Darjeeling Mail - উত্তরবঙ্গের ঐতিহ্য - Joydeep Roy

I travelled recently in this train between DLI to GAYA, class 2A [pls search for Trip # 100497 for further details] and here are my reviews about it, in the primary lines of speed, Punctuality, Safety, Railfanning and Cleanliness:-
Speed:-
Between JSM to MGS the train does an average speed of approximately 85 to 90 km/h with the upper limit increasing by 10 to 15 km/h. The MGS WDM3A does a wonderful job of hauling the 23 coach beauty, so no complaints whatsoever, however the real fun starts post MGS, when...
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the wappie is at the helm of affairs, with the average speed notching well above 100 km/h, so speed is never a downside of the train.
Punctuality:-
In this department, the train I believe is a victim of some weird orders of the railway management. I am yet not been able to decipher as to why the train leaves at a delay of approx 30 min to an hour at source (JSM). Furthermore this delay continues and only aggravates down the line. Arrival at Delhi is a good 1hr 50 min delay and so on, which only worsens. At SBB, the train is made to stand at a loop line and give way to all east bound Rajdhanii's and proceed. This so called "insult" was a bit tough for me to digest!! I don't know why, but that's me!! So, yes punctuality will be a concern. In case you are planning to travel by this train, plan with a delay of atleast 6 hours in case you are heading post MGS (I did it for my part)
Safety:-
The gentry travelling in this train (atleast in class 2A, if nothing else) was decent enough, with a majority being inhabitants of either the state of Bihar or Rajasthan, this would be my personal thinking, I may be wrong though, please do let me know. However, since the rake belongs to the HWH yard the entire staff was bengali, which was a very nice to know.
Railfanning:-
This is surely one area where this train outshines or I could say eclipses some of its weak-points of punctuality. I could see the stations of BSB, KEI and above all, the massive rail bridge of the Ganges, just outside KEI, however between BSB and KEI the train while passing through the city passes over some planks of bridges without any thing to its sides, which is sometimes, pretty scary, (yes I am a bit scared of heights, so you can laugh at me!!) However overall the train is an absolute treat for rail lovers like myself, wherein I could see the actual loco change happening, the bridge over the river ganges etc.
Cleanliness:-
I would say that the train had pretty nice amount of clean AC 2A coaches, (not as clean as the Punjab mail), but they were decent.
Final Verdict:-
The final verdict for choosing this train would on a single factor:
Timing or The Journey itself.
If you want to reach your destination almost AS FAST AS POSSIBLE without a damn for anything else, then STAY AWAY from this train, as the train is usually delayed heavily.
or
If you want to reach your destination quickly however also want to enjoy the journey in itself, having a look of the en-route stations, then this train can be an option just after Poorva or Kalka.