👈 You can watch the detailed video travelogue here
Travelled on the 22229 CSMT MAO Vande Bharat Express from Thane to Madgaon on November 8th, 2023. Some observations.
-This...
more... departs from CSMT at 05:35 while the 12051 Madgaon Jan Shatabdi departs at 05:10. 12051 was yet to arrive at Thane when 22229 rolled into PF#5 at 06:00. Announcements were on regarding its arrival on PF#7 after the departure of Gorakhpur Express. Overtake must have happened parallelly after it was sent on the 5th line at Vidyavihar(?).
-There were about 30 seats vacant after charting when I checked at 04:00. I booked with a window seat preference but was allotted an aisle seat in C7, the leading power car.
-This rake had red seats and I found them to be more comfortable than the blue seats on the Dharwad VB.
-Tea/coffee was served just after departing from Thane. A bottle of water and newspaper were already kept on the seat. Neat!
-Maintained speeds of 100-110 upto Roha. The oscillations were on the higher side and my tray table wasn't sturdy enough to stop spillage of tea from the cup.
-Breakfast was served before Roha and I had chosen the only available option for current reservation passengers, veg. However, non-veg option was available as well for those who had booked in advance. Veg fare included two vada pavs, three theplas, a guava drink, pickle and ketchup and a packet of chiwda. For non veg, I guess the vada pavs were replaced with bread omelette. I'd rate it good.
-A second round of tea/coffee was served only for those who insisted. I couldn't for the life of me understand how anyone could gulp down a cup of hot coffee after consuming a chilled glass of guava juice.
-Once we entered KR, the speed bumped up to 120kmph and stayed consistent for the most part. Caution orders were quickly dispatched and the rake effortlessly went back to cruising at 120kmph.
-Overtook 22654 and 12618 in this section.
-Khed halt. The less said the better.
-Chiplun was dusted off at 120kmph. What a treat it was!!!
-Few people got off at Ratnagiri and I occupied the vacated window seat on the 2-seater side.
-An ergonomic quirk of this rake is that the footrest is unusable for the aisle passengers.
-There's enough slack for this train and we were looped at Nivasar for crossing the Mangaluru Udhna Special and at Zarap for crossing the Mandovi!
-Thivim was where 90% of the passengers got off and we had a long 20+ minute halt for crossing the Goa Sampark Kranti and shunting of the Thivim LTT holiday special's loco.
-I took a peek inside the cab through the cab door that mostly stayed open after Ratnagiri and there were some officials on a footplate inspection. Didn't want to bother them, so went back to my seat.
-No lunch was served.
-Arrival at Madgaon was on time.
please wait...Translate to EnglishYou can watch the video travelogue here.
I travelled on the 22229 CSMT MAO Vande Bharat Express from Thane to Madgaon on November 8th, 2023. Here are some things I noticed:
- This train leaves CSMT at 05:35, while the 12051 Madgaon Jan Shatabdi leaves at 05:10. When the 22229 train arrived at Thane at 06:00, the 12051 train hadn't arrived yet. Announcements were made about the arrival of the 22229 train on Platform #7 after the Gorakhpur Express departed. The overtaking must have happened at Vidyavihar on the 5th line.
- There were around 30 empty seats after the chart was prepared at 04:00. I had booked a window seat but was given an aisle seat in C7, the leading power car.
- This train had red seats which I found to be more comfortable than the blue seats in the Dharwad VB.
- They served tea/coffee right after leaving Thane. They had already placed a bottle of water and a newspaper on the seat. Nice!
- The train maintained speeds of 100-110 until Roha. The vibrations were strong and my tray table wasn't stable enough, causing my tea to spill from the cup.
- Breakfast was served before Roha and I chose the only available option for current reservation passengers, which was the vegetarian option. Non-vegetarian option was also available for those who had booked in advance. The vegetarian meal included two vada pavs, three theplas, a guava drink, pickle and ketchup, and a packet of chiwda. I would give it a good rating.
- They served a second round of tea/coffee only for those who asked. I couldn't understand how anyone could drink hot coffee after having a cold glass of guava juice.
- Once we entered KR (Konkan Railway), the speed increased to 120kmph and remained consistent for most of the journey. There were occasional caution orders, but the train effortlessly went back to cruising at 120kmph.
- We overtook trains 22654 and 12618 in this section.
- The halt at Khed was not great.
- We passed Chiplun at 120kmph. It was amazing!
- A few people got off at Ratnagiri, so I took the window seat on the 2-seater side.
- One strange thing about this train is that the footrest is unusable for passengers sitting in the aisle.
- There was enough flexibility in the schedule, so we stopped at Nivasar to let the Mangaluru Udhna Special train cross, and at Zarap to let the Mandovi train cross.
- Most of the passengers got off at Thivim and we had a long 20+ minute halt to let the Goa Sampark Kranti train cross and for the Thivim LTT holiday special's locomotive to be switched.
- I glanced inside the cabin through the open door after Ratnagiri and saw some officials doing an inspection. I didn't want to bother them, so I went back to my seat.
- They didn't serve lunch.
- We arrived at Madgaon on time.
