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Blog Entry# 1727323
Posted: Feb 02 2016 (11:42)
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Last Response: Mar 28 2016 (10:00)
12 Responses
Last Response: Mar 28 2016 (10:00)
Feb 02 2016 (11:42) 22731/Hyderabad - Mumbai CSMT SF Express (PT) | MHLC/Monkey Hill Cabin
MSN_Ponds~
MSN_Ponds~ 2477 blog posts
April 2015. A hot and dry summer torments the sub-continent. Dehydration and heat strokes batter the citizens. Monsoons are just around the corner and left us all longing for its early arrival. The Southwest monsoons in India usually gets in on time give or take a few days on either side and this year seems to be no exception either. The Met department predicted a scheduled onset of monsoons with normal rainfall. Now that a delayed monsoon and less than normal rainfall is a given, my monsoon rail trip planning needs to start taking shape. A normal SW monsoon leaves the landscapes and the water bodies in its best avatar around the second week of June and now that we have clear picture of the monsoons, it was decided to push it back by a couple of weeks. Every year I end up planning on a perfect rail trip in peak...
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monsoons to freshen me up for the rest of the year and just like the Met department, I have a perfect hit rate of going wrong. I was determined to make my planning count this time. Considering my fellow travelers and my work commitments we decided just to take a couple of days off and planned to start our monsoon rail trip with an air travel.
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01 August 2015 :
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A week long discussion and we zeroed in on the beautiful Bhore ghats between Khandala to Karjat on the Pune – Mumbai section. This is a section which we had enjoyed so far only from the comforts of a train and we had no idea of the terrain and its dangers from a hiking perspective. With expert guidance from seasoned veterans who know this route inside out, we decided to embark on our adventure. Our Bangalore – Pune flight 6E 408 scheduled for 5:30 in the morning, however considering that we need to visit the next town near Bangalore to board, a 2:30 am departure from my residence seemed imminent
.
I was supposed to be picked up around 3 in the morning, but due to last minute exigencies, it turned out that I had to book the cab and pick up my companion en route. I book the cab around 2:30 and call up to confirm my hiking partner that I should be picking him up in about 20 minutes. The events that followed should have given me an idea of what is in store. After about 20 missed calls, whatsapp messages, SMSes and trying everything except a pigeon note, I decided not to waste time and assumed he must be asleep at home after finishing his night shift and was zipping towards his residence. Rang the doorbell and stood face to face with his father in law both equally amused and him probably more considering who is this weirdo calling out around 3 in the morning. Before I could explain myself a sharp vibration and a shrill high pitched whine broke the silence and I was relieved to get a call at last from my travel partner. Apparently he had just left office and would be joining me soon. Wee hour traffic of Bangalore and a previous night web check in seemed to be the only saving grace. The pothole ridden roads of Bangalore also ensured that he could take the aerial route at times. After a nerve wrecking ride, he managed to reach home and we departed around 3:45 towards the airport. The adrenaline kept him awake, but I was sure the body would let itself know in due course. Before we knew what happened, we were running towards the boarding gate and incidentally the final two to board the aircraft.
.
A tour operator was taking a large group of pilgrims to Shirdi and had almost,lets say chartered the flight except for a few folks scattered around here and there. The aircraft smelt of fresh curry leaves and the overhead baggage compartment had a small cart load of them. Going green maybe. Nevertheless, we were getting pushed back and waiting for the ATC confirmation to taxi. A group of restless folks suddenly started pestering the stewardesses to open the doors and take the flight back as a few from the group are en route to the aircraft in the airport bus. Needless to say, they were informed that alternate arrangements would be made and when we landed at Pune, we came to know that they were on board another aircraft to Mumbai. There was something very striking here and made me realize life is far more simple than we think it is. A few well dressed tie & suit laden, serious, no nonsense, busy & professional looking started rolling their eyes and came up with all sort of body language reactions indicating their superiority over normal mortals like us and how this bunch of pilgrims needs are so much inferior to them. I have to admit I have been in one of those situations as well and my reactions were very similar as well, but as a normal traveler with no business needs associated with this flight, I was actually enjoying it and made me realize that there is a first time for everyone. It made me realize once again that what we are and what we project ourselves to be are way too different. Life is far more enjoyable and non complicated once these two different avatars of you converge as much as possible into one single entity. I made a mental note and decided to make a sincere and conscious effort NOT to look down upon anyone. Not that I do, but whatever little I do should be avoided as well. A human being is a human being and that’s about it.
.
Well philosophy apart, we landed at Pune on dot. Landing at Pune brought me back old film memories. I have always been fascinated by visuals of passengers de-boarding the flight, walk along the tarmac casually and enter the terminal building. As we were just about to land, the head steward made an announcement that since Pune is a defense airport, no photography is allowed once we land and until we are out of the terminal and the events post landing made me wonder on the seriousness of the announcement. We walked down the mobile stairs and walked close to a couple of hundred meters into the terminal building area marked “arrivals”. Needless to say there were a decent number of passengers who were casually walking towards their aircraft to board. I am sure someone was watching all these movements carefully, but the freedom albeit monitored was delightful. Without wasting any of our time, we gathered our baggage and quickly moved out and Ubered our way to a nondescript hotel close to Pune Railway Station.
.
En route our airport to hotel drive, I called up the King of Shindawane & Bhore Ghats with whom I had multiple discussions prior to leaving for Pune in understanding the dangers and precautions to take before embarking on our adventure. He graciously put us in touch with another IRFCAn who will be banking the ghat section that day to assist, help and guide us. As the day progresses, we will realize the game of hide and seek we would play and when you prepare for the worst, something better than the best would happen. Since our IRFCAn was on duty that morning we had no time to rest and left immediately after freshening up to take the UP 17032 Hyderabad – Mumbai CST express. We got a couple of umbrellas on the way and got 2 general class tickets to Kalyan. 17032 was on time and after a quick chat with the TTE boarded a 3A coach for a short power nap for the day. When we settled with the TTE, we realized that the lady clerk at the counter fooled us with her charming looks and had issued us only one ticket instead of 2, however given our appearance and impeccable dress sense and the fact the honesty and integrity oozed out of our personalities, the TTE decided to give it a pass and wished us good luck when we shared our day’s plans with him. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to meet our lovely guide at Lonavla as he had to take his bankers down for another uphill journey. However he wished us good luck and informed us that we would be put on the Nagnath line (The leftmost of the 3 lines at Khandala towards Karjat).
.
As we departed Khandala, we packed our light bags and took to the doors on either side. We wanted to evaluate the clearance available in the tunnels and how safe it would be for us if we encounter any train while we were inside the tunnel. The dark tunnels and limited visibility did not give us any encouragement, but only increased our heart rate and uncertainty. We went past the Viaduct 6 situated between two long tunnels on the Nagnath line. We reached our first brake testing stop downhill and we got down purely driven by heart and bid our brains goodbye. As the train started moving after the mandatory brake test, I started questioning my brain. Did we do the sensible thing ? Is our heart overruling the brain ? Is this a safe thing to do ? are we risking it ? are we over confident ? have we underestimated this terrain ? Before we could find any answers, the LV board and the big X with blinking tail lights vanished into the mist and light rain. So here we are waiting to explore the beauty of this place. With lots of unanswered questions and half a mind to take the next train to Karjat and not sure of what to explain if we end up questioned by rail authorities, we took an uncertain walk along the tracks towards a small landing for a 2 minute mental break.
.
Read it with pics here : click here
.
01 August 2015 :
.
A week long discussion and we zeroed in on the beautiful Bhore ghats between Khandala to Karjat on the Pune – Mumbai section. This is a section which we had enjoyed so far only from the comforts of a train and we had no idea of the terrain and its dangers from a hiking perspective. With expert guidance from seasoned veterans who know this route inside out, we decided to embark on our adventure. Our Bangalore – Pune flight 6E 408 scheduled for 5:30 in the morning, however considering that we need to visit the next town near Bangalore to board, a 2:30 am departure from my residence seemed imminent
.
I was supposed to be picked up around 3 in the morning, but due to last minute exigencies, it turned out that I had to book the cab and pick up my companion en route. I book the cab around 2:30 and call up to confirm my hiking partner that I should be picking him up in about 20 minutes. The events that followed should have given me an idea of what is in store. After about 20 missed calls, whatsapp messages, SMSes and trying everything except a pigeon note, I decided not to waste time and assumed he must be asleep at home after finishing his night shift and was zipping towards his residence. Rang the doorbell and stood face to face with his father in law both equally amused and him probably more considering who is this weirdo calling out around 3 in the morning. Before I could explain myself a sharp vibration and a shrill high pitched whine broke the silence and I was relieved to get a call at last from my travel partner. Apparently he had just left office and would be joining me soon. Wee hour traffic of Bangalore and a previous night web check in seemed to be the only saving grace. The pothole ridden roads of Bangalore also ensured that he could take the aerial route at times. After a nerve wrecking ride, he managed to reach home and we departed around 3:45 towards the airport. The adrenaline kept him awake, but I was sure the body would let itself know in due course. Before we knew what happened, we were running towards the boarding gate and incidentally the final two to board the aircraft.
.
A tour operator was taking a large group of pilgrims to Shirdi and had almost,lets say chartered the flight except for a few folks scattered around here and there. The aircraft smelt of fresh curry leaves and the overhead baggage compartment had a small cart load of them. Going green maybe. Nevertheless, we were getting pushed back and waiting for the ATC confirmation to taxi. A group of restless folks suddenly started pestering the stewardesses to open the doors and take the flight back as a few from the group are en route to the aircraft in the airport bus. Needless to say, they were informed that alternate arrangements would be made and when we landed at Pune, we came to know that they were on board another aircraft to Mumbai. There was something very striking here and made me realize life is far more simple than we think it is. A few well dressed tie & suit laden, serious, no nonsense, busy & professional looking started rolling their eyes and came up with all sort of body language reactions indicating their superiority over normal mortals like us and how this bunch of pilgrims needs are so much inferior to them. I have to admit I have been in one of those situations as well and my reactions were very similar as well, but as a normal traveler with no business needs associated with this flight, I was actually enjoying it and made me realize that there is a first time for everyone. It made me realize once again that what we are and what we project ourselves to be are way too different. Life is far more enjoyable and non complicated once these two different avatars of you converge as much as possible into one single entity. I made a mental note and decided to make a sincere and conscious effort NOT to look down upon anyone. Not that I do, but whatever little I do should be avoided as well. A human being is a human being and that’s about it.
.
Well philosophy apart, we landed at Pune on dot. Landing at Pune brought me back old film memories. I have always been fascinated by visuals of passengers de-boarding the flight, walk along the tarmac casually and enter the terminal building. As we were just about to land, the head steward made an announcement that since Pune is a defense airport, no photography is allowed once we land and until we are out of the terminal and the events post landing made me wonder on the seriousness of the announcement. We walked down the mobile stairs and walked close to a couple of hundred meters into the terminal building area marked “arrivals”. Needless to say there were a decent number of passengers who were casually walking towards their aircraft to board. I am sure someone was watching all these movements carefully, but the freedom albeit monitored was delightful. Without wasting any of our time, we gathered our baggage and quickly moved out and Ubered our way to a nondescript hotel close to Pune Railway Station.
.
En route our airport to hotel drive, I called up the King of Shindawane & Bhore Ghats with whom I had multiple discussions prior to leaving for Pune in understanding the dangers and precautions to take before embarking on our adventure. He graciously put us in touch with another IRFCAn who will be banking the ghat section that day to assist, help and guide us. As the day progresses, we will realize the game of hide and seek we would play and when you prepare for the worst, something better than the best would happen. Since our IRFCAn was on duty that morning we had no time to rest and left immediately after freshening up to take the UP 17032 Hyderabad – Mumbai CST express. We got a couple of umbrellas on the way and got 2 general class tickets to Kalyan. 17032 was on time and after a quick chat with the TTE boarded a 3A coach for a short power nap for the day. When we settled with the TTE, we realized that the lady clerk at the counter fooled us with her charming looks and had issued us only one ticket instead of 2, however given our appearance and impeccable dress sense and the fact the honesty and integrity oozed out of our personalities, the TTE decided to give it a pass and wished us good luck when we shared our day’s plans with him. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to meet our lovely guide at Lonavla as he had to take his bankers down for another uphill journey. However he wished us good luck and informed us that we would be put on the Nagnath line (The leftmost of the 3 lines at Khandala towards Karjat).
.
As we departed Khandala, we packed our light bags and took to the doors on either side. We wanted to evaluate the clearance available in the tunnels and how safe it would be for us if we encounter any train while we were inside the tunnel. The dark tunnels and limited visibility did not give us any encouragement, but only increased our heart rate and uncertainty. We went past the Viaduct 6 situated between two long tunnels on the Nagnath line. We reached our first brake testing stop downhill and we got down purely driven by heart and bid our brains goodbye. As the train started moving after the mandatory brake test, I started questioning my brain. Did we do the sensible thing ? Is our heart overruling the brain ? Is this a safe thing to do ? are we risking it ? are we over confident ? have we underestimated this terrain ? Before we could find any answers, the LV board and the big X with blinking tail lights vanished into the mist and light rain. So here we are waiting to explore the beauty of this place. With lots of unanswered questions and half a mind to take the next train to Karjat and not sure of what to explain if we end up questioned by rail authorities, we took an uncertain walk along the tracks towards a small landing for a 2 minute mental break.
.
Read it with pics here : click here
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And the concluding part :)
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Timetables,websites,train punctuality history and every other detail was analyzed threadbare to help us find the best itinerary to take us to Honnavar & Back. Sharavati river, bridge and the King TVC RAJ was incentive enough for us to narrow down to Honnavar, but the schedule and our subsequent return to Londa did not line up the way we would have loved to. Halfheartedly we decided to take the scenic route towards Mangalore. While this self debate was in the background, I had half a mind to take...
more...
.
Timetables,websites,train punctuality history and every other detail was analyzed threadbare to help us find the best itinerary to take us to Honnavar & Back. Sharavati river, bridge and the King TVC RAJ was incentive enough for us to narrow down to Honnavar, but the schedule and our subsequent return to Londa did not line up the way we would have loved to. Halfheartedly we decided to take the scenic route towards Mangalore. While this self debate was in the background, I had half a mind to take...
more...
the north bound trains towards Ratnagiri and visit the Panval Viaduct, a Konkan Engineering marvel. With all this confusion and lack of conviction, we decided to call up the Real Konkan King, Sampath Sir and get his advice. Who better to consult than the veteran who has spent years traversing the route and know the terrain and schedules inside out and it so turned out that he was scheduled to pilot the LTT bound Netravati Express from Madgaon to Ratnagiri the next day. With this information on hand, it turned out to be a no-brainer for us and Panval, here we come.
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Ratnagiri arrived on dot and our own Konkan King, Sampath Sir helps us out of the station and after a long chat with the auto rickshaw driver, sends us off packing to the Panval Viaduct (Panval Nadi). The arrangement was to take us to Panval Viaduct, wait a bit while we explore the Viaduct and its surrounding, click at least one pic with a train on the viaduct and drop us back at the station. After a bone rattling ride for about 20 minutes, we found ourselves looking at the viaduct in awe. Sensing our lack of understanding of the terrain and geography around the region, the auto driver decided to accompany us and become our guide for the next hour or so. We follow him along the road and start climbing an uneven and steep set of stairs hidden and surrounded by dense green foliage. Slightly more than a couple of minutes later we found ourselves on the railway tracks looking straight ahead into the Nivasar end of the Panval Viaduct. Oh boy! that was a breathtaking scene. We decide to walk along pathway on the leftside of the viaduct to have a more panoramic view of the valley below and the Panvel river cheerfully rushing past.
.
Some sight to behold. Nature’s beauty at its best. Absolute silence only disturbed by heavy winds, chirping birds and the river below. I am just waiting for someone to question me again “Why do you keep traveling by train to random locations ? Don’t you have anything better to do ? Is that even a hobby ? Is it worth it ?”. Well, this is not a hobby for me. This is my passion and what better option to reach such locations except by Indian Railways, which connects us all in one way or the other ?. We overtook a RORO (Roll On Roll Off) en route to Ratnagiri and was expecting it to storm past us on the viaduct anytime now. The tracks were absolutely dead straight and we could see a faint mid mounted light in the distance. Even though we had enough space along the viaduct , we moved into one of the relief points for a better view and well a few degrees safer as well. The vibrations intensify as the RORO approaches. It storms out of the tunnels and screams past us like an angry monster. Thundering vibrations and a roaring EMD left behind a mini earthquake and two breathless spectators in its wake as it rushed towards Ratnagiri with a trainload of trucks and a bunch of amused drivers
.
It is time now to witness this spectacle from the valley below. Once again our gracious auto guide led us through another set of dense foliage and hidden stairs and after nearly 10 minutes we were now right below the viaduct with the Panvel river flowing past us. Looking for a vantage point we moved away to get a better view of the viaduct. We checked the current location of Sawantvadi Road – Diva passenger and our estimation was that it should be passing the viaduct in the next 15-20 minutes or thereabouts. I was now caught in a dilemma. Should I take a still picture or a video of the train passing over the viaduct. I could do both simultaneously as well with my camera, but the still picture quality gets compromised. So I took out my cellphone and decided to shoot a video with my left hand and a still pic with my camera on my right. Ten minutes passed by while we freshened ourselves and now the wait starts. With the cellphone on my left and a camera on my right and anxious not to miss the moment, every second seemed like a minute. A couple of minutes pass and both my hands start shaking.
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Deciding not to miss the moment, I shove the cellphone onto my jeans back pocket and no sooner did I do that, a distant chugging sound set us up. The Diva bound passenger quickly rushes out of the tunnel and boy the massive train looked like a toy car on that viaduct. Now I was able to really understand the “scale” of the viaduct. Indeed an engineering marvel in a very difficult terrain. The return to the top where our auto was waiting was exhausting to say the least. The lack of any physical activity was evident by the time we reached the top. Our gracious guide offered us some tea on the way back which we politely refused as we were running a bit late. Seeing our enthusiasm and excitement, he decided to take us up to the Kuwarbao Viaduct as well through a road which he avoided earlier due to its pathetic condition. A bit of history lesson from him and a short while later, we were back again to Ratnagiri station, a ride which definitely tested all our bones and joints. We ended up paying him a bit more, which he politely refused, with no effect. We took his number (Which was put to good use in future) and called our own Konkan King who had been waiting for us to accompany him for lunch. A sumptuous lunch, a bit of small talk and we decided not to let him wait anymore and shorten his much needed rest as close to another 800-1000 Madgaon bound passenger’s lives depended on him later that day. We thanked Sampath Sir for his hospitality & kindness and got a couple of Alphonso extracts and tickets back to Madgaon awaiting Mandovi from Mumbai.We needed a short rest as well and the 3A coaches of Mandovi were not quite brimming with passengers. The TTE let us enter into one of the 3A coaches and make ourselves comfortable wherever we felt like.
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Mandovi has a reputation. It takes its own sweet time on the Konkan cruising through at a relaxed speed. Once we started indulging in the Pantry food served, the reason was apparent. Every single dish served was delight to the taste buds. Impeccably and freshly prepared and very light on your wallet. For the next 3 hours, our sole purpose now was to binge. Once we decided we could not take anymore, a blissful sleep for the next couple of hours and we are now almost back to Madgaon. After a refreshingly tired day, it was time again to be a part of the Goan spirit. The late evening was spent rewinding and reliving the moments in a relaxed dining environment, post which we had to pack as we needed to get out of the hotel around 6AM to spend some time at Suravli before starting our return journey back to Bangalore. As the clock ticked past 10PM, the morning exertion surfaced itself and we decided to call it a day.
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The alarm was bang on time. 2 snoozes and the tenacity it displayed left us with no choice but to get out of bed. With still another hour to checkout, I had the luxury of hitting the snooze again and 10 minutes later, I was there getting ready for the trip back home. Breakfast and our cab was waiting and after our checkout formalities, we found a safe place for our luggage at Madgaon cloak room. Equipping us with just what we needed for this session, we continued our way to Suravli, a nondescript station right after Madgaon towards Mumbai.
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It is unfair to classify Suravli (Formerly Seraulim) as a railway station. It is more like unpaved footpath on either sides flanked all across with trees and plantation. A canopy of overhanging branches of large trees almost create a tunnel like effect for the trains passing through. No trains stop here except for a few passenger trains every 2-3 hours. A perfect place to hangout with a good book in hand and see time fly by only to be disturbed every now and then with scream of EMD’s, ALCO’s and the typical clickety clack of trains as they rush through the rail joints. Konkan Kanya, Dadar Jan Shatabdi, Goa Sammpark Kranti, Trivandrum Veraval & a coal laden BCNA were witnesses to our 90 minutes of laid back and lazy trainspotting. With lunch time around, our digestive system started grumbling lest our laziness gets transferred. We bid Suravli goodbye and took a mini bus to Madgaon. Quickly finished lunch on one of the platform eatouts, retrieved our luggage and now boarded back on the same train which got us to Madgaon which is now on its way back home.Half an hour later, we pulled out awaiting to witness the grand Dudhsagar once again.
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Two bankers were waiting for us at Kulem, another beautiful station. We met another group of rail enthusiasts at Sawantvadi Road the previous day on our way back to Goa, who despite being warned and informed wanted to trek to Dudhsagar. Dudhsagar is off limits now and it was mentioned in no uncertain terms all over Kulem Railway Station and they had no option but to deboard. The bankers did a good job of pushing us up with full vigor and soon we were crossing the Dudhsagar again. Every time you see Dudhsagar, it knocks you off completely and this time was no exception either. Soon enough we reached CastleRock where the bankers were detached and we pulled out under one of the heaviest downpours we witnessed in this entire trip. We were dumped unceremoniously on PF 3 at Londa Junction. It was a clear indication on what they intended to do with this train and all the train attendants and coach attendants were out of the station in no time for some rejuvenation and refreshment. The passengers had to keep themselves amused with the activities going around at the station as it was held up there for more than an hour to accommodate various crossings, loco reversals and a few overtakes.
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Londa Junction is another pure diesel haven with no poles blocking our views and is bestowed with beautiful curves before and after the station. An empty and scary LTT bound Hubli – LTT express departed Londa after an exact 2 second halt. The puny 6 coach link express from Hubli to Nizamuddin soon arrived on PF1 with an overpowered UBL EMD beast around 6PM waiting to get linked to the Nizamuddin bound GOA – NZM Goa expresses, popularly and locally called as SUPER. Super arrived 10 minutes later on PF2 and then the circus started. Super carries 3 coaches from Vasco to Bangalore which gets detached at Londa and gets attached to the SWR Queen Rani Chennamma. Londa operations now have their task cut out and the chaos sequence as follows.
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1. The 6 coach puny rake is taken ahead from PF1
2. It is now reversed and coupled to Super on PF1.
3. The 3 rear coaches of Super is now detached and the 9 coach combination now moves ahead from PF2.
4. The 3 rear coaches of the 9 coach combination is now detached and the 6 Nizamuddin bound link coaches moves out of PF1.
5. The 6 link coaches now reverse and gets attached to Super and now Super is all set to depart for Nizamuddin.
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Indeed,it is not expected that all passengers know about this game played at Londa. Lots of chaos and confusion prevails every time the coach composition moves ahead. The station authorities sure have stories to tell their children and grandchildren about the Londa Puzzle.Super now departs leaving a stranded 3 coach combination on PF1 with dazzled passengers and we move out for some snacks and tea. All this while our sidelined Poorna express have been a silent spectator waiting for its starter. With no starter in sight, it was evident that with all the slack built into its schedule, it was awaiting another crossing and after a long 30 minute wait, Mysore bound Swarna Jayanthi express skipped Londa as slowly as possbile to a visibly irritated and relieved Poorna express. Poorna soon gets a starter and dashes off before the controller could change his mind. Half an hour later, the queen of SWR, Rani Chennamma arrives with a UBL EMD and we quickly barge into the highest class IR could offer us. After 4 days of hectic trekking and hiking , a 1A travel is the warm chocolate sauce on a cold vanilla ice cream.
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Dharwad, known for its famed Dharwad Pedas was almost witness to a fatal incident until someone pulled out a passenger just in time trying to board the moving train. We reach Hubli a good 30 minutes before time and the entire 1A coach was now filled with Railway Officials. Apparently all of them are traveling for some convention at Bangalore. Hubli being the divisional headquarters has no shortage of high officials and we were treated to all sorts of drama and theatrical expressions. Apparently some big shot was traveling in the same cabin as we were and in my personal opinion, I found it disgusting that a normal healthy male needed to have someone make his bedding, one to remove his shoes, one to endow his stinking feet now with slippers, one to help him provide the night suits, one to neatly pack and fold his formal wear, one to wait at the door awaiting fresh orders and what not. The irony of all this fake respect is the moment our “high official” is no longer in service, reality bites him and gets nothing but a indifferent from the same person standing outside waiting for his next order. Anyway, by the time the drama settled down, we were in dreamland only to be woken up 5 minutes prior to reaching our destination
We are back now in Bangalore after a hectic, tired and a very refreshing break. We are now back to the rat race where traffic and meaningless discussions will take the centerstage. We are now back to reality and already planning for our next monsoon trip. Where will it be ? Konkan ? Subrahmanya Ghats ? Kerala ? Thull Ghat ? Araku Valley ? Ooty ? Darjeeling ? No idea. As of now I will let the memories sink in and worry about it around April 2016. This was a trip to be cherished and remembered. Hope you had a great time traveling with me in this travelogue as much as I had making one. Until next monsoons ? Maybe not …
.
Ratnagiri arrived on dot and our own Konkan King, Sampath Sir helps us out of the station and after a long chat with the auto rickshaw driver, sends us off packing to the Panval Viaduct (Panval Nadi). The arrangement was to take us to Panval Viaduct, wait a bit while we explore the Viaduct and its surrounding, click at least one pic with a train on the viaduct and drop us back at the station. After a bone rattling ride for about 20 minutes, we found ourselves looking at the viaduct in awe. Sensing our lack of understanding of the terrain and geography around the region, the auto driver decided to accompany us and become our guide for the next hour or so. We follow him along the road and start climbing an uneven and steep set of stairs hidden and surrounded by dense green foliage. Slightly more than a couple of minutes later we found ourselves on the railway tracks looking straight ahead into the Nivasar end of the Panval Viaduct. Oh boy! that was a breathtaking scene. We decide to walk along pathway on the leftside of the viaduct to have a more panoramic view of the valley below and the Panvel river cheerfully rushing past.
.
Some sight to behold. Nature’s beauty at its best. Absolute silence only disturbed by heavy winds, chirping birds and the river below. I am just waiting for someone to question me again “Why do you keep traveling by train to random locations ? Don’t you have anything better to do ? Is that even a hobby ? Is it worth it ?”. Well, this is not a hobby for me. This is my passion and what better option to reach such locations except by Indian Railways, which connects us all in one way or the other ?. We overtook a RORO (Roll On Roll Off) en route to Ratnagiri and was expecting it to storm past us on the viaduct anytime now. The tracks were absolutely dead straight and we could see a faint mid mounted light in the distance. Even though we had enough space along the viaduct , we moved into one of the relief points for a better view and well a few degrees safer as well. The vibrations intensify as the RORO approaches. It storms out of the tunnels and screams past us like an angry monster. Thundering vibrations and a roaring EMD left behind a mini earthquake and two breathless spectators in its wake as it rushed towards Ratnagiri with a trainload of trucks and a bunch of amused drivers
.
It is time now to witness this spectacle from the valley below. Once again our gracious auto guide led us through another set of dense foliage and hidden stairs and after nearly 10 minutes we were now right below the viaduct with the Panvel river flowing past us. Looking for a vantage point we moved away to get a better view of the viaduct. We checked the current location of Sawantvadi Road – Diva passenger and our estimation was that it should be passing the viaduct in the next 15-20 minutes or thereabouts. I was now caught in a dilemma. Should I take a still picture or a video of the train passing over the viaduct. I could do both simultaneously as well with my camera, but the still picture quality gets compromised. So I took out my cellphone and decided to shoot a video with my left hand and a still pic with my camera on my right. Ten minutes passed by while we freshened ourselves and now the wait starts. With the cellphone on my left and a camera on my right and anxious not to miss the moment, every second seemed like a minute. A couple of minutes pass and both my hands start shaking.
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Deciding not to miss the moment, I shove the cellphone onto my jeans back pocket and no sooner did I do that, a distant chugging sound set us up. The Diva bound passenger quickly rushes out of the tunnel and boy the massive train looked like a toy car on that viaduct. Now I was able to really understand the “scale” of the viaduct. Indeed an engineering marvel in a very difficult terrain. The return to the top where our auto was waiting was exhausting to say the least. The lack of any physical activity was evident by the time we reached the top. Our gracious guide offered us some tea on the way back which we politely refused as we were running a bit late. Seeing our enthusiasm and excitement, he decided to take us up to the Kuwarbao Viaduct as well through a road which he avoided earlier due to its pathetic condition. A bit of history lesson from him and a short while later, we were back again to Ratnagiri station, a ride which definitely tested all our bones and joints. We ended up paying him a bit more, which he politely refused, with no effect. We took his number (Which was put to good use in future) and called our own Konkan King who had been waiting for us to accompany him for lunch. A sumptuous lunch, a bit of small talk and we decided not to let him wait anymore and shorten his much needed rest as close to another 800-1000 Madgaon bound passenger’s lives depended on him later that day. We thanked Sampath Sir for his hospitality & kindness and got a couple of Alphonso extracts and tickets back to Madgaon awaiting Mandovi from Mumbai.We needed a short rest as well and the 3A coaches of Mandovi were not quite brimming with passengers. The TTE let us enter into one of the 3A coaches and make ourselves comfortable wherever we felt like.
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Mandovi has a reputation. It takes its own sweet time on the Konkan cruising through at a relaxed speed. Once we started indulging in the Pantry food served, the reason was apparent. Every single dish served was delight to the taste buds. Impeccably and freshly prepared and very light on your wallet. For the next 3 hours, our sole purpose now was to binge. Once we decided we could not take anymore, a blissful sleep for the next couple of hours and we are now almost back to Madgaon. After a refreshingly tired day, it was time again to be a part of the Goan spirit. The late evening was spent rewinding and reliving the moments in a relaxed dining environment, post which we had to pack as we needed to get out of the hotel around 6AM to spend some time at Suravli before starting our return journey back to Bangalore. As the clock ticked past 10PM, the morning exertion surfaced itself and we decided to call it a day.
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The alarm was bang on time. 2 snoozes and the tenacity it displayed left us with no choice but to get out of bed. With still another hour to checkout, I had the luxury of hitting the snooze again and 10 minutes later, I was there getting ready for the trip back home. Breakfast and our cab was waiting and after our checkout formalities, we found a safe place for our luggage at Madgaon cloak room. Equipping us with just what we needed for this session, we continued our way to Suravli, a nondescript station right after Madgaon towards Mumbai.
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It is unfair to classify Suravli (Formerly Seraulim) as a railway station. It is more like unpaved footpath on either sides flanked all across with trees and plantation. A canopy of overhanging branches of large trees almost create a tunnel like effect for the trains passing through. No trains stop here except for a few passenger trains every 2-3 hours. A perfect place to hangout with a good book in hand and see time fly by only to be disturbed every now and then with scream of EMD’s, ALCO’s and the typical clickety clack of trains as they rush through the rail joints. Konkan Kanya, Dadar Jan Shatabdi, Goa Sammpark Kranti, Trivandrum Veraval & a coal laden BCNA were witnesses to our 90 minutes of laid back and lazy trainspotting. With lunch time around, our digestive system started grumbling lest our laziness gets transferred. We bid Suravli goodbye and took a mini bus to Madgaon. Quickly finished lunch on one of the platform eatouts, retrieved our luggage and now boarded back on the same train which got us to Madgaon which is now on its way back home.Half an hour later, we pulled out awaiting to witness the grand Dudhsagar once again.
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Two bankers were waiting for us at Kulem, another beautiful station. We met another group of rail enthusiasts at Sawantvadi Road the previous day on our way back to Goa, who despite being warned and informed wanted to trek to Dudhsagar. Dudhsagar is off limits now and it was mentioned in no uncertain terms all over Kulem Railway Station and they had no option but to deboard. The bankers did a good job of pushing us up with full vigor and soon we were crossing the Dudhsagar again. Every time you see Dudhsagar, it knocks you off completely and this time was no exception either. Soon enough we reached CastleRock where the bankers were detached and we pulled out under one of the heaviest downpours we witnessed in this entire trip. We were dumped unceremoniously on PF 3 at Londa Junction. It was a clear indication on what they intended to do with this train and all the train attendants and coach attendants were out of the station in no time for some rejuvenation and refreshment. The passengers had to keep themselves amused with the activities going around at the station as it was held up there for more than an hour to accommodate various crossings, loco reversals and a few overtakes.
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Londa Junction is another pure diesel haven with no poles blocking our views and is bestowed with beautiful curves before and after the station. An empty and scary LTT bound Hubli – LTT express departed Londa after an exact 2 second halt. The puny 6 coach link express from Hubli to Nizamuddin soon arrived on PF1 with an overpowered UBL EMD beast around 6PM waiting to get linked to the Nizamuddin bound GOA – NZM Goa expresses, popularly and locally called as SUPER. Super arrived 10 minutes later on PF2 and then the circus started. Super carries 3 coaches from Vasco to Bangalore which gets detached at Londa and gets attached to the SWR Queen Rani Chennamma. Londa operations now have their task cut out and the chaos sequence as follows.
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1. The 6 coach puny rake is taken ahead from PF1
2. It is now reversed and coupled to Super on PF1.
3. The 3 rear coaches of Super is now detached and the 9 coach combination now moves ahead from PF2.
4. The 3 rear coaches of the 9 coach combination is now detached and the 6 Nizamuddin bound link coaches moves out of PF1.
5. The 6 link coaches now reverse and gets attached to Super and now Super is all set to depart for Nizamuddin.
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Indeed,it is not expected that all passengers know about this game played at Londa. Lots of chaos and confusion prevails every time the coach composition moves ahead. The station authorities sure have stories to tell their children and grandchildren about the Londa Puzzle.Super now departs leaving a stranded 3 coach combination on PF1 with dazzled passengers and we move out for some snacks and tea. All this while our sidelined Poorna express have been a silent spectator waiting for its starter. With no starter in sight, it was evident that with all the slack built into its schedule, it was awaiting another crossing and after a long 30 minute wait, Mysore bound Swarna Jayanthi express skipped Londa as slowly as possbile to a visibly irritated and relieved Poorna express. Poorna soon gets a starter and dashes off before the controller could change his mind. Half an hour later, the queen of SWR, Rani Chennamma arrives with a UBL EMD and we quickly barge into the highest class IR could offer us. After 4 days of hectic trekking and hiking , a 1A travel is the warm chocolate sauce on a cold vanilla ice cream.
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Dharwad, known for its famed Dharwad Pedas was almost witness to a fatal incident until someone pulled out a passenger just in time trying to board the moving train. We reach Hubli a good 30 minutes before time and the entire 1A coach was now filled with Railway Officials. Apparently all of them are traveling for some convention at Bangalore. Hubli being the divisional headquarters has no shortage of high officials and we were treated to all sorts of drama and theatrical expressions. Apparently some big shot was traveling in the same cabin as we were and in my personal opinion, I found it disgusting that a normal healthy male needed to have someone make his bedding, one to remove his shoes, one to endow his stinking feet now with slippers, one to help him provide the night suits, one to neatly pack and fold his formal wear, one to wait at the door awaiting fresh orders and what not. The irony of all this fake respect is the moment our “high official” is no longer in service, reality bites him and gets nothing but a indifferent from the same person standing outside waiting for his next order. Anyway, by the time the drama settled down, we were in dreamland only to be woken up 5 minutes prior to reaching our destination
We are back now in Bangalore after a hectic, tired and a very refreshing break. We are now back to the rat race where traffic and meaningless discussions will take the centerstage. We are now back to reality and already planning for our next monsoon trip. Where will it be ? Konkan ? Subrahmanya Ghats ? Kerala ? Thull Ghat ? Araku Valley ? Ooty ? Darjeeling ? No idea. As of now I will let the memories sink in and worry about it around April 2016. This was a trip to be cherished and remembered. Hope you had a great time traveling with me in this travelogue as much as I had making one. Until next monsoons ? Maybe not …
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