12988 - बारह नौ सौ अठासी , इसके नखरे हैं नवाबी ! - Keshav Saxena

Securing an admission in some institution of repute is about as hectic as settling on Mars.It entails scurrying about like headless chickens,combing through mountains of paperwork and what not.So expectedly,I was piqued to know that I had to travel to Vellore to execute this less than desirable chore.But alleviating this was the fact that I was to journey on the 12512 Raptisagar SF.
After the headlong,pell-mell early morning rush out of the house,I arrived at TVC at around 6 a.m. Prior to descending on PF 3,I had availed of the glitzy escalator facility.My 3 Tier AC coach(B2) was of a 2003 make,but it had aged gracefully.All qualms were put to rest when I stepped on board.The interior was done up tastefully in...
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complementing panels of burgundy and beige.The flooring was a sand hued vinyl speckled with tiny dots.Both charging points were functioning.A cup of tepid IR tea later,I was all set.All in all,the interior was marvellous.I kicked back my shoes and settled in for the journey ahead.
At precisely 6:15,a barely perceptible nudge indicated that the Wappie had begun to lug its heavy load.The Raptisagar is one of the few trains with a non stop run till Kollam Jn. Once TVC was cleared,the loco pilot shed his veil of civility and whipped his electric stallion hard.In barely 55 minutes,we were pulling into the sharp curve on which Kollam Jn is situated.In the meantime,the compressor in our coach was belting out copious amounts of frigid air and this necessitated the hasty withdrawl of the blankets stowed above.A minor irritant was the lilliputian size of the pillows,an issue all over IR I believe.I drifted off soon after...
As my eyelids flickered open,the yellow board of ERS floated into view.The train had covered ground so fast that we were a good 15 mins ahead of schedule.But the train squandered it's gain by way of an excessively long halt at ERS. The next leg till SRR was slightly tedious,at an awkward pace.The rake reversal took place and we proceeded at a good clip past Walayar into TN.A lot of trains crossed us on this stretch. CBE was reached more or less on time,but again the halt was too long.In TN,the LP really stretched the loco's long legs and we flashed past ED,SA etc.I did not sample any food,but presumed that the food was good on seeing a co passenger relishing his biriyani. A quick visit to the loo revealed that it was in good condition too.Thankfully,the fragrant hand sanitizer had been replenished by the crew.
We pulled into Katpadi Jn at 10 pm,more than an hour late.But this lag was hardly noticeable.Would I travel in this train again ?
Yes sir-ee !