Says the doggy as it waits for the P7 to complete its shunting activities. It needs to cross the tracks to visit the museum

 

Now with the X Series out of the way, P7 starts it shunting activities to get the Coimbatore bound passenger onto the platform. The entire train cannot be shunted in one go as the yard is not big enough to handle such a large rake. So the P7 will get one half out of the yard, reverse and couple the rest of the rake and get the whole rake into the platform. It was interesting to watch the shunting LP’s getting trained on a P7

 

A “walk the talk” experience of the Western Ghats summarizing the blogs

Timetables,websites,train punctuality history and every other detail was analyzed threadbare to help us find the best itinerary to take us to Honnavar & Back. Sharavati river, bridge and the King TVC RAJ was incentive enough for us to narrow down to Honnavar, but the schedule and our subsequent return to Londa did not line up the way we would have loved to. Halfheartedly we decided to take the scenic route towards Mangalore. While this self debate was in the background, I had half a mind to take the north bound trains towards Ratnagiri and visit the Panval Viaduct, a Konkan Engineering marvel. With all this confusion and lack of conviction, we decided to call up the Real Konkan King and get his advice. Who better to consult than the veteran who has spent years traversing the route and know the terrain and schedules inside out and it so turned out that he was scheduled to pilot the LTT bound Netravati Express from Madgaon to Ratnagiri the next day. With this information on hand, it turned out to be a no-brainer for us and Panval, here we come.

The monsoon schedule ensured we had enough time for a good overnight rest and be ontime as the dawn breaks to board the Netravati to Ratnagiri. We reached Madgaon a good 30 minutes prior to expected arrival of 16346 and had a quick meet with our guide and well wisher for the day. Netravati arrived with a GOC WDP-4D 40133 and after a quick change of crew soon departed Madgaon for an eventful five hour sprint across the wet, green and fresh Konkan coast. Zuari bridge, innumerable bridges and viaducts, streams flowing with fresh water all over the place, overcast skies and intermittent heavy showers, busy crossings, RORO overtakes, Tunnels and the quaint and peaceful stations. Phew, what a delightful journey. As we cruised past the greenbelt at a sedate 75-90 kmph due to monsoon timetable, we were keeping track of the other Konkan King, the south bound TVC Raj awaiting a smoking crossing at Nivasar. As expected, we were looped into Nivasar for the crossing, however as we were just about to come to a complete halt, the mid mounted headlights of the toaster beams out of the long 4km Tike tunnel. Netravati had just cleared the mainline, but it was too late for the RAJ to smoke through the mainline. A sedate and relaxed loop crossing with the mainline clear.

Ratnagiri arrived on dot and our Netravati Pilot, the other Konkan King helps us out of the station and after a long chat with the auto rickshaw driver, sends us off packing to the Panval Viaduct (Panval Nadi). The arrangement was to take us to Panval Viaduct, wait a bit while we explore the Viaduct and its surrounding, click at least one pic with a train on the viaduct and drop us back at the station. After a bone rattling ride for about 20 minutes, we found ourselves looking at the viaduct in awe. Sensing our lack of understanding of the terrain and geography around the region, the auto driver decided to accompany us and become our guide for the next hour or so. We follow him along the road and start climbing an uneven and steep set of stairs hidden and surrounded by dense green foliage. Slightly more than a couple of minutes later we found ourselves on the railway tracks looking straight ahead into the Nivasar end of the Panval Viaduct. Oh boy! that was a breathtaking scene. We decide to walk along pathway on the leftside of the viaduct to have a more panoramic view of the valley below and the Panvel river cheerfully rushing past.

Some sight to behold. Nature’s beauty at its best. Absolute silence only disturbed by heavy winds, chirping birds and the river below. I am just waiting for someone to question me again “Why do you keep traveling by train to random locations ? Don’t you have anything better to do ? Is that even a hobby ? Is it worth it ?”. Well, this is not a hobby for me. This is my passion and what better option to reach such locations except by Indian Railways, which connects us all in one way or the other ?. We overtook a RORO (Roll On Roll Off) en route to Ratnagiri and was expecting it to storm past us on the viaduct anytime now. The tracks were absolutely dead straight and we could see a faint mid mounted light in the distance. Even though we had enough space along the viaduct , we moved into one of the relief points for a better view and well a few degrees safer as well. The vibrations intensify as the RORO approaches. It storms out of the tunnels and screams past us like an angry monster. Thundering vibrations and a roaring EMD left behind a mini earthquake and two breathless spectators in its wake as it rushed towards Ratnagiri with a trainload of trucks and a bunch of amused drivers.

It is time now to witness this spectacle from the valley below. Once again our gracious auto guide led us through another set of dense foliage and hidden stairs and after nearly 10 minutes we were now right below the viaduct with the Panvel river flowing past us. Looking for a vantage point we moved away to get a better view of the viaduct. We checked the current location of Sawantvadi Road – Diva passenger and our estimation was that it should be passing the viaduct in the next 15-20 minutes or thereabouts. I was now caught in a dilemma. Should I take a still picture or a video of the train passing over the viaduct. I could do both simultaneously as well with my camera, but the still picture quality gets compromised. So I took out my cellphone and decided to shoot a video with my left hand and a still pic with my camera on my right. Ten minutes passed by while we freshened ourselves and now the wait starts. With the cellphone on my left and a camera on my right and anxious not to miss the moment, every second seemed like a minute. A couple of minutes pass and both my hands start shaking. Deciding not to miss the moment, I shove the cellphone onto my jeans back pocket and no sooner did I do that, a distant chugging sound set us up. The Diva bound passenger quickly rushes out of the tunnel and boy the massive train looked like a toy car on that viaduct. Now I was able to really understand the “scale” of the viaduct. Indeed an engineering marvel in a very difficult terrain. The return to the top where our auto was waiting was exhausting to say the least. The lack of any physical activity was evident by the time we reached the top. Our gracious guide offered us some tea on the way back which we politely refused as we were running a bit late. Seeing our enthusiasm and excitement, he decided to take us up to the Kuwarbao Viaduct as well through a road which he avoided earlier due to its pathetic condition. A bit of history lesson from him and a short while later, we were back again to Ratnagiri station, a ride which definitely tested all our bones and joints. We ended up paying him a bit more, which he politely refused, with no effect. We took his number (Which was put to good use in future) and called our Konkan King who had been waiting for us to accompany him for lunch. A sumptuous lunch, a bit of small talk and we decided not to let him wait anymore and shorten his much needed rest as close to another 800-1000 Madgaon bound passenger’s lives depended on him later that day. We thanked our Konkan King and got a couple of Alphonso extracts and tickets back to Madgaon awaiting Mandovi from Mumbai.We needed a short rest as well and the 3A coaches of Mandovi were not quite brimming with passengers. The TTE let us enter into one of the 3A coaches and make ourselves comfortable wherever we felt like.

Mandovi has a reputation. It takes its own sweet time on the Konkan cruising through at a relaxed speed. Once we started indulging in the Pantry food served, the reason was apparent. Every single dish served was delight to the taste buds. Impeccably and freshly prepared and very light on your wallet. For the next 3 hours, our sole purpose now was to binge. Once we decided we could not take anymore, a blissful sleep for the next couple of hours and we are now almost back to Madgaon. After a refreshingly tired day, it was time again to be a part of the Goan spirit. The late evening was spent rewinding and reliving the moments in a relaxed dining environment, post which we had to pack as we needed to get out of the hotel around 6AM to spend some time at Suravli before starting our return journey back to Bangalore. As the clock ticked past 10PM, the morning exertion surfaced itself and we decided to call it a day.

The alarm was bang on time. 2 snoozes and the tenacity it displayed left us with no choice but to get out of bed. With still another hour to checkout, I had the luxury of hitting the snooze again and 10 minutes later, I was there getting ready for the trip back home. Breakfast and our cab was waiting and after our checkout formalities, we found a safe place for our luggage at Madgaon cloak room. Equipping us with just what we needed for this session, we continued our way to Suravli, a nondescript station right after Madgaon towards Mumbai.

It is unfair to classify Suravli (Formerly Seraulim) as a railway station. It is more like unpaved footpath on either sides flanked all across with trees and plantation. A canopy of overhanging branches of large trees almost create a tunnel like effect for the trains passing through. No trains stop here except for a few passenger trains every 2-3 hours. A perfect place to hangout with a good book in hand and see time fly by only to be disturbed every now and then with scream of EMD’s, ALCO’s and the typical clickety clack of trains as they rush through the rail joints. Konkan Kanya, Dadar Jan Shatabdi, Goa Sammpark Kranti, Trivandrum Veraval & a coal laden BCNA were witnesses to our 90 minutes of laid back and lazy trainspotting. With lunch time around, our digestive system started grumbling lest our laziness gets transferred. We bid Suravli goodbye and took a mini bus to Madgaon. Quickly finished lunch on one of the platform eatouts, retrieved our luggage and now boarded back on the same train which got us to Madgaon which is now on its way back home.Half an hour later, we pulled out awaiting to witness the grand Dudhsagar once again.

Two bankers were waiting for us at Kulem, another beautiful station. We met another group of rail enthusiasts at Sawantvadi Road the previous day on our way back to Goa, who despite being warned and informed wanted to trek to Dudhsagar. Dudhsagar is off limits now and it was mentioned in no uncertain terms all over Kulem Railway Station and they had no option but to deboard. The bankers did a good job of pushing us up with full vigor and soon we were crossing the Dudhsagar again. Every time you see Dudhsagar, it knocks you off completely and this time was no exception either. Soon enough we reached CastleRock where the bankers were detached and we pulled out under one of the heaviest downpours we witnessed in this entire trip. We were dumped unceremoniously on PF 3 at Londa Junction. It was a clear indication on what they intended to do with this train and all the train attendants and coach attendants were out of the station in no time for some rejuvenation and refreshment. The passengers had to keep themselves amused with the activities going around at the station as it was held up there for more than an hour to accommodate various crossings, loco reversals and a few overtakes.

Londa Junction is another pure diesel haven with no poles blocking our views and is bestowed with beautiful curves before and after the station. An empty and scary LTT bound Hubli – LTT express departed Londa after an exact 2 second halt. The puny 6 coach link express from Hubli to Nizamuddin soon arrived on PF1 with an overpowered UBL EMD beast around 6PM waiting to get linked to the Nizamuddin bound GOA – NZM Goa expresses, popularly and locally called as SUPER. Super arrived 10 minutes later on PF2 and then the circus started. Super carries 3 coaches from Vasco to Bangalore which gets detached at Londa and gets attached to the SWR Queen Rani Chennamma. Londa operations now have their task cut out and the chaos sequence as follows.

1. The 6 coach puny rake is taken ahead from PF1
2. It is now reversed and coupled to Super on PF1.
3. The 3 rear coaches of Super is now detached and the 9 coach combination now moves ahead from PF2.
4. The 3 rear coaches of the 9 coach combination is now detached and the 6 Nizamuddin bound link coaches moves out of PF1.
5. The 6 link coaches now reverse and gets attached to Super and now Super is all set to depart for Nizamuddin.

 

Indeed,it is not expected that all passengers know about this game played at Londa. Lots of chaos and confusion prevails every time the coach composition moves ahead. The station authorities sure have stories to tell their children and grandchildren about the Londa Puzzle.Super now departs leaving a stranded 3 coach combination on PF1 with dazzled passengers and we move out for some snacks and tea. All this while our sidelined Poorna express have been a silent spectator waiting for its starter. With no starter in sight, it was evident that with all the slack built into its schedule, it was awaiting another crossing and after a long 30 minute wait, Mysore bound Swarna Jayanthi express skipped Londa as slowly as possbile to a visibly irritated and relieved Poorna express. Poorna soon gets a starter and dashes off before the controller could change his mind. Half an hour later, the queen of SWR, Rani Chennamma arrives with a UBL EMD and we quickly barge into the highest class IR could offer us. After 4 days of hectic trekking and hiking , a 1A travel is the warm chocolate sauce on a cold vanilla ice cream.

Dharwad, known for its famed Dharwad Pedas was almost witness to a fatal incident until someone pulled out a passenger just in time trying to board the moving train. We reach Hubli a good 30 minutes before time and the entire 1A coach was now filled with Railway Officials. Apparently all of them are traveling for some convention at Bangalore. Hubli being the divisional headquarters has no shortage of high officials and we were treated to all sorts of drama and theatrical expressions. Apparently some big shot was traveling in the same cabin as we were and in my personal opinion, I found it disgusting that a normal healthy male needed to have someone make his bedding, one to remove his shoes, one to endow his stinking feet now with slippers, one to help him provide the night suits, one to neatly pack and fold his formal wear, one to wait at the door awaiting fresh orders and what not. The irony of all this fake respect is the moment our “high official” is no longer in service, reality bites him and gets nothing but a indifferent from the same person standing outside waiting for his next order. Anyway, by the time the drama settled down, we were in dreamland only to be woken up 5 minutes prior to reaching our destination.

We are back now in Bangalore after a hectic, tired and a very refreshing break. We are now back to the rat race where traffic and meaningless discussions will take the centerstage. We are now back to reality and already planning for our next monsoon trip. Where will it be ? Konkan ? Subrahmanya Ghats ? Kerala ? Thull Ghat ? Araku Valley ? Ooty ? Darjeeling ? No idea. As of now I will let the memories sink in and worry about it around April 2016. This was a trip to be cherished and remembered. Hope you had a great time traveling with me in this travelogue as much as I had making one. Until next monsoons ? Maybe not …

After spending close to 90 minutes and thereabouts, we were able to feel a gentle vibration in the air. We stretched our vision past the viaduct into the deep black tunnel, which I guess is tunnel no 41 UP, and could see an approaching light. The moment of truth and the reason why we came here. Our initial guess was just a pair of bankers going downhill after finishing its duty, but we were excited to witness 3 Kalyan WAG7’s acting as brakers with another idle G7 with a loaded BCNA going downhill. After a 4 minute display of cautious descent, we had the line clear to continue with the rest of the hike up to Monkey Hill. With an experience of walking through 3 or 4 tunnels, we started off towards Monkey Hill with a slightly more confident frame of mind. This of course is after snapping us in all possible angles and locations.

Technical part of me is not very sure, but my guess is this last tunnel towards Monkey hill was also close to around 700-900 meters long. So here we go chugging along after an unforgettable couple of hours. I have to mention here that at every possible opportunity, our generous IRFCAn was in touch with us and inquiring if we needed any assistance or help. We have been in touch for close to 4 hrs now playing a cat and mouse game and by now, we were pretty confident that we would not be able to meet this gentleman. Moving on, as we crossed around 25% of the tunnel, suddenly the tunnel went completely dark. All the lights inside the tunnel decided to take a break. We switched off our flashlights for an instant. Well, THAT WAS DARK, absolutely dark. I couldn’t even see my hands as I slowly stretched them and kept it inching it towards my eyes. The only reason I did not manage to pop my eye out was my awareness in the space and time dimension and not succumbing to spatial disorientation. Flashlights came back on quickly and our sprint towards Monkey hill continued.

Halfway down the tunnel, we could see an unmistakable triangular pattern of lights of a locomotive pulling something towards us. There was enough time for us to look out for the next refugee point and waited for the train to cross. It appeared to be some sort of a maintenance or a departmental rake. The subsequent walk towards Monkey Hill was brisk and uneventful. Just as we were about to pass the catch siding and have a look at the other two lines, the down mainline signal turned green. A quick sprint and a gentle climb towards the catch siding, Balaji express bound to Nagercoil, with a Pune 3D, headlights on, quickly rushed past towards Khandala. The mid line starter was also green and a KYN WAG-5A with a BTPN rake continued its journey towards Karjat after its mandatory brake testing halt at Monkey Hill.

After a refreshing 4 hour hike in the Sahyadris, we decided to rest a while before we could take the Sinhagad express towards Pune for the second leg of our monsoon rail trip and this was a bad decision. Until now, the adrenaline, the refreshing greenery and the excitement of spending quality time with nature far from the madding crowd had kept our energy levels and enthusiasm sky high. If anyone could recall, my friend had not slept in the past 24 hours and I have been up since 2 AM in the morning. A relaxing 5 minute nap at Monkey Hill was so tempting that we succumbed to it. All our adrenaline took a back seat now and tiredness and drowsiness took center stage. The 5 minute break did more damage than good and we had to drag ourselves back to continue with our hike. We called up our IRFCAn and figured out that he would be banking the Karjat-Pune Shuttle and would be his final trip of the day. Since the shuttle would not stop at Monkey Hill, with a sense of missing something we thanked him for all his help and decided to wait for Sinhagad. We were carrying sweets to gift people whom we may meet en route our travel and since we will not be able to meet our IRFCAn, we decided to indulge a bit and helped ourselves to a couple of famed Dharwad Pedas.

Once energized, it dawned upon us that the shuttle would stop at Thakurwadi and we still had time to make it to Thakurwadi. With the help of a few railway workers, we managed to reach Thakurwadi just in time as the Pune bound shuttle was almost arriving. We were only able to make it the penultimate coach before the shuttle started towards Khandala. Quickly boarded and called up our savior of the day to let him know we were in the shuttle he was banking and that we would meet him at Khandala. Soon enough Khandala arrived, a quick meet and handshake and we also decided to deboard at Lonavla as he would finish his banking duties to spend at least a few moments thanking him for his help before moving on. We had a surprise in store for us as we came face to face with Ashish Kuvelkar of IRFCA, Pune. I was aware of the famed Bhore Ghat Picture of Coimbatore – LTT, popularly known as Kurla express shot at the very same location where we spent close to 2 hours today, but was ignorant of the fact that this shot was indeed clicked by him. Apparently he was there earlier today trying to capture our HYB – CSTM express as well :). As we parted, we gifted our generous guide and well wisher, the famed Dharwad Pedas, albeit with a couple of missing pieces and with due apologies for the same.

Soon enough, Chennai bound 11041 pulled into Lonavla and after a quick check with the TTE, boarded one of the sleeper classes and in no time, drifted off to dreamland. Somewhere down the line we overtook the Karjat – Pune shuttle and pulled into Pune shortly before 6PM. We literally dragged ourselves out of the station and to the same nondescript hotel where we made a flying visit earlier in the day. I called up our original guide and well wisher for this trip and updated the day’s happenings and shared a few pics which I had taken with my mobile. It was then that we decided to make it to the IRFCA convention without fail at Bikaner in January 2016 as we were unable to meet with him and a few others as they were all held up with personal commitments. An hour of rest, followed by some tea, snacks and a quick bath and the planning for the next part of our trip started.

We had an onward journey sleeper class ticket to Goa (Madgaon) in 11097, Pune – Ernakulam poorna express. As much as we would have loved to take the sleeper, physical exhaustion and lack of sleep took a toll on us and we decided to travel by 3A. Tatkal showed an availability of around 10 berths and general waiting list of 3. With charting due in the next 10 minutes, we immediately booked 2 3A tickets to Madgaon and cancelled our sleeper class. As expected, we got confirmed berths on chart preparation and decided to doze off for another hour before venturing out for dinner. 8PM, we check out and drag us and our luggage again to Pune. Thankfully enough we were spared a climb as Poorna was berthed on PF1 of Pune station. A quick dinner, couple of bottles of water and something packed for later in case of eventuality, we quickly settled onto our berths for an extended rest before we reach GOA the following afternoon. After a terrific and tiring day, we drifted off with a satisfied soul and a tired body.

Early morning freshening up and rituals needs to be completed before the world around you gets up and I am usually a very early riser especially while traveling. The early morning freshness and the rhythm of the train speeding past vast fields of nothingness preps you up for the day. However the day started late for me considering the previous day’s adventures. By the time, I could freshen up and set myself up, we were crossing Sulebhavi and probably the Belgaum – Miraj passenger and shortly afterwards entered Belgaum. As is the fashion nowadays, Belgaum is now renamed to Belagavi. A long wait for the SWR Queen ensured that we have a good breakfast and some station tea. Rani Chennamma arrived with UBL WDP4 20026 in LHF and soon enough we were given the starter to proceed towards Londa.

Londa, usually a laid back and relaxed station was a beehive of activity. Poorna has a loco reversal at Londa to move towards Castlerock and Dudhsagar. As we entered Londa a good one hour late, we had on an average of 3-4 RPF boarding every compartment and settled down near the doors. A big setback to doorplating, which we will overcome in due course. Ever since Chennai Express decided to take a diversion to go towards Komban village, Dudhsagar, once a pure railfan’s delight and private spot, soon became a tourist spot with fly by night operators starting trekking and hiking services to Dudhsagar, which if I am not wrong is the 5th tallest falls in India. Needless to say the place had become filth galore with plastics and beer bottles and all sorts of items intended for very private & intimate use. Imagine this. A viaduct over which the train passes at an extremely relaxed speed, just enough space for another 2-3 folks on the left standing shoulder to shoulder, no space on the right, the majestic Dudhsagar waterfalls on the left and a deep valley down below taking the Mandovi river all the way to Goa. Now imagine close to 3000 folks in that narrow space fighting each other for a safe space when the train passes. A nightmare for the loco pilots and they have been raising this concern for way too long ever since Rohith Shetty decided to mess up with his movie for those who keep their brains at home. It had to happen and eventually it did, multiple accidents, life threatening injuries, a few fatalities of being run over by trains and to top it all our illiterate and the “educated” joined hands and broke the glasses and injured the passengers of the Nizamuddin bound Super (Goa Express as it is called). All such hooliganism and stupidity needs to pay and the yes the public paid. Dudhsagar was made completely out of bounds and the South Western Railway clearly indicated that it would press criminal charges against anyone found trespassing railway property and to ensure that this happens all the RPF Circus started off in Londa.

After a good 30 minute wait, the loco reversed and we started moving off towards Castle Rock. There is only one way, I could now doorplate up to Kulem and decided to get on with it. We started talking to the RPF guards on duty near the doors and asked them as if we knew nothing. We wanted to get off at Dudhsagar, but the last minute developments at Dudhsagar forced us to change our plan and go all the way to Goa. Well the RPF don’t know that. We expressed our disappointment on not being able to get off at Dudhsagar, even though it was not our plan and started empathizing with them (Which was Genuine by the way). Soon enough the talks become better and we managed to convince him to move off the doors so that we can atleast enjoy and click pictures and shoot some videos. In the meanwhile a very senior RPF officer boarded our coach and we came to actually realize the problems RPF face within our country. After an extended talk with him, he ended up showing us the videos of how GOA express was vandalized by the brainless tourists and how they were forced to do what they had to do. In the meanwhile, we reached Castle Rock, added a couple of brakers and moved on. As we neared Dudhsagar, he suggested us one way where we could actually manage to walk down to DDS with no fear of RPF or any other trespassing related issues.

Dudhsagar arrived and an army of RPF deboarded along with another army which was already present there. They ensured not a single passenger deboarded the train at DDS. After the brake testing halt, we moved forward and as we crossed the tunnel, the sound of gushing water and misty water sprays rekindled the spirit of adventure and that we should make it again here one way or the other. As always DDS is a majestic sight and this time it was no exception. In spite of below average monsoon, Dudhsagar waterfall is always a breathtaking sight. One good outcome of this ban fiasco was that Dudhsagar had regained its lost glory and the place was as green and clean as possible. With no plastics , beer bottles and other stuff around, I felt good for the place and the ban seemed justified. After all what do such over the top vandals like us deserve. We will miss the beautiful monsoon trek and solitude this place has to offer.

We had a technical halt again at Sonalium where a few disappointed trekkers boarded the train and rest of the run up to Madgaon was uneventful. Post Kulem poorna managed some breathing space and went on a rampage. Soon we joined the Konkan line from Mangalore and entered Madgaon a good one hour behind schedule. There is something about Goa beyond the beaches and partying spirit which I am unable to express in words. A feeling you have to experience it to appreciate it especially during monsoons. We take a pre-paid cab and move into our hotel near Colva beach where a spirited game of football was going on in full flow. After witnessing it for a few minutes, we order some food and freshen up and take a walk towards the beach. After enjoying the next football match for a few moments with a cup of roadside tea, went to the beach to click some snaps of the setting sun against the Arabian sea. However nature had other plans for us presenting us with a very cloudy sunset. While we were contemplating how to blend in with the Goan spirit the heavens opened up with absolutely zero warning in all glory. Add to that very strong winds and before we could hunt for our umbrellas or jackets, we found no need for the same. Shoes in hand with a heavy breeze and unprecedented downpour, we went walking barefoot towards our hotel for some dinner and enjoy the Goan spirit. We have another full day to explore and the plan initially was to visit the Sharavati Bridge at Honnavar and be back later in the day. However we had no idea on how things would change in the next couple of hours. Stay tuned.