For RailFans, seeing RAC-1/2/3 in Mumbai-UP Trains is more exciting than Election Results - rdb

So, finally the CIC section gets it's share of 'Ache din'! It finally does get a much deserved special for Mumbai. If this is a start of good things to come then I couldn't be more delighted...
Never has a section lying in Indian Railways contributed so much to it's gross income and yet been ignored so much, therefore it makes me all the happier to see this section recieve the recognition it so richly deserves....
I can only hope that post electrification and doubling of the entire stretch from Garhwa Road to...
more...

Katni, we see a flurry of passenger trains being provided on this route....
Things that I like :-
1. Finally a summer special via an alternate route and not via the same old repetitive DDU-ALD congested route.
2. Byepasses Barkakhana and Chopan completely and instead follows their bypass routes. This would save a alteast an hour of runtime in practical, though might require Diesel traction from Itarsi.
3. TT from NKJ to CSMT is actually quite good. Generally special trains are given ridiculously slow TTs to account for their abysmally low priority. Hopefully this train does get a decent priority otherwise it's punctuality would be non existent.
Things that I dislike :-
1. Obviously ECR's Patna fascination! ECR could have easily terminated this train at DHN or GAYA, but no even after following a circular route it still has to be terminated at PNBE. I really hate/despise this PNBE centric obsession! Had this train been terminated at MFP/CPR/DBG or anywhere else in Northern Bihar would have made be happy as well. This idea that ECR means PNBE and only to serve PNBE's interests makes me go mad!
2. I wouldn't say disliked but I am certainly surprised that NKJ has been chosen as stoppage instead of KTES! NKJ is basically a freight only transit point, passenger amenities there are virtually non existent! Even with it's 2 platforms KTES is much more well connected than NKJ.