IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 2021 - 2040
From: Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya <bhatta@unixg.email
Subject: Railways in India (fwd)
Date: 10 Dec 1997 04:55:00 -0500
I received the following excerpt from a friend.
Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya
<A HREF="http://finance.commerce.ubc.ca/~bhatta">http://finance.commerce.ubc.ca/~bhatta</A>
"The lifestyle of the Indian elite is amazing...I've never seen
such opulence even in America"---Noam Chomsky in New Delhi in 1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is one of the banalities of liberal economic thought to consider
private international foreign investments as a polarizing agent in the
industrialization process of the recipient country; but the illusion
that foreign investment in railways would, under all conditions, usher
in a new period of industrialization was also shared by the founders
of Marxism. In one of his letters to Engels, Marx maintained that the
British conquest of India should be seen as part of a historically
progressive force, and that the British occupant was "the unconscious
tool of history."
"England, it is true, in causing a social revolution in Hindustan, was
actuated only by the vilest interests, and was stupid in her manner of
enforcing them. But that is not the question," he continued. "The
question is: can mankind fulfill its destiny without a fundamental
revolution in the social state of Asia? If not, whatever may have been
the crimes of England, she was the unconscious tool of history in
bringing about that revolution."
To him, the harbinger of this "British Revolution" in India was, of
course, the railway, for once this was introduced the dialectical
process of industrial inevitability became operative. Given the
availability of strategic resources, industrialization was
irresistible once railways were laid.
It is surprising to find a League of Nations economist repeating the
Marxist fallacy. The inflow of capital for the development of other
activities stimulates industrialization. "If foreign capital is
engaged, for instance, in building a railway intended to carry
agricultural exports, those employed in the construction and later in
railway transportation and agriculture will exercise a demand from
which domestic manufacturing will profit; the railway will also serve
the transportation of domestic manufactured goods; and will release
domestic savings for investment in manufacturing." ["Industrialization
and Foreign Trade, 1945, p. 67]
The story of the Indian railways, within the context of economic
policies of the British raj reveals the fragility of such a
generalization, and justifies Jenk's contention that "railroad
building in India did not give rise to a flood of satellite
innovations, and it destroyed more occupational opportunities than it
opened up." [Journal of Economic History, December 1944]
It is true that the "iron horse" contributed immensely towards the
opening up of the American and Canadian West and their later
remarkable growth. The same is true of France, Germany and the United
Kingdom. Railway construction in Japan after the Meiji restoration of
1868, under the impetus of state initiative, was a potent factor in
Japanese growth. Nevertheless, it does not follow that the
establishment of communications networks must *inevitably* lead to
industrialization.
In certain cases it may even retard balanced growth, as both India,
China and certain parts of Africa and Latin America have demonstrated.
In the last analysis, it would appear that the ancillary effects of
railway construction depends on the socio-political and economic
background of railway policy: the objectives and interests it intends
to serve.
Railway financing on the London money market did not create enhanced
possibilities for the risk-taking creative "dynamic entrepreneur" in
the Schumpertian sense of the word nor did it induce new metallurgical
construction or the training of technicians and engineers, so
intimately tied up with the development of a railway network. This
last point is of vital importance, being equally applicable to other
countries which nave absorbed vast inputs of foreign capital. The
Actworth Railway Committee of 1921 reported the absence of native
trained personnel. Of 710,000 persons employed by the Indian railways,
700,000 were Indians and only 7,000 or 1% Europeans. "But the 7,000
were like a thin film of oil on the top of a glass of water, resting
upon but hardly mixing with the 700,000 below. None of the highest
posts are occupied by Indians; very few even of the higher." [Actworth
Report, London 1921]
*********
(From Frederic Clairmont's "The Rise and Fall of Economic Liberalism",
The Other India Press, Goa, India, 1995)
From: Peter Mosse <pjcm@worldnet.email
Subject: Re: No of WG's (was BG Steam Locos)
Date: 10 Dec 1997 15:37:00 -0500
I remember reading that the WGs were the largest class of steam locos
ever made
in the British Commonwealth, though I do not have the numbers. The last
BG steam loco made at Chittaranjan works was the "Antim Sitara" WG of
1970.
========
According to Indian Locomotives Part 4 by Hugh Hughes some 2450 WG's were
built in a numbering sequence from 8000 to 10560 ("Antim Sitara") with a
couple of gaps (8290-8300, 9000-9099).
Peter Mosse
From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email
Subject: Rlys to introduce new reservation scheme
Date: 10 Dec 1997 10:23:00 -0500
DHNS
NEW DELHI, Dec 10 (UNI)
The Railways have decided to introduce ''Tatkal service`` to provide
confirmed reservation on trains instantaneously on a premimum of Rs 50
per passenger, an official release said today.
The scheme will be first introduced from December 20 for the Amritsar-New
Delhi Shatabdi Superfast Express. Gradually, it will be introduced in all
the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains. Thereafter, all the long
distance and mail trains would be brought under the scheme.
Under the scheme, confirmed reservation will be available only 24 hours
in advance of the departure of the train.
From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <sncf@godrejnet.email
Subject:
Date: 11 Dec 1997 22:41:00 -0500
Hi Guys,
Mumbai's BAMY shed (Bandra) also has two sheds . One for Diesel and other
for electrics.
==========================
Viraf Mulla
C-20/14, Jeevan Bima Nagar,
Borivali (West)
Mumbai 400103
Tel: +91-22-8954510
E-mail: sncf@godrejnet.email
==========================
From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <sncf@godrejnet.email
Subject:
Date: 11 Dec 1997 23:08:00 -0500
HI guys,
I am planning a trip next month on the Central Railway's Kurduvadi - Miraj
N.G. section. I have heard that the night trains have sleeper cars. Yes
on the Narrow Gauge.Any other interesting observations and points to note.
==========================
Viraf Mulla
C-20/14, Jeevan Bima Nagar,
Borivali (West)
Mumbai 400103
Tel: +91-22-8954510
E-mail: sncf@godrejnet.email
==========================
From: BHARAT VOHRA <bharat@giasbma.email
Subject: Re: WDM2 Superfast enthusiasts!! Rejoice!!!
Date: 11 Dec 1997 08:45:00 -0500
Sundar,
there are quite a few places in fact in INdia which have 2 loco sheds!!
earlier with staeam around lots of places had more than one shed but now
thereare a few left-
Itarsi as you had said has both and electric as well as a diesel shed.
Jhansi(CR) also has an electric and a diesel shed.
OUr very owur very own Kalyan(CR) has a diesel shed for WDMs's and WDS
6's! It also has the main shed for all the CR DC locos
Tuklakabad(NR), south of DElhi has once again adiesel and electric
shed...diesel homes WDM2's and WDS4's and is a NR shed whereas the
Electric shed is a WR shed!!!
Mughalsarai has a NR diesel shed for WDM4's and another diesel shed for ER
locos only...WDM2's,WDS5's and 6's!! It also has ER's electric shed!!
Howrah..im not sure about this one but it definetely has a diesel shed for
WDS4 and possibly an electric shed as well!
Raurkels, Bondamunda to be precise in MP has a desel shed for WDS6's as
well as an electric loco shed...(SER)
There are lots of other places whjich have one main shed and the other a
sattelite , outstation shed!!
Regards,
Bharat Vohra
On Tue, 9 Dec 1997, Sundar Krishnamurthy wrote:
> Hello people,
>
> Even if WCAMs and WAPs take over the bulk of superfast traffic, a few
> prestige trains can never lose their diesel leaders!!
>
> 1. The New Delhi - Bangalore City Karnataka Express. This 21 coach
> superfast train will always have a twin diesel WDM2's from Itarsi
> managing affairs - it goes from Secunderabad/Hyderabad to Bangalore on
> an unelectrified route. In the recent ghastly collision near New Delhi,
> the pics clearly showed two WDM2's in ghastly condition for Karnataka
> Express!!! Incidentally, I can only think of Itarsi as the exclusive
> station having two loco sheds - one for WDM2's and other for AC WAx
> locos. Are there any more???
>
> 2. Again, the New Delhi/Hazrat Nizamuddin - Bangalore bi-weekly Rajdhani
> Express. SR used to take pains to keep a matching red/yellow WDM2 from
> Krishnarajapuram to manage this 9/12 coach deluxe train. It
> went all the way upto New Delhi, I guess.
>
> Sundar Krishnamurthy
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> Sundar Krishnamurthy ("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._
> 9/66, Welfare Hse, Sion (W), `6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`)
> Mumbai 400 022. INDIA (_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-'
> Tel : +91 +22 4071254 _.. `--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,'
> coolsundar@hotmail.email (il),-'' (li),' ((!.-'
> <A HREF="http://sundar.home.ml.org">http://sundar.home.ml.org</A>
> -------------------------------------------Today is the day of glory
> -----------------------------------------The Code is the whole story
>
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
>
From: Kartik Pashupati <kpashupa@mailer.email
Subject: Railfans and Inspector Ghote
Date: 11 Dec 1997 10:11:00 -0500
Railfans:
Interestingly, "Inspector Ghote Goes by Train" was the first Ghote novel by
HRF Keating that I read -- over 20 years ago. (Since then, at least one of
the Ghote novels -- "The Perfect Murder" -- has been filmed. It has
nothing to do with trains. The movie, which is in English, stars
Nasiruddin Shah, Neena Gupta and Amjad Khan.)
HRF Keating, the creator of Ghote, was interviewed on the BBC radio program
"Outlook" a few years ago. (Being a long-time Ghote fan, I have the
interview on tape.) John Tidmarsh, the host of the program, asked Keating
what kind of fan mail he receives from India.
Keating replied that a substantial part of his mail after the "...Train"
book consisted of corrections like,
"You've written that the train goes through Sandhurst Road Lower Level
station. Well, you idiot, the train actually goes through Sandhurst Road
Upper Level...."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday."
Kartik Pashupati, Ph.D. (kpashupa@mailer.email
Florida State University
Department of Communication
356 Diffenbaugh Building
Tallahassee FL 32306-2064
Phone: 850-644-1809; Fax: 850-644-8642
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Website: <A HREF="http://mailer.fsu.edu/~kpashupa">http://mailer.fsu.edu/~kpashupa</A>
From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email
Subject: More CR Woes
Date: 11 Dec 1997 04:20:00 -0500
CR services come to a standstill
(Express News Service)
December 10: Harbour line services on the Central Railway
(CR) between Bandra and Andheri came to a standstill for
nearly five hours today morning following the smashing of
three pentographs of an Andheri-bound local near the Rawli
junction at about 6.25 am.
Following the incident, no local could be operated up to
Andheri on the harbour corridor, and trains were sent back to
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus from Bandra station, causing
inconvenience to the peak-hour office-goers.
Announcements, however, were being made on the central
announcing system about the technical snag to inform
passengers who were stranded on platforms between Bandra
and Andheri.
Railway officials informed that the mishap took place when the
local Andheri-9 was passing through the Rawli junction
between King's Circle and Wadala stations. All the three
pentograph's smashed due to a short circuit.
After nearly five hours, when the faulty EMU rake had been
removed from the tracks and taken to the carshed, the Central
Railway could operate its first local towards Andheri passing
through Rawli junction at about 11.19 am, a Central Railway
spokesperson informed.
Meanwhile, the suburban trains on the Western Railway were
also running late by more than 15 minutes.
From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email
Subject: WR warns illegal advertisers
Date: 11 Dec 1997 04:23:00 -0500
Express News Service
December 10: The Western Railway has decided to act tough
with illegal advertisers displaying stickers in coaches of local
trains. Eleven persons have already been arrested in this
connection, and security will soon be beefed up in locals and
railway stations, especially during the late night and early
morning hours.
Working in collaboration with railway officials, Government
Railway Police (GRP) have nabbed one Vinay Sadanand Jha
(28) for displaying stickers of "Sandeep Academy" on a train
last month, while FIRs have been lodged at Mumbai Central
police station against 10 others.
As advertising is one of the sources of revenue generation for
the railways, illegal advertising has been causing a
considerable loss of revenue.
Officials said the number of illegal stickers ads has risen in
the
last few years. From household items to high-profile jobs and
herbal hair oil to painless abortions, any number of things are
being illegally advertised on trains. The reason for this
favoured display space: most Mumbaiites use locals as the
principal mode of transport.
WR officials said the unauthorised display of stickers has
resulted in the defacing of coaches. But the step recently taken
by the authorities -- of stamping unauthorised ads as "illegal
advertisement" -- has made coaches look even shabbier.
As a procedure, spaces for displaying stickers inside coaches
are
clearly demarcated, and one has to apply to the railways'
commercial department to obtain permission for pasting sticker
ads. Also, an advertiser is supposed to use only the WR's EMU
carsheds situated at Mumbai Central and Kandivli.
Explaining the modus operandi of illegal advertisers, officials
said a group of 10-12 people board a particular train at a
station during the late night or early morning hours. As the
passengerload is less, they paste stickers inside coaches
without
being questioned by railway staffers or police personnel. For
display in ladies' compartments, services of urchins and female
beggars are used. They are paid 50 paise to one rupee for every
sticker pasted.
Railway books term illegal advertisement as an offence under
section 166 of the Indian Railways Act, 1989. According to
Ravindra Tandon, CPRO, WR, vigil on trains will be beefed up
to curb the practice.
From: Vijay.Balasubramanian <Vijay.Balasubramanian@xula.email
Subject: Re:
Date: 11 Dec 1997 09:43:00 -0500
> Another interesting observation on Vaigai Express - it is one of the
rare
> Super Fast trains in India, which has retained the same number of
> stoppages since Day 1 of operation (Villupuram, Vriddachalam, Tiruchi
&
> Dindigul stations), no additional political, commercial or technical
> halts since the last 20 years.
I am afraid that's not quite true! The initial Vaigai Exp. had just
two halts: Tiruchi (12 mts.) and Dindigul (5 mts.). Villupuram may
have been a techincal halt although it seemed unnecessary, since the
train used to be hauled by a YDM4A all the way. Within a year or two,
Villupuram was added to the halt list (5 mts.). Vriddhachalam appeared
intermittently in the halt list but was made permanent in the mid 80s.
After the introduction of the Egmore - Tiruchi Pallavan Exp. (in the
early 80s) which shared rakes with the Vaigai, there was a period of
time when the Vaigai IGNORED Tiruchi! Imagine! I also recall the
double-heading of Vaigai (late 80s) and increasing its rake to 18
coaches. I am not sure how long this lasted.
Vaigai Exp. was also the FIRST MG train in India to have an AC Chair
Car.
> Vaigai Express is certainly the Uncrowned King (rather Queen) of the
> M.G. World. Only recently, its timings have been revised to almost 8
Couldn't agree with you more. It is my favorite MG train.
Vijay
From: Vijay.Balasubramanian <Vijay.Balasubramanian@xula.email
Subject: Re: WDM2 Superfast enthusiasts!! Rejoice!!!
Date: 11 Dec 1997 10:21:00 -0500
> 2. Again, the New Delhi/Hazrat Nizamuddin - Bangalore bi-weekly
Rajdhani
> Express. SR used to take pains to keep a matching red/yellow WDM2 from
> Krishnarajapuram to manage this 9/12 coach deluxe train. It
> went all the way upto New Delhi, I guess.
>
That wouldn't have been possible since the WDM2 goes at 120 kmph. max.,
and the booked/max. speeds for this Rajdhani is 120/130 kmph. between
Nizamuddin and Jhansi. When it was introduced, it must have been hauled
by a WAP1 between Nizamuddin and Nagpur unless Kazipet happened to be a
techincal halt for change of locos. Has Kazipet - Pantnagar been
energized? If so, then the new changeover station must be Secunderabad.
With the electrification of New Delhi - Madras and introduction of
WCAM2s, double-heading (with WDM2s) has become a rarity! Besides the
Karnataka Exp. that Sundar mentioned, the Udyan Exp. is also
double-headed between Solapur and Bangalore City. The following trains
should be double-headed as well (can someone confirm this?)
1. New Delhi - Howrah Rajdhani Exp. via Patna, between Mughal Sarai and
Howrah. I was looking at the Eastern Rly. working TT and was
surprised to see its booked/max. speed is only 90/100 kmph. between
Mughal Sarai and Asansol (Sitarampur, to be precise). Between
Asansol and Howrah it goes at 110/120 booked/max.
2. Kerala Exp. between Erode and Trivandum. At one time, it used to
split at Palghat with one portion going to Trivandrum and the other
to Mangalore. Not so, after the introduction of the Mangala Exp.
Any other double-headed trains?
There are still quite a few superfast trains hauled by diesel locos.,
a few of them being Rajdhanis/Shatabdis.
1) N.Delhi - Guwahati Rajdhani Exp. between Mughal Sarai and Guwahati.
Once Sitarampur - Mughal Sarai is energized, the changeover should
start happening at Patna.
2) New Delhi - Patna Rajdhani exp. between Kanpur and Patna (via
Lucknow - Varanasi). Incidently, this is the only train not to
have a passenger halt at Mughal Sarai.
3) New Delhi - Ahmedabad Rajdhani Exp. (has this been introduced?)
4) New Delhi - Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Exp. between Howrah and B'neswar.
5) New Delhi - Jammu Rajdhani Exp.
6) New Delhi - Chandigarh/Kalka/Amritsar Shatabdi Exps.
(the scenarios for 4,5,6 will change once N.Delhi-Ambala-Ludhiana gets
energized)
7) New Delhi - Dehra Dun Shatabdi Exp.
8) New Delhi - Lucknow Shatabdi Exp. (between Kanpur and Lucknow).
9) All superfast trains serving Rajasthan such as:
Ashram exp., Mandor Exp., Surya Nagari Exp., Jaipur-Delhi superfast
exp., Bombay - Jaipur exp. (between Sawai Madhopur and Jaipur),
Howrah- Jodhpur Exp. (between S. Madhopur - Jodhpur), etc.
10) Superfast trains on the Moradabad-Lucknow route: Shramjeevi exp.
11) All superfast trains between New Delhi and Amritsar / Jammu -
Frontier Mail, Paschim Exp., Delhi - Jammu Exp., Swaraj Exp.,
Shan-e-Punjab Exp.
Vijay
From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@fpk.email
Subject: Re: WDM2 Superfast enthusiasts!! Rejoice!!!
Date: 11 Dec 1997 15:01:00 -0500
Vijay.Balasubramanian@xula.email wrote:
>
> The following trains
> should be double-headed as well (can someone confirm this?)
> 1. New Delhi - Howrah Rajdhani Exp. via Patna, between Mughal Sarai and
> Howrah. I was looking at the Eastern Rly. working TT and was
> surprised to see its booked/max. speed is only 90/100 kmph. between
> Mughal Sarai and Asansol (Sitarampur, to be precise). Between
> Asansol and Howrah it goes at 110/120 booked/max.
Yes, it is indeed double-headed. Saw it last February.
> 4) New Delhi - Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Exp. between Howrah and B'neswar.
When I saw it last it was a short rake and was thus single headed. It
may have grown in length since then and gotten an additional head.:-)
Jishnu.
From: Prakash Tendulkar <prakash@us.email
Subject: Re: More CR Woes
Date: 11 Dec 1997 15:41:00 -0500
Something is wrong in this news. Rawli junction is a place a
kilometre from Kings Circle station where Bandra-CST local meets
harbour line coming from Kurla. It is located between Kings Circle
and Wadala and had been so notorious for derailment that the speed
limit on diamond crossing is 10 Km/hr. So any accident here would
stop flow from Bandra-CST and not Andheri-Bandra.
Can someone from Mumbai clarify?
Prakash
Notes Address: Prakash Tendulkar/Santa Teresa/IBM@IBMUS
VM Address: IBMUSM50(PRAKASH)
Internet Address: prakash@us.email
Phone: (408)463-3536
kandaswa@apple.email on 12/11/97 09:04:17 AM
Please respond to kandaswa@apple.email @ internet
To: irfca@cs.email @ internet
cc:
Subject: More CR Woes
CR services come to a standstill
(Express News Service)
December 10: Harbour line services on the Central Railway
(CR) between Bandra and Andheri came to a standstill for
nearly five hours today morning following the smashing of
three pentographs of an Andheri-bound local near the Rawli
junction at about 6.25 am.
Following the incident, no local could be operated up to
Andheri on the harbour corridor, and trains were sent back to
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus from Bandra station, causing
inconvenience to the peak-hour office-goers.
Announcements, however, were being made on the central
announcing system about the technical snag to inform
passengers who were stranded on platforms between Bandra
and Andheri.
Railway officials informed that the mishap took place when the
local Andheri-9 was passing through the Rawli junction
between King's Circle and Wadala stations. All the three
pentograph's smashed due to a short circuit.
After nearly five hours, when the faulty EMU rake had been
removed from the tracks and taken to the carshed, the Central
Railway could operate its first local towards Andheri passing
through Rawli junction at about 11.19 am, a Central Railway
spokesperson informed.
Meanwhile, the suburban trains on the Western Railway were
also running late by more than 15 minutes.
=
From: Jishnu Mukerji <jis@fpk.email
Subject: Re: More CR Woes
Date: 11 Dec 1997 17:03:00 -0500
Prakash Tendulkar wrote:
>
> Something is wrong in this news. Rawli junction is a place a
> kilometre from Kings Circle station where Bandra-CST local meets
> harbour line coming from Kurla. It is located between Kings Circle
> and Wadala and had been so notorious for derailment that the speed
> limit on diamond crossing is 10 Km/hr. So any accident here would
> stop flow from Bandra-CST and not Andheri-Bandra.
Although what follows is not related specifically to India, it may be of
general interest involving operational problems due to inadequate/ill
maintained track infrastructure.
We had a bit of woes on the North East Corridor here couple of months
back that involved almost predictable derailment at a particular scissor
crossing at the Western neck (i.e. the Hudson River end) of Penn Station
in New York. There were two derailments on consecutive days at the same
location involving two different push-pull NJTransit trains operating in
the "puch" mode, and the cab-trailer, i.e. the first car derailed in
each case. Amtrak first tried to claim that it was NJTransit's fault
since they are the ones that operate push-pull trains. When it was
pointed out that they had been doing so for the last six years without a
problem Amtrak relented and coughed up the cash/resources to rip out the
portion of the track and replace it with new track. No further
derailments were reported and things have been working smoothly since
then.
The effect of the derailment was spectacular in terms of disruption.
Basically Penn Station became almost inaccessible from the New Jersey
end, and many NJTransit trains were diverted to Hoboken. Amtrak trains
were either terminated and turned around at Newark or were run in very
slowly and very late, carefully past the derailment on a track that was
barely passable.
Shows that these things happen elsewhere too, and the finger pointing
happens too. The difference in this case was the speed with which NTSB
(National Transportation Safety Board) stepped in and asked Amtrak (the
owner of the tracks) to get its act together and fix the tracks or face
severe fines.
Jishnu.
From: IIP Faculty [Bombay] <iipfac01@shafika.email
Subject: WCG makes noise??
Date: 11 Dec 1997 18:04:00 -0500
Hi Guys...
Sundar here. I am in Mumbai finally, my Hotmail's not responding.. so
this official address. One more loco shed is Erode on SR where a new WAx shed
for southern electric services is coming up.
Can somebody tell me why WCG2's make so much noise while WCM's are
silent? I have a vague idea about controllers but need proper knowledge.
The names of locomotives featured on the Mambalam station bridge are :
George the Fifth
Atlantics
PL 691 - A narrow gauge Sidetank
Dunalastair
A new subclassification scheme for AC locos - our train's loco at Chennai
was called WAM 4P/6D. The driver was totally ignorant when I queried on
what the 6D meant!! I will be making another trip to Chennai next week...
Will get back when my Hotmail comes to life..
Sundar
From: Siddharth Joshi <siddha@vecdec.email
Subject: Kelve
Date: 11 Dec 1997 18:23:00 -0500
Hi Everybody.
Here is the Kelve Road Report. The abbreviations are :
E.T.P : Estimated Time of Passing
A.T.P : Actual Time of Passing
BT : BEFORE TIME
D : Down
U : Up
Photos look GREAT.
TRAIN SPOTTING AT KELVE ROAD STATION ON 30/11/97
------------------------------------------------
S.NO E.T.P. A.T.P. TRAIN NAME POWER APX SPD (km/h)
_____________________________________________________________
1.) 6:OOU BT SAURASHTRA MAIL WCAM1 N/A
NOTES-PASSED BEFORE WE REACHED KELVE! (218**)
-------------------------------------------------------------
*.) 6:15U 45 MLT GUJARAT MAIL WCAM1 HALT
NOTES- LATE??, 19 COACHES, (218**), UNSCHEDULED HALT!
-------------------------------------------------------------
2.) 6:30U BT JAIPUR SF WCAM2 90+
NOTES-17 COACH, (218**)
-------------------------------------------------------------
*.) 6:40D N/A CONTAINER FRT WDM2 65+
NOTES-RTM POWER, WDM2/18711, 41 WAGON LOAD
Looked very impressive. Single WDM2 pulling 41 wagons. Building up speed
for its run. Lots of noise and smoke. We heard it from a long way off, and
it was audible for a while after it was out of sight.
-------------------------------------------------------------
3.) 7:00U 7:13 RAJDHANI WCAM2 110+
NOTES-19 COACH, (218**) ,PASSED IN UNDER 13 SECS!!, RT!
Verrry quick. Bang on time. WCAM2p power.The fastest we had seen a
WCAM2 do, until the Shatabdi passed by 40 mins later!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------
4.) 7:25D RT GUJARAT EXP WCAM1 100+
NOTES-18 COACH, VERY FAST, (218**)
-------------------------------------------------------------
5.) 7:27U RT VALSAD F.P. WCAM1 HALT
NOTES-18 COACH, BANG ON THE DOT (218**)
-------------------------------------------------------------
*.) N/A U RT DMU TRAIN WDM2 HALT
NOTES-5+1+5 CONFIG, RTM WDM2, 17434...SAME ONE WE'D CAUGHT!!
-------------------------------------------------------------
6.) 7:40D 7:52 SHATABDI WCAM2 115+/-
NOTES-14 COACH (21875), VERY FAST AND RT!
I can only imagine what the Del-Bho Shatabdi looks like !!
-------------------------------------------------------------
7.) 8:10D 12 MLT SHUTTLE WCAM1 HALT
NOTES-(21831), 19 COACH RAKE!
-------------------------------------------------------------
*.) 8:40U N/A HOL SPECIAL WCAM1 90+
NOTES-14 COACHES, (21841)
-------------------------------------------------------------
8.) 8:45U BT FLYING RANEE WCAM1 95+
NOTES-WELL BEFORE TIME.....(218**),17 COACH
-------------------------------------------------------------
9.) 8:56D 2 MLT DMU WDM2 HALT
NOTES-AGAIN SAME AS OURS!
-------------------------------------------------------------
10.) 9:00U BT AK RAJDHANI WCAM1 105+
NOTES-WCAM1 HAULED!!??, WELL BEFORE TIME, (21828), 8:43 AM PASS
Very disappointing AK sighting. A pukily painted WCAM1 pulling this
express. A very fast clip as it passed us, the fastest we've seen a WCAM1
do, definitely !
-------------------------------------------------------------
11.) 9:00D RT FZR-JANATA EXP WCAM1 SLOW PASS
NOTES-FRESHLY POH'D WCAM1(21840), 9:07 PASS
Lovely WCAM1 in its best colours-cream with a broad red stripe.
-------------------------------------------------------------
12.) 9:30D RT SAURASHTRA EXP WCAM1 80+
NOTES-18 COACHES, (218**), 9:40 PASS
-------------------------------------------------------------
*.) 9:45D RT SHUTTLE WCAM1 HALT
NOTES-19 COACH, RT (21833)
-------------------------------------------------------------
13.) 9:50D RT SWARAJ EXP WCAM2 70-
NOTES-BRAKING FOR SIGNAL..18 COACH, (21865)
-------------------------------------------------------------
14.) 10:OOU BT KUTCH EXP WCAM1 85+
NOTES-WELL BT!!, 17 COACH, (21832), 9:48 PASS
-------------------------------------------------------------
15.) 11:03D 10 Min PASSENGER WCAM1 HALT
late
NOTES-LATE, (218**)
-------------------------------------------------------------
16.) 11:20U BT KARNAVATI EXP WCAM2 105+
NOTES-RUNNING WELL BT!!, 19 COACH, (218**), 11:00 AM PASS!
Another amazing WCAM2p high speed run.
-------------------------------------------------------------
*.) 11:25D N/A CHTS-RKT EXP WCAM1 100+
NOTES-UNEXPECTED, PROBABLY LATE. S.RLY. TRAIN,,(218**)
*************************************************************************
218** INDICATES THE LOCO-NUMBER. BECOZ OF SETTING UP THE CAMERA OR PURELY
BECOZ OF JUST WATCHING THE LOCO ZIP PAST WE MISSED THE NUMBERS !!
A few tips for enthu spotters with special reference to those in and
around Bombay:
a) Plan out everything in advance. The connecting trains on WR run
exactly on time, so you can plan your outing well. On CR, account for any
and everything that can possibly cause a delay.
b) If the plan requires you to be stationed at a spot before dawn,
MAKE SURE you have a good torch.
c) If you plan to spend some time at the spot, take some dry food
along. Sandwiches, fruit,etc will do. Though cold-drinks are available
everywhere the food is always suspect.
d) Check out various possible camera positions. Compose your shots
well before the actual passing time.
e) Chat up the station-master/signalman if you can. It always helps.
____________________________________________________________________________
Comments are welcome.
Bharat Vohra
Siddhartha Joshi
##########################################################################
From: Auroprem Kandaswami <kandaswa@apple.email
Subject: WR Derailment News
Date: 11 Dec 1997 12:36:00 -0500
(DHNS, December 12, 1997)
Train derails, nine injured
Nine passengers were injured and the others had a providential escape
after thirteen bogies of the 2956 UP Jaipur-Mumbai express derailed near
Surat in the wee hours on Thursday, completely paralysing rail traffic on
the busy Ahmedabad-New Delhi sector of Western Railway, reports PTI from
Mumbai.
Many of the passengers, who were fast asleep, were woken from their
slumber when the bogies jumped the rails at 0325 hours on the Kosamba-Kim
section.
From: Pushkar Apte <apte@spdc.email
Subject: Train Speeds
Date: 11 Dec 1997 20:31:00 -0500
The Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi travels at 140 kmph max bet. Delhi and Agra
- and I believe that is the fastest speed achieved by any train in
India. Also, the avg. speed for the Delhi-Agra run of the Shatabdi is
103.8 kmph, which edges out the Mughalsarai-Gaya run of the Rajdhani
by a hair - the latter being 103.7!!! The Mumbai Rajdhani has two
runs with averages slightly better than 100 kmph (Ratlam-Kota and
Delhi-Kota). However, as far as I can tell, the top spot for average
speed goes to the Delhi-Chandigarh/Kalka Shatabdis - both do the Delhi
Kalka run at an avg of 106.1 kmph! (All of this as per the 1996 TT -
don't know if things have changed since then).
In terms of ratings, I believe all of Delhi-Ratlam is rated for 130
kmph max, Vadodara-Virar for 120, Delhi-Agra 140, Agra-Lalitpur 130,
Lalitpur-Bhopal (Itarsi?) 120. I am not sure of the speed ratings on
the Delhi-Howrah line, but I am guessing they are at least 130, given
the average speed of the Rajdhani. Which are the other 120/130kmph
max rated stretches?
Regards,
Pushkar
-------
From: Pushkar Apte <apte@spdc.email
Subject: Train Speeds: OOPS, GOOF!
Date: 11 Dec 1997 20:41:00 -0500
> runs with averages slightly better than 100 kmph (Ratlam-Kota and
> Delhi-Kota). However, as far as I can tell, the top spot for average
> speed goes to the Delhi-Chandigarh/Kalka Shatabdis - both do the Delhi
> Ambala run at an avg of 106.1 kmph! (All of this as per the 1996 TT -
Ooops - the above is a goof - I calculated the run using a wrong
distance - my mistake. I think the winner for the highest average
speed run is the Bhopal Shatabdi for its Delhi-Agra run. But, hey,
I'm open to correction! ;)
-Pushkar
From: dheeraj <dheeraj@iitk.email
Subject: Re: Train Speeds
Date: 12 Dec 1997 20:31:00 -0500
> In terms of ratings, I believe all of Delhi-Ratlam is rated for 130
> kmph max, Vadodara-Virar for 120, Delhi-Agra 140, Agra-Lalitpur 130,
> Lalitpur-Bhopal (Itarsi?) 120. I am not sure of the speed ratings on
> the Delhi-Howrah line, but I am guessing they are at least 130, given
> the average speed of the Rajdhani. Which are the other 120/130kmph
> max rated stretches?
I believe the max-speed on Ghaziabad-Kanpur stretch is 130,
though it has been cleared for speeds upto 140 by CRS. They
might have actually increased the max-speed, since recently
they decreased the run time of Shatabdi to 4:30 hours
from 4:50 hours (only from NDLS to CNB not the other way).
Shatabdi now routinely cover Ghaziabad-Kanpur distance of
about 420 KM in under 4 hours. It also has a new WAP5 engine.
They had been strengthening this stretch in the last 2-3 years,
and there were some trials at 160 kmph. My belief is that CRS
did not permit running of trains beyond 140 kmph until lot of
safety issues are taken care of, like no level crossing, barbed
wire on both sides of the track for the entire length of the
track, etc. We have been hearing of an Allahabad Shatabdi for
a long time. This was expected to cover Delhi-Kanpur in only
4 hours. There was some speculation even in India Today. It
was expected to be a "reverse" Shatabdi, leaving Allahabad
in the morning, and starting from New Delhi in the afternoon.
-dheeraj
--------------
Dheeraj Sanghi +91 (512) 59-7077 (Off)
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering +91 (512) 59-8627 (Res)
Indian Institute of Technology +91 (512) 59-0725 (Fax)
Kanpur - 208 016 (UP), INDIA. dheeraj@iitk.email