 hrs which was impossible because it didn't overtook the Danapur Express in between and the literal single line to LJN was occupied by another train. Only at late next morning, did NTES data was fixed and it showed the arrival time of DD to be post 1 am.
The Double Decker has shitty seats, is not given priority much and has even worse timings if going from Lucknow to Delhi. Shatabdi or Tejas are better alternatives. Hopefully a Vande Bharat will run soon since Shatabdi too has been slowed down over the years. Heck, choose Gomti Chair Car over this train because those atleast would have more leg space than this cramped version [plus starting from main NDLS station instead of peripheral ANVT].
please wait...Translate to EnglishDelhi to Lucknow
So, there were only 2 trains in the competition, basically because they were the only ones with available seats. There was this fancy Tejas train and this not-so-great Double Decker train which I chose. It started from ANVT and had some empty seats from there [lots of people got on from Moradabad instead]. I got a decent seat in the front [not on the lower or upper deck, so I missed out on the true Double Decker experience], but damn, the people were something else. Two people decided to use my seat as their personal bed by putting their legs on the headrest and spilling over onto my head. And the stupid sunroof was closed, so instead of enjoying the window seat, I stood by the door. The train was so slow, especially till GZB, where there was this weird four-way action happening.
I had to stand the whole way till Moradabad. This part had some speed restrictions, but I did manage to see some cool sights like the train curving on the Ganga at Garmukhteshwar Bridge [apparently the old British era bridge used to curve too, but it's been demolished now]. After Moradabad, the train turned into a local passenger train and made at least ten stops before finally reaching Bareily an hour late. It picked up some speed later, but most of the people around me were more interested in watching the India cricket match. We arrived at LKO Outer Alamnagar at around 11:45 am. Just so you know, the Tejas train, which starts 1.5 hours later from NDLS, had already reached Lucknow by now. Another train, ANVT-Danapur Express, also arrived and stood on the next platform. Both trains just stayed there until the LJN-Kathgodam express could leave. After that, we thought our train would finally start moving, but nope. The Danapur train got the green signal instead. So, I just grabbed my bag and got off. That train started and stopped a few times before finally reaching LKO NR half an hour later. Oh, and on the way, I saw the Chandigarh bound LJN-CDG Express blocking the tracks, not allowing the Double Decker to go there.
And you know what? Don't trust third party apps like Where is My Train or NTES data all the time. The first one showed that the Double Decker reached LJN at 12:30 am, which was impossible because it didn't even overtake the Danapur Express and the single line to LJN was occupied by another train. It was only the next morning when NTES data got fixed and showed the actual arrival time of the Double Decker to be after 1 am.
So, the Double Decker train has terrible seats, doesn't get much priority, and the timings are even worse if you're going from Lucknow to Delhi. Shatabdi or Tejas are much better options. Hopefully, a Vande Bharat train will start running soon because even Shatabdi has become slower over the years. Heck, you should choose the Gomti Chair Car over this train because at least they have more leg space than this cramped version [plus it starts from the main NDLS station instead of the peripheral ANVT].
