Nice capture. Where is this location and is there an automatic signalling system in force in this area?

Posted by Vimalakar N C on 2011 May 14 10:53:11 +0000

Excellent picture. Anant you have done railfanning at Vaitarna hillock before it was too late. Please note that if anyone doing video/photo capture from Vaitarna hillock will be caught by the police who are patrolling the bridge. These are not RPF's. Recently 3 railfans were caught with camera and memory card confisticated. I do not want to name them as I dont want that their future should go for toss.

Posted by Arzan Kotval on 2011 May 14 10:56:32 +0000

Excwllwnt! Such a rare capture!!!

Posted by Dr. Himagirish Rao on 2011 May 14 15:30:13 +0000

Arzan, its a sad development indeed. RLYs usually put up prohibitary notices if they don't want anybody clicking pics (& we railfans respect that). I don't think this is the case at Vaitarna. But as you say the cops were not from RPF makes me believe that there was some special case that day (any specific intelligence perhaps). This place i believe is one of the most beautiful locations on the BCT-BRC section.

Posted by Anant K Singh on 2011 May 14 17:07:33 +0000

Truly breathtaking image! Lovely light too...

Posted by Abhinav Bhattacharjee on 2011 May 14 17:13:00 +0000

amazing pic

Posted by Vivian Boye on 2011 May 15 02:45:09 +0000

Anant, I agree it is the most scenic place on BCT - NDLS route but at the moment policemen walk all around the hillock,near the bridge and close to the temple in non - uniform. Myself and Sriram about 3 months back went all the way down close to the bridge and it was so beautiful to capture trains but when I suspected some people in non - uniform to be policemen, we just stood there and watched 2-3 trains. After 15 mins, we boarded the 13:20hrs memu and went to Kelve Road. Just for 1 FC pic, we shouldn't take risks.

Posted by Arzan Kotval on 2011 May 15 10:45:23 +0000

Wow !! Vaitarna at its best. High tide just adds to the beauty. Needless to say it is more magical an experience in the Monsoons !!!

Posted by Dilip Setlur on 2011 May 15 13:47:49 +0000

Excellent pic

Posted by Rishikesh Shinde on 2011 May 15 15:38:01 +0000

Super pic,sad to know its almost impossible to take pics from here now :-(

Posted by Shan H Fernandes on 2011 May 15 15:41:59 +0000

@Vimalkar Sir, this is Vaitarna on the BCT-BRC section, and yes it does have Automatic Signalling in force.

@Arzan, the presence of policemen/RPF in uniform/plain clothes could be due to smuggling by using the water channel. Again, possibly the presence of railfans randomly taking pics could be a cause of concern for the authorities, who might suspect railfans to be someone else!!!

Posted by Kharad Zarir Variyava on 2011 May 16 05:47:15 +0000

Kharad, you are right that policemen in uniform/non - uniform clothes are there to avoid smuggling by using the water channel. There were lots of such cases and now a police chowki has come up. Yes, its due to security/safety reasons that they are telling railfans to stop doing. 3 railfans were also caught not only standing on hillock for long but also because they saw them walking on the bridge and taking snaps. Its because of these reasons they thought our railfans to be somebody else.

Posted by Arzan Kotval on 2011 May 16 07:31:11 +0000

Arzan & Kharad, I inquired today and heres what i found out. Bombay high court has imposed a ban on sand mining activity in this area. Old timers would know there used to be lot of activity with trucks moving in and out. The presence of police is precisely to enforce the orders.
Secondly all though the villagers use the bridge to cross the creek, as per railways, it is a punishable offense (there is board on south side of creek indicating the same). So one should not do so.
I was planning another trip here after onset of monsoon, but it would be better and check with policemen before taking shots.

Posted by Anant K Singh on 2011 May 16 09:46:25 +0000

great shot...

Posted by Vrundan Shah on 2011 May 16 12:14:22 +0000