Once upon a time, three mails used to be displayed on the display board as we entered the station . The announcer voice used to boom with the words of "Mumbai" Mail as we entered. But now there was no Mail in display. Bangalore Mail was Bangalore special, Howrah Mail was long gone and Bombay mail was still missing
Tamilnadu...
more... had already departed . Dhanbad was waiting for departure. Madurai AC was waiting for passengers. Yercaud was still asleep. We waited in the waiting space the fans running in full speed. Our Mail was yet to get a platform and we waited in waiting area.
The day expresses Jan shatabdi , Shatabdi and Kovai were yet to arrive with the longies Kochuveli Korba and Gorakhpur Kochuveli waiting to meet each other . With the sleeping crowd at the station, Central is getting back it's old charm. 15 days back this wasn't there, remarks my dad .
THe board says Platform -11 and we move with our luggage. Yercaud was on PF-10 and hence the island PF of 10-11 provides a crowded look. We drag on our trolleys past wading crowd to coach S-7, a 2017 make coach, with normal windows and settle down in our seats, as the upper berth passenger finishes the dinner
The Nehru stadium stands in the darkness shadowed by the station lights. Pigeons flutter across the station past the tubelights. An empty EMU enters into PF-13 as another pulls out of PF-14.
Yercaud departs on time, opening up a vast empty space. The shatabdi on PF-3 is visible from PF-11 without obstruction as announcement goes for Jan shatabdi entering PF-1. Another short EMU rake enters PF-2, empty except for a sleeping commuter near a door .
An unknown train enters PF-4 as I strain my eyes. Kovai, I remark, before the AC coaches cross, revealing it's a sleeper. Kovai is a LHB , my brain reminds itself. Open the ears I say to myself, as the Kochuveli express from Gorakhpur pulls in , as the announcement goes
Kovai top soon pulls in at 2250 hrs, 10 mins before schedule, with good crowd. Sharp 11PM we hear the starter and move out as we get ready to put up the berths . The Kochuveli Korba express pulls in just as we exit
Ting Ting Ting Ting, the bell goes. My watch ticks 425AM and we exiting somehwere , definitely not Bangalore Cantt. Krishnarajapuram says the board as we pick speed, utilizing the mainline exit. Within minutes, we pass through a station gracefully, before the brakes were thrust and we stop at Bangalore East
We leave almost immediately and checked NTES. The Tirupati Chamrajnagar Express was about 15 mins late and we were following in the same . Few minutes later at 438, we come to a halt at Bangalore Cantt. After 3 mins we proceed , with a continuous slow run, we cross past a growling WDG-3A of KJM that has shunted in Lalbagh onto PF-1 , with a MEMU rake on PF-2, as announcement went for Talaguppa Mysore express on PF-10 getting ready for departure ,Nanded express ready to enter PF-6 and Hospet express being cancelled ( Now again restored ).
