#Travelogue
My first solo long distance train journey in India

After spending around 2.5 years in Canada, I came back to India on October 1, 2023. Even though the friendship between me and trains date back to my childhood, but I had never travelled in a long distance train alone.
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So, I decided to do a solo trip to Mangalore. It was the time between Dussehra and Diwali, in November of 2023. I decided to book my tickets in 22656 NZM - ERS SF Express, which was in waiting but I still decided to go for it as the W/L was just 3 and it was still more than a week for my journey. The journey was from Nizamuddin while I am living in Jalandhar district, so it was time to book for my second train, the first of the journey, to go to Delhi. I had a lot of options like Golden Temple Mail and Chhattisgarh Express that would take me directly to Nizamuddin without station hopping. But my father suggested me to book for an earlier train, so i booked in 12032 ASR - NDLS Shatabdi Express making it my first journey in a premium train.

Now the journey day, 3rd of November 2023. I left my home at 4 in the evening and caught a bus towards Jalandhar. De-boarded the bus 2 km before my scheduled stop. I was to get off at Pathankot Chowk/Bypass, but I de-boarded 2 kms before when my bus stopped. Started walking and got an auto to reach Jalandhar City JN just 5 minutes later. The train arrived 10 minutes after the scheduled time i was allotted an aisle seat on the 2 seat side, but seeing the window seat empty, i sat on it thinking I will get up when my co-passenger shows up and asks me to leave his/her seat. My co passenger came at Phagwara but he didn’t say anything about me occupying his seat and started to do his work. The train’s next halts were Ludhiana, Rajpura and Ambala Cantt, didn’t make any unscheduled halts and after Ambala Cantt, the train continued its high speed run up to Sabzi Mandi. Then it crawled all the way up to New Delhi, stopping a few times in that 4-5 km journey eventually arriving 10-20 minutes delayed.

After arriving at New Delhi, I decided to take the NDLS - PLWL EMU that leaves at 00:15 hrs from NDLS as i had seen on IRI but the platform of that keeps changing as informed by one staff member at NDLS “Bhai wo kahi pe bhi aa jaati hai” and told me to follow the LED boards on the foot over bridge. I followed and saw the number 04440 over platform number 8 if I remember correctly. Its rake was getting placed on the platform as I was walking with it. Found an empty cabin and sat on a seat. The EMU departed and after 10-12 minutes, I was at Hazrat Nizamuddin station.

Now, the real wait begins.

I decided to wait on the platform instead of going to a waiting room. The station was fairly empty as the passenger movement and train movement is quite less in the middle of the night. At 4 in the morning, I was pretty sure that the rake will be placed by 4:30 but the wait wasn’t over. And did I tell you that my ticket got confirmed. Yes it did and I got Side Lower berth yay 🥳.

Anyways, the rake was placed exactly at 5 am, at the time of departure. I quickly found my seat in A1 coach and did my bedding. I laid down as the train departed at 5:35, 35 minutes delayed. I slept soon enough as I hadn’t slept the whole night. The train halted at its usual halts Mathura and Bharatpur as I was catching some zzzzzzzzz. At Bharatpur, I saw some train overtaking us, It was 22414 NZM - MAO Rajdhani Express. The delay was quite much when the train left Sawai Madhopur but it was mostly covered till Kota JN. My eyes were wide open looking through the window enjoying the views as the train was continuously running at 130 kmph. Ulysse Speedometer rocks haha. Most of the delay was covered until Vadodara and now it was time to get some food. I decided to go for e-catering at Surat. I opened the app and decided to order from Tipsy - Topsy restaurant as I had heard about it a lot. I got my food delivered at Surat and it took me 10 minutes just to open the plastic seal yes the heat seal was too much but the taste of the food made up for the frustration. After Surat, my co passenger, the passenger from the upper berth got down as his stop as approaching, we talked for a bit about our destinations and he eventually got off at Vapi, I lied down for the night and the train arrived at Vasai Road at almost its scheduled time, albeit a few minutes delayed. The coach was half empty at this point and at Panvel, some ladies came to their allotted adjacent seats. I slept soon enough and woke up when the train was traversing through the mountains, rivers and forests of Konkan region. I was mesmerised by all of it and clicked a lot of pictures and made some videos. Now the train was more than an hour delayed, reason i don’t know. The train halted at Karmali for good 10 minutes and covered a lot of its delay until Madgaon. It was a great humid experience in Goa in November, thanks to Arabian Sea. After departure from Madgaon, the train soon entered in Karnataka, the first halt of the state was, Karwar, a small but beautiful station. The train had some unscheduled halts between Karwar and Udupi but the real torture began after departure from Udupi. Even though, the train gained a respectable speed of 100 kmph but it lasted for a couple of minutes until Nandikoor, the train halted there for quite some time and the story of unscheduled halts continued until my destination, Mangaluru JN. Now, the reason of all the unscheduled halts was 01185 LTT - MAJN Special Express, kinda unbelievable as the special train was getting more priority than our SuperFast train. Anyways, the train arrived Mangaluru after a delay of more than an hour.

Took me quite some time to envision and pen down.

Thanks for reading such a long article

-Gagan

A DAY WITHOUT PHONE! #Travelogue
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As i asked the time to my cousin after the show of vettaiyan movie ended, he replied it was 2130 hours. After quickly refreshing there, we came outside from the theater and by that time, it was already 2133 hours. Suddenly i anticipated that 16160 Mangalore - Tambaram Express should be at Tiruchirapalli fort around this time. Urged and exclaimed my cousin to check the running position of the same in where is my train app and he just showed it to me. It displayed that...
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it arrived 3 minutes before time and its scheduled departure is at 2136 hours from Tiruchirapalli fort, which is kind of adjacent to the movie theater but by walk it should be around 500 mts minimum.
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Just having 3 minutes i was like, dei maapla TP to TJ ticket UTS app la ticket eduthutte odra (which literally translates to take tickets between Tiruchirapalli fort and Thanjavur and run simultaneously)! After somehow coming out of the theater and crossing that road where flyover starts (that road is blocked as of now due to some works), we both started running towards the station. I ran way ahead of him, since he had the extra responsiblity of taking the ticket as well since i did not bring my phone that day. Somehow that i reached the footsteps of the station ahead of him, got to witness the 16160 still standing on platform 1.
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He was just halfway by that time. After seeing the train i was like odra maapla (run cousin), and i reached the platform. Train manager and station staff started exchanging green signal, indicating that it may depart anytime now. Again i shouted odra maapla. This time both questioned me ennadhu (what), odra maapla ya do you have valid tickets with you? In response, i conveyed that my cousin took tickets in UTS app and meanwhile, he arrived and confirmed that he somehow got the tickets in UTS app. After they told that you are good to go, we both boarded the train and immediately after we boarded the general coach next to SLR, train departed slowly from platform - 1 of Tiruchirappalli fort. Noteworthy thing is that these all happened just within 180 seconds, i.e, 3 minutes of time and our train did depart on time.
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In the coach we boarded, seating was full but it wasn't much crowded. My cousin conveyed me that after 2 failed attempts, somehow he managed to take the tickets. he also asked, does this train directly goes to Thanjavur? In response, I told that it is only up to Tiruchirapalli Junction and we will be changing train for thanjavur there. He was like, instead we could have casually walked till main guard gate and took bus to Tiruchirapalli Jn. After crawling through town areas of Tiruchirapalli, meanwhile crossing palakkarai bridge as well, made a direct entry at platform - 2. Total journey took just 15 minutes. Meanwhile, rock fort rake was as usual at platform - 1 and 12652 MDU bound sampark kranti just departed from platform - 4 and the weekly from Ayodhya cantt to rameswaram was at platform - 7.
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After arriving, we immediately rushed to platform 1 entrance to see the next set of trains towards Thanjavur and the platforms they were supposed to arrive. As per line up the first train towards Thanjavur was 16780 RMM - TPTY EXP followed by 20692 NCJ - TBM Antyodaya SF followed by 16752 Boat mail EXP. But, 20692 was announced at platform 3 whereas 16780 was not announced at all. Asked in the enquiry counter regarding platform of 16780 for which they responded that it will come late, hence platform also will be announced late. Learning this, asked my cousin to check the running position of both to find that 16780 arrived at Punggudi whereas 20692 departed Samudram. Anticipating that 20692 should overtake 16780 at Punggudi, we had some 20 minutes to spare. So at the nearby food stall, got dinner parceled for both of us, i settled with semiya khichdi and he went for noodles. Receiving that, went to thanjavur end of platform - 1, had our dinner quickly. these all events could have taken just 10 minutes or less but by then, an arakkonam based WAP - 4 was already attached to the other end of 16160 to further proceed towards tambaram (it has to reverse at Tiruchirapalli to proceed towards Villupuram side from Karur side). This one instance is enough to show that how fast loco change is being done at Tiruchirapalli Jn. Within few moments, 16160 was given starter and it departed after immediately given starter. As 16160 departed, 16101 arrived at platform - 5 simultaneously.

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Meanwhile, checked the running status of both 20692 and 16780 to find that 20692 was just 5 kms to arrive Tiruchirapalli Jn and 16780 was still halted at Punggudi, indicated that 20692 has overtook 16780 at Punggudi. Dinner was done shortly and we strolled towards platform - 3 for boarding 20692. Saw royapuram based wap - 7 30367 moving from platform 2, which hauled 16160 till Tiruchirapalli junction and it made its way to trip shed. meabwhile, 16101 departed from platform 5 and 12633 was announced at platform - 4. Our train arrived 1 minute before time at Tiruchirapalli Jn with royapuram based wap - 7 30597 in lead. Through window itself i secured seats for us as i asked my cousin to board the train. Unlike 16160 and 12654 whose unreserved was kind of free (it was on the opposite direcion of festival rush), 20692 was kind of occupied. Thankfully that we got single seats in non - track side, took the seat.
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With a delay of a minute as per the schedule, starter was given and as we proceeded slowly. Was surprised to know that even after more than 50 minutes of its halt, 22614 shradda sethu express did not depart towards rameswaram and still halted at platform - 7. Meanwhile, 12633 MS CAPE SF simultaneously strolled into platform - 4 as we departed. At Tiruchirapalli outers, both 06729 TJ - TPJ Pass and 16615 Chemmozhi EXP was waiting at adjacent tracks respectively to enter tiruchirapalli. At Ponmalai outers, we switched tracks to down mainline towards Thanjavur and skipped ponmalai with the same pace and simultaneously, 16779 TPTY RMM exp with some WAP - 4 skipped ponmalai through platform 1. Sensed that now Tiruchirapalli Junction will be busy handling lots of arrivals and departures back to back, meanwhile handling loco change for 2 trains and reversal for a train. After skipping ponmalai slowly, we accelerated briefly to get slowed down at Manjattidal, to clear the speed restriction imposed there. Accelerated again after clearing the zone of restricted speed and attained a speed of 100kmph as seen on WIMT by my cousin, skipped thiruverumbur from platform - 3.
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At Thiruverumbur outers, we crossed the pentaweekly intercity special from Tambaram to Tiruchirapalli via thanjavur. We maintained similar speeds of 100 - 105 kmph as my cousin was seeing in WIMT app. skipped stations like Thondaimanpatti, solagampatti at the same speed. We decelerated as we was approaching aiyanapuram, strolling through aiyanapuram station and few meters thereafter, again accelerated swiftly and gained speed. Not much flatweel sounds were made, which is characteristic sound for LHB and the run was kinda smooth. Skipped budalur through platform 2 at maximum speed. At Budalur outers, crossed 20605 MS TCN SF express decelerating towards its next halt. Skipped alakkudi after few minutes with the maximum speed and it maintained the same speed till Thanjavur outers. from 105kmph, our train swiftly decelerated to 15kmph and our train was made to arrive at Platform - 1 of Thanjavur with just 4 minutes behind the schedule. Two ticket checkers were present and after they checked our tickets, exited the station through platform 5 entrance. Witnessed the empty rake of 06832 TJ - KIK DEMU taking a deep sleep at platform - 4 of Thanjavur and the rake of 06008 TJ - TBM MEMU special via TVR was waiting at platform - 5 for its departure. it was a brand new MEMU rake belonging to AVD MEMU shed. with the fond memories of watching vettaiyan movie and this short excursion, took an auto to my place.
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So for a distance of 54 kms, it took 1h46m with a buffer time of 40 minutes at TPJ with an avg speed of 31kmph.

On a fine day in 2020, when the world was still blissfully unaware of the impending lockdown, we got an invitation for a wedding at our friend's home, Jodhpur.

We made some last-minute plans and decided to book tickets as a connecting journey as direct trains weren't available. From AF-JP, we decided on the AF-AII ICE, and after a few hours of layover at JP, we were going to take the Mandore Express, where another friend was joining us from Delhi.
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I was busy with something, so another friend of mine booked the tickets, and I was surprised that we got CNF window seats at such short notice. Good for us. So, another trip to Rajasthan, what could go wrong. On the day of the journey, we reached Agra Fort, and we got to know what all could go wrong, something we didn't even slightly imagine.

We boarded the C1 and started placing our luggage on the luggage rack. It was the center seat, and we had ordered from Domino's. Pretty chill friends trip. Except for the fact that after a few minutes, a family boarded and told us that we were in their seats. No, ma'am, we have the tickets. Look at them. Yeah, C1, but same seats, same day. I, being the master of sweet talk, persuaded them to leave us alone and talk to the TTE about this discrepancy. Everything sorted out.

And then I asked my friend to show me the ticket. Nothing seemed wrong until I saw the month of travel. In haste, my friend had booked the tickets for 18th March, which was exactly a month ahead of the day we were sitting on the train. So, I told everyone to calm down and went to that family who were still beating their heads over their ticket. I told them that we didn't check the refreshed status of our tickets, and we were allotted seats in the C2 coach. Apologized to them for the discrepancy and deboarded the coach.

Outside, all three of us gave the scolding of a lifetime to our friend who booked the ticket. But there still was an issue, how to reach Jaipur. After all, all the shopping and makeovers shouldn't go to waste, right. They checked, and there weren't any trains taking us to Jaipur with enough buffer for Mandore. I asked everyone to calm down and let the expert do the work. I checked, and luckily, 4 seats got available in current in the 2S of same train.

What else could we do? Let it be 2S for a few hours. First disappointment, bench type seats, no issues, there wasn't much of a crowd. Then came the second disappointment after the train entered Rajasthan, 2S became the GS and we had to adjust a lot more people on our seats, because that's what good samaritans do, not that we had another choice. Only relief being that due to our lady friends, the crowd was much well behaved in our cubicle than rest of the coach.

Anyway, the journey went a lot better than expected, we got a lot of laughs over the incident that happened earlier that day, even my mother joked about it after the initial scoldings over the phone. Got to talk to a lot of Rajasthani people, and it was fun. We deboarded at JP and took a stroll through the Bazars of Jaipur. We also went inside to take a look at the interiors of JP Double Decker as it was our first time seeing a Double Decker train.

After a well-deserved rest, we went on the PFs to board our next train. Well, we were waiting on the PF when the HWH-JU arrived, and looking at the empty coaches, it struck our minds that we could've got CNF seats despite the WL during bookings. And as the train departed, like a wave of regret, a wave of water soaked me. Have I told that we took the journey in February, and it was still a chilly weather outside. Some lazy waterman left the pipe watering connected, and it came out with pressure when the train departed.

You may think that here ends the string of mishappenings. But lady luck still had a last mischief up her sleeves. This second ticket was booked by our friend who was coming from Delhi to have all the seats together. Just that he forgot to tell us a crucial piece of information. Since 3AC had WL status, he booked in SL because how could five college kids afford 2AC tickets that were available. As soon as the train moved, it felt as if we were traveling through Siberia.

No one had brought blankets, well, except for me. I brought two, and the perk of being 6 feet tall, my jackets could be used as blankets. Now, who is laughing for over-packing stuff. The rest of the journey was uneventful. We enjoyed an almost empty SL coach, a beautiful sunrise, and the scenic beauty Rajasthan has to offer.

After the celebrations, roaming around the streets of Jodhpur and a great hospitality, we returned. Yeah, you guessed it, in the JU-HWH Express. Although we had to book the tickets via the HQ quota, the onward journey experience was enough adventure for us. Needless to say, I slept all the way back and woke up only at ETW.

So, this was my journey to the blue city which had enough twists and turns to tell it apart from the plain, regular train journeys and give it a special place in the section called 'Travelogues'.

Kumud.