Yo, so talking about the ride with the 12223 Duronto Express to Mangaluru. It's like been running late by 1-2 hours despite being slowed down by an hour. Food is just okay, nothing fancy. The tickets are usually waitlisted all the way to Mangaluru, but don't worry - when the current booking opens, you'll find over 200 empty seats. Just be ready for those high prices post chart preparation because of that dynamic fare. As for cleanliness, it's decent but not top-notch like it used to be. The train keeps stopping for other trains to pass, causing delays. Even with a speedy 110kmph WAP4 engine, it still manages to be 90 minutes late at Ratnagiri, Madgaon, and Mangaluru Junction. And get this, after Mangaluru Junction, it's slower than the Coimbatore Intercity, but miraculously makes it to Ernakulam right on time thanks to some extra buffer time.

Yo, this train's timetable is straight up whack when it comes to giving some chill time. They got 2 hours and 45 minutes for just 30 freaking kilometers between Sawantwadi and Thivim. I guess the person in charge was hella lazy and just randomly threw in any numbers that popped into their head. They gotta distribute that slack more evenly and come up with a better schedule, especially since this festival special runs during the busiest times of the year. Vivek