#late running

Meanwhile, the BCNA freight on PF4 departed towards Pune. I was already feeling sleepy after the lunch and our train’s progress added to that 😛 . So I retired to my UB. When I finally woke up about 2.5 hours later, we were speeding through small forests, meadows and a village with lot of stone cottages, temples and cemeteries. Reached Shahabad at 17 56, 5 hours 43 mins late. Nearby, I saw Dr. Ambedkar Nagar on the right with Jai Bhim flags, a Buddha statue and boys playing cricket. We crossed 16382 CAPE-CSMT Jayanthi Janata express with mega-offlink SPJ WDM3D 11495; my friend railfan Jyothish KD had seen its counterpart 16381 with the same link a few days back! :O Then came the perennial Kagini river (the board read ‘Cognee’).

  Now there was a TSR of 30 kmph over the bridge; earlier the trains used to speed through 😦 . There was a Steam Chamber in the Sleeper factory on the left. Saw twin KYN WDG3A Shaktis in a siding. There were many BCNA rakes as well as a BOXN rake in the yard on the left, as we approached Wadi. Pulled into PF2 at 18 12, 5 hrs 22 mins late; having made up some 20 mins due to slack. On the right was 12702 HYB-CSMT Hussainsagar express with a massive offlink; twin WDG3As – 14675 of VSKP trailing. It seemed to be a day of offlinks! 😉  To our irritation, lights were not working in our bay for a brief while – to add to the already messed-up schedule of the train! 😦 Our EMD was detached, and the electric loco to take over all the way to MAS was AJJ WAP1 22013.

There was a delicious irony in the fact that the loco to haul us till our destination belonged to AJJ; given that AJJ was the source of all our troubles! 😛 Meanwhile, I was able to capture the KYN Shakti twins that I had seen earlier – WDG3As 13579 and 13571 (non-DBR). 13579 had a really sharp HT horn. Also, the locos seemed to be coupled the wrong way – the Short Hood of 13579 was coupled to the Long Hood of 13571.

We departed at 18 33 (5 hours 38 mins late), after a long halt of 21 mins. Saw BZA WAP4 25033 and another brick red WAP4 on a siding in the left. We crossed a BOXN freight headed by twin blue WAG7s before Nalwar. Passed through meadows, small forests, a viaduct on a road in the distant left, a town with a lot of huts and cottages, and mountains in the distant left; before Yadgir. Now it was really dark and there was hardly anything to see outside the glass windows. So I settled down into reading “Stardust and Fire”, a book of poems by Neha Kabra; a very well-known poet and a friend of mine. We had a watering halt at Krishna station in Telangana.  

I heard some ALCO chugging and saw an ACC Cement rake crossing – the chugging could be heard long after the train skipped the station! 🙂 We departed at 20 10, 5 hours 55 mins late. Saw two Plasser machines in a siding on the left. There was a TSR of 80 kmph before the bridge. The river was only 50% dry 😦 . Meanwhile, I went to the loo and found that the water from the taps was quite warm; thanks to the summer heat! 😛 There was a brief unscheduled stop at Yadalapur on the mainline. I had a Veg. Thali for dinner – it consisted of 3 Chapatis, Jeera rice, Dal and Chana Masala; and was quite satisfying. The total fare (lunch and dinner combined) for me was Rs.190 (70 for the Veg. Biryani and 120 for the Veg. Thali) – however, inexplicably; the pantry guy didn’t have even Rs.10 change (which is supposed to be basic!) and so went to other coaches to obtain the change! :O The wait was really annoying, since we were all looking forward to sleep.

It turned out that the whole change fiasco was a red herring, as the pantry guy eventually returned with one of his fellow staff; who had apparently complained about one of my co-passengers refusing to pay the fare – since he found the fare too high (as against the official IRCTC food rate list and menus – https://www.irctchelp.in/irctc-latest-food-menu-rates ); and some of the food items he had asked were not provided. However, I was not really in a mood to argue with the staff in favour of my co-passenger; I was just tired and retired to my UB after paying the fare for the food I had ordered. Had a solid sleep of close to 10 hours. After I did my usual morning routine; we were speeding through the Chennai suburbs – blasted through Sevvapet Road. We overtook locals at Pattabiram, Avadi and after Villivakkam. Crossed a freight before pulling into Perambur at 08 21, 5 hours 28 mins late. Here predictably the coach almost emptied.

I spotted AJJ WAG7 28680 and ED WAP4 22665 in the BBQ Trip Shed. Saw LGD WAP4 22515 in the right as we finally crawled into MAS. There were twin APU-fitted TNP WDMAs (trailing – 16882R) on the right – most probably assigned to 22601 MAS-SNSI superfast. Came to a stop on the customary PF1 at 08 41, 5 hours 11 mins late. Not bad – we had been rescheduled by 4 hours and got delayed by an hour further in Maharashtra itself; and then mostly maintained the overall 5+ hours delay throughout. There was a long walk from my coach till the terminus exit; the coach being at the rear of the rake. Then I had to walk a while further to Park Town station after crossing the road. There I took an MRTS local till Thirumayilai (Mylapore) after standing in a long queue to get a ticket – I didn’t get a seat, but there was quite enough space to stand with my luggage. After that it took a 10-15 mins walk to finally reach my home around 09 30. It was a really long journey, but the AC comfort took away most of the potential hardships.

Hope you were not bored by this long blog containing 2 parts! 😛

Technical Terms

APU – Auxiliary Power Unit (specifically for charging the loco batteries when it is idle)

EMD – Electromotive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

ALCO – American Locomotive Company (and an old class of diesel engines of the 1960s)

LT – Low Tone

HT – High Tone

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

DBR – Dynamic Brake Resistor (usually mounted on the roof of the loco)

MRTS – Mass Rapid Transit System (partly elevated local train network in Chennai)

Station Codes

LTT – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (or just Kurla Terminus)

VSKP – Visakhapatnam

KIK – Karaikal

KYN – Kalyan

SUR – Solapur

CAPE – Kanniyakumari

CSMT – Mumbai CST

SPJ – Samastipur

HYB – Hyderabad

AJJ – Arakkonam

BZA – Vijaywada

ED – Erode

LGD – Lallaguda

TNP – Tondiarpet

SNSI – Sainagar Shirdi

BBQ – Basin Bridge

I left my home by around 11 pm, intending to spend a few hours in the Upper Class AC waiting room at CSMT; as it wouldn’t be safe to travel in the locals beyond midnight. 12860 Howrah Mumbai Geetanjali express led by SRC WAP4 22529 overtook my local at Matunga – the train was running close to 3 hours late. I just about managed to get a seat in the waiting room, since there was a big crowd; I guess most of them were travelling in 11027! Announcements were repeatedly made for 01079 CSMT-KCVL special to depart from Platform 17 – important of course, but made it harder for me to get a decent sleep! 😦  More unhelpful was the temperature of the AC (predictably 😛 ). After 2 hours, I finally gave up and instead shifted to the adjacent non AC waiting room! 😛 There I ironically found it easier to sleep (even if it was not for much), before waking up around 02 45. I saw many passengers leave and head towards the platforms, which meant that the rake of our train must have finally been shunted to its designated platform.

As expected, 11027 was on PF14. My coach B1 was of a 2013 make; next to an extra coach B2 and closer to the rear.

Our loco was KYN WCAM2P 21863.

There were plug points in all bays as well as bio toilets. The seats and cushions had a pleasing maroon brown hue. I soon clambered on to my UB and slept after having my ticket checked. Added to our very late departure, the going was slow as well; and we took almost 5 hours to reach Pune. I had a solid sleep of close to 8 hours, though I woke up a few times in between. I could make out that we were being hauled by an EMD post Pune, going by the pull of the loco and its unique horn. We had a long halt at Bhigwan, during which a raging ALCO with a shrill horn crossed us with an express – probably 11406 Amravati Pune express. There was a brief stop at Jinti Road home signal, following which we accelerated through the station; crossing a BCNA freight in the process.

I noticed that our loco was a strong smoker. There were many rock cuttings and mounds before we crossed the Ujjaini Reservoir (created through the Dam on Bhima River).

We then crossed a river at MPS before Parewadi – where we crossed another freight. There was another river with mounds of waste in it. There was a good amount of freight action, as we overtook a twin WDG4 hauled freight at Washimbe. Reached Jeur at 12 31, 6 hours 3 mins late. Here we halted for 3 mins. There were fields and rock cuttings before we crossed another WDG4 hauled freight at Bhalwani. Then there were plantains and rock cuttings before we pulled into Kem at 12 51. It was a long stop. 18520 LTT-VSKP express, which had been hot on our heels; arrived behind KYN WDP4D 40233 and made an unscheduled halt. 

I sensed that there was a crossing. Sure enough, 11302 SBC-CSMT Udyan express rushed past behind Pune WDP4 40144.

Already running 6+ hours late, I thought we would be overtaken by 18520 (which is a faster train). Instead we were given the proceed and departed at 13 08, after a halt lasting 17 mins. Crossed a freight hauled by twin ALCOs (Leading – Orange & Cream livery; trailing – blue-white livery) at Dhavalas. There was an LC with a lot of vehicles before we arrived at KWV (PF4) at 13 26, 5 hrs 26 mins late – a good amount of slack between Kem and KWV reducing our delay. There was a pair of AEB-fitted UBL WDG4s (Leading – 12324) on the right. There was another pair of UBL WDG4s (Leading – 12156) on the left. At Wadsinge, we crossed an EMD-led express waiting for us on the right (probably 16340 NCJ-CSMT express) as well as a WDG4 with a freight carrying Steel coils in the distant right. Then we crossed 71414 Solapur Pune DEMU and another LC before Madha; where there was a TSR of 90 kmph on the right track. After that we crossed yet another freight pulled by a WDG4. I had Veg. Biryani for a late lunch.

Noticed that one of the bio toilets at the front of the coach had a “Bio toilet” sign even though it was not actually a bio toilet :O ! At Mohol, there was a sleeper factory which also housed cranes and lorries in sheds. There were also coconut trees in the distant right and a highway across us. We crossed a train having coaches in CR daytime livery headed by an ALCO – probably 12170 Solapur Pune Intercity express. Then there was a bridge over a river with small islands after Mundhewadi. The scenery continued, in the form of sugarcane and corn fields, as well as another bridge over a stream. We overtook a WDG4D hauled freight at Pakni. Then there were sugarcane and maize fields, stacks of hay, hay huts and cottages, cow sheds and meadows. At Bale, there was an empty and sparkling clean DEMU rake on the right. We crossed an orange and cream ALCO with an express. Then there were twin WDG4s with a freight on the right-most track.

As we entered SUR, I saw a flatbed rake on the right which departed towards GR. Pulled into PF1 at 14 50, 5 hrs 20 mins late. I saw that our loco was KYN WDP4D 40260.

There were twin WDG3As – 14898 of GTL and 13263 of KJM; next to the rake of 12157 Pune Solapur Hutatma express (An AC Observation Car in the front).

The station was crowded as usual.

18520 arrived on PF3 at 15 01, 36 mins late. Will we again proceed ahead of this train or will it overtake us? How would the rest of our run to MAS shape us? I leave it here on a tantalizing note; you will be forced to wait till Part 2 to hear more 😛 .

Technical Terms

EMD – Electromotive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

ALCO – American Locomotive Company (and an old class of diesel engines of the 1960s)

LC – Level Crossing

MPS – Maximum Permissible Speed

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

AEB – Auto Emergency Brake

DEMU – Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (or just diesel local train 😛 )

Station Codes

MAS – Chennai Central

CSMT – Mumbai CST

SRC – Santragachchi

KCVL  – Kochuveli

AJJ – Arakkonam

KYN – Kalyan

LTT – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (or Kurla Terminus)

VSKP – Visakhapatnam

SBC – Bangalore City

KWV – Kurduvadi

UBL – Hubli

NCJ – Nagercoil Junction

SUR – Solapur

GTL – Guntakal

KJM – Krishnarajapuram

Rescheduled/Delayed/Late Running Trains List on 21 Feb 15

Rescheduled/Delayed/Late Running Trains List on 21 Feb 15

Train No Train name Start date Train type Source Dest Rescheduled by time12081 CAN – TVC JAN SHATABDI 21 Feb 04:45 JANSHATABDI CAN TVC 3 hrs 07:45 12142 RJPB CST SUPER FAST EXP. 21 Feb 10:40 SUPERFAST RJPB CSTM 2:20 hrs 13:00 12488 ANVT-JBNSUPERFAST EXPRES 21 Feb 07:30 SUPERFAST ANVT JBN 1 hr 08:30 13007 U ABHA TOOFAN EXPRESS 21…

12562 Swatantrta Senani Express upto 15 Hours Late

12562 Swatantrta Senani Express upto 15 Hours Late

(As Per Last updated: 24 Jan 2015 21:41)

Station ETA/ ATA Delay ETD/ ATD Delay NEW DELHI(NDLS) 05:15 8:40 hrs ALIGARH JN(ALJN) 08:28 10:02 hrs 08:30 10:02 hrs KANPUR CENTRAL(CNB) 15:42 12:57 hrs 15:48 12:58 hrs ALLAHABAD JN(ALD) 19:35 14 hrs 20:53 14:53 hrs BHITI(BYH) 21:35 21:35 GYANPUR ROAD(GYN) 21:49* 14:44 hrs*

Reschedule/Late Running Trains List 16th January 2015

Reschedule/Late Running Trains List 16th January 2015

Passenger kind attention please below is the list of rescheduled OR Delayed OR Late Running Trains list. The start date is as per given below.

Some Train Number (Also mention in the list) :  11061 12004 12011 12033 12180 12303 12327 12379 12397 12419 12460 12482 12506 12590 12715 12716 12723 12820 12862 12875 14010 14123 14625 14626 14649…

13240 Kota-Patna Express running 17 hours Late

13240 Kota-Patna Express running 17 hours Late.

The below updated current status of Kota Patna Express.

Last updated date and time: 7 Jan 2015 9:57

 Station ETA/ ATA Delay ETD/ ATD Delay 1. KOTA JN(KOTA) 08:15 17:25 hrs 2. INDARGARH(IDG) 09:19 17:29 hrs 09:21 17:29 hrs 3. SAWAI MADHOPUR(SWM) 09:48* 17:28 hrs* 09:49* 17:24 hrs* 4. NRYNPUR TATWAR(NNW) 10:21* 17:03 hrs* 10:2…