IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 3781 - 3800
From: Pushkar Apte <>
Subject: Look-up request
Date: 06 Oct 1998 07:16:43 -0500
A question for our Mumbai/Pune friends who have access to Mumbai
suburban time-tables.
I know there are some (very few) locals from Bandra/Andheri that cut
across Raoli junction and connect to new Bombay. DO these locals go
to Panvel? Is it even theoretically possible for someone living in
Bandra or Andheri to use these locals to connect to the Trivandrum
Rajdhani to/from Goa? I suspect headed for Goa would be impossible,
since the Raj gets to Panvel @ 5:45 or so. Coming back from Goa may
be more feasible since the Raj comes to Panvel @ 19:40 (I think). Is
there a local after 19:40 from Panvel to WR? Please do post the
answer.
Thanks!
-Pushkar
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Good timetable itinerary question
Date: 06 Oct 1998 07:41:03 -0500
>I was originally interested in taking the Rajdhani up to Kanpur or
>Allahabad, but if this means that the stopover is very short, perhaps I
>should reconsider. One of my goals is to get at least a bit of
photography
>in at stations, especially since the North-Northeast corridor doesn't
have a
>lot of photographic coverage in our group, and I personally would like
to
>get a couple of WAP photographs for possible modeling.
You shouldn't have any problem catching WAPs. You'll get to see quite a
few Bo-Bo AC locos. in the Howrah-Gaya-Allahabad section : WAM1/2/3,
WAG2/4. Also, look out for the WDM4 shed just at the west end of
Mughalsari; you may be able to spot a couple of these at Allahabad.
>
>1) What would be the comparative timings of stops for Rajdhani Exp.,
Jodhpur
>Exp., and Kalka Mail be? (I guess the latter has the most stops).
If high-speed travel is your preference, go for the Rajdhani which
travels at a top speed of 130 kmph. The Calcutta Rajdhani via Gaya
operates five days a week and halts at Dhanbad, Gaya, Mughalsarai,
Allahabad and Kanpur. Major skip : Asansol. The Bhubaneswar Raj.
operates on the other two days and halts at Asansol, Dhanbad,
Mughalsarai and Kanpur. Major skips: Gaya, Allahabad (a big one!)
Since the layover at Kanpur is nearly 16 hours before the Pushpak rolls
in, it's best to go all the way to Delhi and experience a (hopefully)
non-stop 5 hr. run at 130 kmph.
Dep. Howrah 5.00 pm Arr. Kanpur 4.40 am Arr. N.Delhi 9.40 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Asansol (includes the quadruple-track section
between Barddhaman and Asansol), Kanpur-N.Delhi
If you want to travel by a twin-WDM2 hauled Rajdhani take the Calcutta
Raj. via Patna which stops at Madhupur, Patna, Mughalsarai, Allahabad
and Kanpur. Major skips: Asansol, Jha Jha.
Dep. Howrah: 1.45 pm Arr. Kanpur: 5.00 am Arr. N.Delhi - 10.00 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Jha Jha (can see electrification in progress
beyond Jha Jha) and Kanpur-N.Delhi.
The Howrah-Jodhpur superfast travels at 110 kmph. max. Halts between
Howrah and Kanpur: Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasnath, Gaya, Dehri-on-sone,
Mughalsarai, Allahabad. So skips Barddhaman, Durgapur, Gomoh and
Mirzapur.
Dep. Howrah: 11.30 pm Arr. Allahabad: 12.15 pm Arr. Kanpur: 3.00 pm
Layover of 11 hrs. at Allahabad to catch the Ratnagiri
Layover of 6 hrs. at Kanpur to catch the Pushpak
Daylight stretch - Gaya-Kanpur. Would most probably encounter the
Vindhyas(?) in the Gujhandi-Gurpa section at dawn. Would cross the
longest rail-over-river bridge (a little over 2 kms.) between Sonnagar
and Dehri-on-sone - over the Sone river.
The Kalka Mail is also superfast and travels at 110 kmph. max. It has
quite a few more halts between Howrah and Kanpur: Barddhaman, Durgapur,
Asansol, Dhanbad, Gomoh, Hazaribagh Rd., Koderma, Gaya, Dehri-on-Sone,
Sasaram, Babhua Rd., Mughalsarai, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Fatehpur.
Dep. Howrah: 7.15 pm Arr. Allahabad: 9.00 am Arr. Kanpur: Noon
>3) Might it just be better to take the Rajdhani to Delhi, take some
pictures
>there, and hop on a Rajdhani to Mumbai? What are the timings for that?
If you wish to experience a complete Rajdhani journey, this is the best
option. Besides Delhi has a lot to offer in terms of
Rajdhanis/Shatabdis and other express/mail trains. If you have time,
you can catch a shuttle to either Ghaziabad (AC loco. shed) or
Tughlakabad (WDM2 shed as well as container depot). You have quite a
few superfast trains to Mumbai in the evening:
Rajdhani Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 4.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 8.35 am
A.K. Raj dep. Nizamudin: 4.50 pm Arr. Mumbai: 10.15 am
Paschim Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 5.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 3.15 pm
Swaraj Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 9.45 pm Arr. Mumbai: 6.20 pm
The last two will give you a chance to travel on a non-AC coach.
Probably, the most scenic streches in terms of hills and curves are
Kota-Nagda and Ratlam-Dahod; the Swaraj Exp. travels through these
during daylight.
>4) Is Kanpur station and the Kanpur-Jhansi-Bhopal line better for
railfans
>than Allahabad and the Allahabad-Satna-Jabalpur line (I would guess
so)? If
>I'm going to spend a day (or even an afternoon) sitting in a station
>watching trains go by, which of the two might be better?
Definitely, Kanpur. You'll catch the LKO Shatabdi Exp. on its way to
N.Delhi (with a change of loco.) and probably the Rajdhanis on their way
to Howrah/Bhubaneswar/Guwahati/Patna. In addition, there is an MG line
going towards Farrukhabad-Kasganj-Agra Fort. It also has an AC loco.
shed for the air-braked WAG4s. Allahabad would give you a chance to see
some WDM4s.
The Jhansi-Bhopal-Itarsi line has quite a few more trains/superfasts
than Allahabad-Jabalpur-Itarsi. You'll cross the GT exp., AP Exp. and
the Rajdhani (if it happens to be operational on that day) among other
trains. In addition, you'll encounter the Satpuras(?) between Bhopal
and Itarsi with spectacular views, and cross the Narmada river.
In the Allahabad-Itarsi section, you'll cross the Narmada between
Jabalpur and Narsinghpur. An interesting station is Madal Mahal just
after Jabalpur with platforms on both the sides of one of the tracks but
access only from one of them. Between Sohagpur and Bagra Tawa you'll
cross the Tawa river. What's neat is you'll first go through a tunnel
and then a minute later you'll go through a bridge over the Tawa.
5) Is Pushpak a better train than Ratnagiri?
Not really. Both are superfasts with limited halts. Pushpak averages
about 56 kmph. between Kanpur and Dadar whereas Ratnagiri averages about
58 kmph between Allahabad and Kurla. Pushpak's halts: Kanpur, Orai,
Jhansi, Lalitpur, Bhopal, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusaval, Igatpuri, Kalyan,
Dadar. Ratnagiri's halts: Satna, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Bhusaval, Igatpuri,
Kalyan.
With Ratnagiri, you'll have a 9+ hr. run with a WDM2 in command, out of
which 3 hrs. is in the daytime. With Pushpak, only Kanpur-Jhansi is the
diesel section which is crossed during night.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Good timetable itinerary question
Date: 06 Oct 1998 07:41:03 -0500
>I was originally interested in taking the Rajdhani up to Kanpur or
>Allahabad, but if this means that the stopover is very short, perhaps I
>should reconsider. One of my goals is to get at least a bit of
photography
>in at stations, especially since the North-Northeast corridor doesn't
have a
>lot of photographic coverage in our group, and I personally would like
to
>get a couple of WAP photographs for possible modeling.
You shouldn't have any problem catching WAPs. You'll get to see quite a
few Bo-Bo AC locos. in the Howrah-Gaya-Allahabad section : WAM1/2/3,
WAG2/4. Also, look out for the WDM4 shed just at the west end of
Mughalsari; you may be able to spot a couple of these at Allahabad.
>
>1) What would be the comparative timings of stops for Rajdhani Exp.,
Jodhpur
>Exp., and Kalka Mail be? (I guess the latter has the most stops).
If high-speed travel is your preference, go for the Rajdhani which
travels at a top speed of 130 kmph. The Calcutta Rajdhani via Gaya
operates five days a week and halts at Dhanbad, Gaya, Mughalsarai,
Allahabad and Kanpur. Major skip : Asansol. The Bhubaneswar Raj.
operates on the other two days and halts at Asansol, Dhanbad,
Mughalsarai and Kanpur. Major skips: Gaya, Allahabad (a big one!)
Since the layover at Kanpur is nearly 16 hours before the Pushpak rolls
in, it's best to go all the way to Delhi and experience a (hopefully)
non-stop 5 hr. run at 130 kmph.
Dep. Howrah 5.00 pm Arr. Kanpur 4.40 am Arr. N.Delhi 9.40 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Asansol (includes the quadruple-track section
between Barddhaman and Asansol), Kanpur-N.Delhi
If you want to travel by a twin-WDM2 hauled Rajdhani take the Calcutta
Raj. via Patna which stops at Madhupur, Patna, Mughalsarai, Allahabad
and Kanpur. Major skips: Asansol, Jha Jha.
Dep. Howrah: 1.45 pm Arr. Kanpur: 5.00 am Arr. N.Delhi - 10.00 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Jha Jha (can see electrification in progress
beyond Jha Jha) and Kanpur-N.Delhi.
The Howrah-Jodhpur superfast travels at 110 kmph. max. Halts between
Howrah and Kanpur: Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasnath, Gaya, Dehri-on-sone,
Mughalsarai, Allahabad. So skips Barddhaman, Durgapur, Gomoh and
Mirzapur.
Dep. Howrah: 11.30 pm Arr. Allahabad: 12.15 pm Arr. Kanpur: 3.00 pm
Layover of 11 hrs. at Allahabad to catch the Ratnagiri
Layover of 6 hrs. at Kanpur to catch the Pushpak
Daylight stretch - Gaya-Kanpur. Would most probably encounter the
Vindhyas(?) in the Gujhandi-Gurpa section at dawn. Would cross the
longest rail-over-river bridge (a little over 2 kms.) between Sonnagar
and Dehri-on-sone - over the Sone river.
The Kalka Mail is also superfast and travels at 110 kmph. max. It has
quite a few more halts between Howrah and Kanpur: Barddhaman, Durgapur,
Asansol, Dhanbad, Gomoh, Hazaribagh Rd., Koderma, Gaya, Dehri-on-Sone,
Sasaram, Babhua Rd., Mughalsarai, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Fatehpur.
Dep. Howrah: 7.15 pm Arr. Allahabad: 9.00 am Arr. Kanpur: Noon
>3) Might it just be better to take the Rajdhani to Delhi, take some
pictures
>there, and hop on a Rajdhani to Mumbai? What are the timings for that?
If you wish to experience a complete Rajdhani journey, this is the best
option. Besides Delhi has a lot to offer in terms of
Rajdhanis/Shatabdis and other express/mail trains. If you have time,
you can catch a shuttle to either Ghaziabad (AC loco. shed) or
Tughlakabad (WDM2 shed as well as container depot). You have quite a
few superfast trains to Mumbai in the evening:
Rajdhani Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 4.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 8.35 am
A.K. Raj dep. Nizamudin: 4.50 pm Arr. Mumbai: 10.15 am
Paschim Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 5.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 3.15 pm
Swaraj Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 9.45 pm Arr. Mumbai: 6.20 pm
The last two will give you a chance to travel on a non-AC coach.
Probably, the most scenic streches in terms of hills and curves are
Kota-Nagda and Ratlam-Dahod; the Swaraj Exp. travels through these
during daylight.
>4) Is Kanpur station and the Kanpur-Jhansi-Bhopal line better for
railfans
>than Allahabad and the Allahabad-Satna-Jabalpur line (I would guess
so)? If
>I'm going to spend a day (or even an afternoon) sitting in a station
>watching trains go by, which of the two might be better?
Definitely, Kanpur. You'll catch the LKO Shatabdi Exp. on its way to
N.Delhi (with a change of loco.) and probably the Rajdhanis on their way
to Howrah/Bhubaneswar/Guwahati/Patna. In addition, there is an MG line
going towards Farrukhabad-Kasganj-Agra Fort. It also has an AC loco.
shed for the air-braked WAG4s. Allahabad would give you a chance to see
some WDM4s.
The Jhansi-Bhopal-Itarsi line has quite a few more trains/superfasts
than Allahabad-Jabalpur-Itarsi. You'll cross the GT exp., AP Exp. and
the Rajdhani (if it happens to be operational on that day) among other
trains. In addition, you'll encounter the Satpuras(?) between Bhopal
and Itarsi with spectacular views, and cross the Narmada river.
In the Allahabad-Itarsi section, you'll cross the Narmada between
Jabalpur and Narsinghpur. An interesting station is Madal Mahal just
after Jabalpur with platforms on both the sides of one of the tracks but
access only from one of them. Between Sohagpur and Bagra Tawa you'll
cross the Tawa river. What's neat is you'll first go through a tunnel
and then a minute later you'll go through a bridge over the Tawa.
5) Is Pushpak a better train than Ratnagiri?
Not really. Both are superfasts with limited halts. Pushpak averages
about 56 kmph. between Kanpur and Dadar whereas Ratnagiri averages about
58 kmph between Allahabad and Kurla. Pushpak's halts: Kanpur, Orai,
Jhansi, Lalitpur, Bhopal, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusaval, Igatpuri, Kalyan,
Dadar. Ratnagiri's halts: Satna, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Bhusaval, Igatpuri,
Kalyan.
With Ratnagiri, you'll have a 9+ hr. run with a WDM2 in command, out of
which 3 hrs. is in the daytime. With Pushpak, only Kanpur-Jhansi is the
diesel section which is crossed during night.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Good timetable itinerary question
Date: 06 Oct 1998 07:41:21 -0500
>I was originally interested in taking the Rajdhani up to Kanpur or
>Allahabad, but if this means that the stopover is very short, perhaps I
>should reconsider. One of my goals is to get at least a bit of
photography
>in at stations, especially since the North-Northeast corridor doesn't
have a
>lot of photographic coverage in our group, and I personally would like
to
>get a couple of WAP photographs for possible modeling.
You shouldn't have any problem catching WAPs. You'll get to see quite a
few Bo-Bo AC locos. in the Howrah-Gaya-Allahabad section : WAM1/2/3,
WAG2/4. Also, look out for the WDM4 shed just at the west end of
Mughalsari; you may be able to spot a couple of these at Allahabad.
>
>1) What would be the comparative timings of stops for Rajdhani Exp.,
Jodhpur
>Exp., and Kalka Mail be? (I guess the latter has the most stops).
If high-speed travel is your preference, go for the Rajdhani which
travels at a top speed of 130 kmph. The Calcutta Rajdhani via Gaya
operates five days a week and halts at Dhanbad, Gaya, Mughalsarai,
Allahabad and Kanpur. Major skip : Asansol. The Bhubaneswar Raj.
operates on the other two days and halts at Asansol, Dhanbad,
Mughalsarai and Kanpur. Major skips: Gaya, Allahabad (a big one!)
Since the layover at Kanpur is nearly 16 hours before the Pushpak rolls
in, it's best to go all the way to Delhi and experience a (hopefully)
non-stop 5 hr. run at 130 kmph.
Dep. Howrah 5.00 pm Arr. Kanpur 4.40 am Arr. N.Delhi 9.40 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Asansol (includes the quadruple-track section
between Barddhaman and Asansol), Kanpur-N.Delhi
If you want to travel by a twin-WDM2 hauled Rajdhani take the Calcutta
Raj. via Patna which stops at Madhupur, Patna, Mughalsarai, Allahabad
and Kanpur. Major skips: Asansol, Jha Jha.
Dep. Howrah: 1.45 pm Arr. Kanpur: 5.00 am Arr. N.Delhi - 10.00 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Jha Jha (can see electrification in progress
beyond Jha Jha) and Kanpur-N.Delhi.
The Howrah-Jodhpur superfast travels at 110 kmph. max. Halts between
Howrah and Kanpur: Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasnath, Gaya, Dehri-on-sone,
Mughalsarai, Allahabad. So skips Barddhaman, Durgapur, Gomoh and
Mirzapur.
Dep. Howrah: 11.30 pm Arr. Allahabad: 12.15 pm Arr. Kanpur: 3.00 pm
Layover of 11 hrs. at Allahabad to catch the Ratnagiri
Layover of 6 hrs. at Kanpur to catch the Pushpak
Daylight stretch - Gaya-Kanpur. Would most probably encounter the
Vindhyas(?) in the Gujhandi-Gurpa section at dawn. Would cross the
longest rail-over-river bridge (a little over 2 kms.) between Sonnagar
and Dehri-on-sone - over the Sone river.
The Kalka Mail is also superfast and travels at 110 kmph. max. It has
quite a few more halts between Howrah and Kanpur: Barddhaman, Durgapur,
Asansol, Dhanbad, Gomoh, Hazaribagh Rd., Koderma, Gaya, Dehri-on-Sone,
Sasaram, Babhua Rd., Mughalsarai, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Fatehpur.
Dep. Howrah: 7.15 pm Arr. Allahabad: 9.00 am Arr. Kanpur: Noon
>3) Might it just be better to take the Rajdhani to Delhi, take some
pictures
>there, and hop on a Rajdhani to Mumbai? What are the timings for that?
If you wish to experience a complete Rajdhani journey, this is the best
option. Besides Delhi has a lot to offer in terms of
Rajdhanis/Shatabdis and other express/mail trains. If you have time,
you can catch a shuttle to either Ghaziabad (AC loco. shed) or
Tughlakabad (WDM2 shed as well as container depot). You have quite a
few superfast trains to Mumbai in the evening:
Rajdhani Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 4.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 8.35 am
A.K. Raj dep. Nizamudin: 4.50 pm Arr. Mumbai: 10.15 am
Paschim Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 5.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 3.15 pm
Swaraj Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 9.45 pm Arr. Mumbai: 6.20 pm
The last two will give you a chance to travel on a non-AC coach.
Probably, the most scenic streches in terms of hills and curves are
Kota-Nagda and Ratlam-Dahod; the Swaraj Exp. travels through these
during daylight.
>4) Is Kanpur station and the Kanpur-Jhansi-Bhopal line better for
railfans
>than Allahabad and the Allahabad-Satna-Jabalpur line (I would guess
so)? If
>I'm going to spend a day (or even an afternoon) sitting in a station
>watching trains go by, which of the two might be better?
Definitely, Kanpur. You'll catch the LKO Shatabdi Exp. on its way to
N.Delhi (with a change of loco.) and probably the Rajdhanis on their way
to Howrah/Bhubaneswar/Guwahati/Patna. In addition, there is an MG line
going towards Farrukhabad-Kasganj-Agra Fort. It also has an AC loco.
shed for the air-braked WAG4s. Allahabad would give you a chance to see
some WDM4s.
The Jhansi-Bhopal-Itarsi line has quite a few more trains/superfasts
than Allahabad-Jabalpur-Itarsi. You'll cross the GT exp., AP Exp. and
the Rajdhani (if it happens to be operational on that day) among other
trains. In addition, you'll encounter the Satpuras(?) between Bhopal
and Itarsi with spectacular views, and cross the Narmada river.
In the Allahabad-Itarsi section, you'll cross the Narmada between
Jabalpur and Narsinghpur. An interesting station is Madal Mahal just
after Jabalpur with platforms on both the sides of one of the tracks but
access only from one of them. Between Sohagpur and Bagra Tawa you'll
cross the Tawa river. What's neat is you'll first go through a tunnel
and then a minute later you'll go through a bridge over the Tawa.
5) Is Pushpak a better train than Ratnagiri?
Not really. Both are superfasts with limited halts. Pushpak averages
about 56 kmph. between Kanpur and Dadar whereas Ratnagiri averages about
58 kmph between Allahabad and Kurla. Pushpak's halts: Kanpur, Orai,
Jhansi, Lalitpur, Bhopal, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusaval, Igatpuri, Kalyan,
Dadar. Ratnagiri's halts: Satna, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Bhusaval, Igatpuri,
Kalyan.
With Ratnagiri, you'll have a 9+ hr. run with a WDM2 in command, out of
which 3 hrs. is in the daytime. With Pushpak, only Kanpur-Jhansi is the
diesel section which is crossed during night.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Good timetable itinerary question
Date: 06 Oct 1998 07:41:21 -0500
>I was originally interested in taking the Rajdhani up to Kanpur or
>Allahabad, but if this means that the stopover is very short, perhaps I
>should reconsider. One of my goals is to get at least a bit of
photography
>in at stations, especially since the North-Northeast corridor doesn't
have a
>lot of photographic coverage in our group, and I personally would like
to
>get a couple of WAP photographs for possible modeling.
You shouldn't have any problem catching WAPs. You'll get to see quite a
few Bo-Bo AC locos. in the Howrah-Gaya-Allahabad section : WAM1/2/3,
WAG2/4. Also, look out for the WDM4 shed just at the west end of
Mughalsari; you may be able to spot a couple of these at Allahabad.
>
>1) What would be the comparative timings of stops for Rajdhani Exp.,
Jodhpur
>Exp., and Kalka Mail be? (I guess the latter has the most stops).
If high-speed travel is your preference, go for the Rajdhani which
travels at a top speed of 130 kmph. The Calcutta Rajdhani via Gaya
operates five days a week and halts at Dhanbad, Gaya, Mughalsarai,
Allahabad and Kanpur. Major skip : Asansol. The Bhubaneswar Raj.
operates on the other two days and halts at Asansol, Dhanbad,
Mughalsarai and Kanpur. Major skips: Gaya, Allahabad (a big one!)
Since the layover at Kanpur is nearly 16 hours before the Pushpak rolls
in, it's best to go all the way to Delhi and experience a (hopefully)
non-stop 5 hr. run at 130 kmph.
Dep. Howrah 5.00 pm Arr. Kanpur 4.40 am Arr. N.Delhi 9.40 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Asansol (includes the quadruple-track section
between Barddhaman and Asansol), Kanpur-N.Delhi
If you want to travel by a twin-WDM2 hauled Rajdhani take the Calcutta
Raj. via Patna which stops at Madhupur, Patna, Mughalsarai, Allahabad
and Kanpur. Major skips: Asansol, Jha Jha.
Dep. Howrah: 1.45 pm Arr. Kanpur: 5.00 am Arr. N.Delhi - 10.00 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Jha Jha (can see electrification in progress
beyond Jha Jha) and Kanpur-N.Delhi.
The Howrah-Jodhpur superfast travels at 110 kmph. max. Halts between
Howrah and Kanpur: Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasnath, Gaya, Dehri-on-sone,
Mughalsarai, Allahabad. So skips Barddhaman, Durgapur, Gomoh and
Mirzapur.
Dep. Howrah: 11.30 pm Arr. Allahabad: 12.15 pm Arr. Kanpur: 3.00 pm
Layover of 11 hrs. at Allahabad to catch the Ratnagiri
Layover of 6 hrs. at Kanpur to catch the Pushpak
Daylight stretch - Gaya-Kanpur. Would most probably encounter the
Vindhyas(?) in the Gujhandi-Gurpa section at dawn. Would cross the
longest rail-over-river bridge (a little over 2 kms.) between Sonnagar
and Dehri-on-sone - over the Sone river.
The Kalka Mail is also superfast and travels at 110 kmph. max. It has
quite a few more halts between Howrah and Kanpur: Barddhaman, Durgapur,
Asansol, Dhanbad, Gomoh, Hazaribagh Rd., Koderma, Gaya, Dehri-on-Sone,
Sasaram, Babhua Rd., Mughalsarai, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Fatehpur.
Dep. Howrah: 7.15 pm Arr. Allahabad: 9.00 am Arr. Kanpur: Noon
>3) Might it just be better to take the Rajdhani to Delhi, take some
pictures
>there, and hop on a Rajdhani to Mumbai? What are the timings for that?
If you wish to experience a complete Rajdhani journey, this is the best
option. Besides Delhi has a lot to offer in terms of
Rajdhanis/Shatabdis and other express/mail trains. If you have time,
you can catch a shuttle to either Ghaziabad (AC loco. shed) or
Tughlakabad (WDM2 shed as well as container depot). You have quite a
few superfast trains to Mumbai in the evening:
Rajdhani Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 4.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 8.35 am
A.K. Raj dep. Nizamudin: 4.50 pm Arr. Mumbai: 10.15 am
Paschim Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 5.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 3.15 pm
Swaraj Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 9.45 pm Arr. Mumbai: 6.20 pm
The last two will give you a chance to travel on a non-AC coach.
Probably, the most scenic streches in terms of hills and curves are
Kota-Nagda and Ratlam-Dahod; the Swaraj Exp. travels through these
during daylight.
>4) Is Kanpur station and the Kanpur-Jhansi-Bhopal line better for
railfans
>than Allahabad and the Allahabad-Satna-Jabalpur line (I would guess
so)? If
>I'm going to spend a day (or even an afternoon) sitting in a station
>watching trains go by, which of the two might be better?
Definitely, Kanpur. You'll catch the LKO Shatabdi Exp. on its way to
N.Delhi (with a change of loco.) and probably the Rajdhanis on their way
to Howrah/Bhubaneswar/Guwahati/Patna. In addition, there is an MG line
going towards Farrukhabad-Kasganj-Agra Fort. It also has an AC loco.
shed for the air-braked WAG4s. Allahabad would give you a chance to see
some WDM4s.
The Jhansi-Bhopal-Itarsi line has quite a few more trains/superfasts
than Allahabad-Jabalpur-Itarsi. You'll cross the GT exp., AP Exp. and
the Rajdhani (if it happens to be operational on that day) among other
trains. In addition, you'll encounter the Satpuras(?) between Bhopal
and Itarsi with spectacular views, and cross the Narmada river.
In the Allahabad-Itarsi section, you'll cross the Narmada between
Jabalpur and Narsinghpur. An interesting station is Madal Mahal just
after Jabalpur with platforms on both the sides of one of the tracks but
access only from one of them. Between Sohagpur and Bagra Tawa you'll
cross the Tawa river. What's neat is you'll first go through a tunnel
and then a minute later you'll go through a bridge over the Tawa.
5) Is Pushpak a better train than Ratnagiri?
Not really. Both are superfasts with limited halts. Pushpak averages
about 56 kmph. between Kanpur and Dadar whereas Ratnagiri averages about
58 kmph between Allahabad and Kurla. Pushpak's halts: Kanpur, Orai,
Jhansi, Lalitpur, Bhopal, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusaval, Igatpuri, Kalyan,
Dadar. Ratnagiri's halts: Satna, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Bhusaval, Igatpuri,
Kalyan.
With Ratnagiri, you'll have a 9+ hr. run with a WDM2 in command, out of
which 3 hrs. is in the daytime. With Pushpak, only Kanpur-Jhansi is the
diesel section which is crossed during night.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
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From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Good timetable itinerary question
Date: 06 Oct 1998 07:43:12 -0500
>I was originally interested in taking the Rajdhani up to Kanpur or
>Allahabad, but if this means that the stopover is very short, perhaps I
>should reconsider. One of my goals is to get at least a bit of
photography
>in at stations, especially since the North-Northeast corridor doesn't
have a
>lot of photographic coverage in our group, and I personally would like
to
>get a couple of WAP photographs for possible modeling.
You shouldn't have any problem catching WAPs. You'll get to see quite a
few Bo-Bo AC locos. in the Howrah-Gaya-Allahabad section : WAM1/2/3,
WAG2/4. Also, look out for the WDM4 shed just at the west end of
Mughalsari; you may be able to spot a couple of these at Allahabad.
>
>1) What would be the comparative timings of stops for Rajdhani Exp.,
Jodhpur
>Exp., and Kalka Mail be? (I guess the latter has the most stops).
If high-speed travel is your preference, go for the Rajdhani which
travels at a top speed of 130 kmph. The Calcutta Rajdhani via Gaya
operates five days a week and halts at Dhanbad, Gaya, Mughalsarai,
Allahabad and Kanpur. Major skip : Asansol. The Bhubaneswar Raj.
operates on the other two days and halts at Asansol, Dhanbad,
Mughalsarai and Kanpur. Major skips: Gaya, Allahabad (a big one!)
Since the layover at Kanpur is nearly 16 hours before the Pushpak rolls
in, it's best to go all the way to Delhi and experience a (hopefully)
non-stop 5 hr. run at 130 kmph.
Dep. Howrah 5.00 pm Arr. Kanpur 4.40 am Arr. N.Delhi 9.40 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Asansol (includes the quadruple-track section
between Barddhaman and Asansol), Kanpur-N.Delhi
If you want to travel by a twin-WDM2 hauled Rajdhani take the Calcutta
Raj. via Patna which stops at Madhupur, Patna, Mughalsarai, Allahabad
and Kanpur. Major skips: Asansol, Jha Jha.
Dep. Howrah: 1.45 pm Arr. Kanpur: 5.00 am Arr. N.Delhi - 10.00 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Jha Jha (can see electrification in progress
beyond Jha Jha) and Kanpur-N.Delhi.
The Howrah-Jodhpur superfast travels at 110 kmph. max. Halts between
Howrah and Kanpur: Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasnath, Gaya, Dehri-on-sone,
Mughalsarai, Allahabad. So skips Barddhaman, Durgapur, Gomoh and
Mirzapur.
Dep. Howrah: 11.30 pm Arr. Allahabad: 12.15 pm Arr. Kanpur: 3.00 pm
Layover of 11 hrs. at Allahabad to catch the Ratnagiri
Layover of 6 hrs. at Kanpur to catch the Pushpak
Daylight stretch - Gaya-Kanpur. Would most probably encounter the
Vindhyas(?) in the Gujhandi-Gurpa section at dawn. Would cross the
longest rail-over-river bridge (a little over 2 kms.) between Sonnagar
and Dehri-on-sone - over the Sone river.
The Kalka Mail is also superfast and travels at 110 kmph. max. It has
quite a few more halts between Howrah and Kanpur: Barddhaman, Durgapur,
Asansol, Dhanbad, Gomoh, Hazaribagh Rd., Koderma, Gaya, Dehri-on-Sone,
Sasaram, Babhua Rd., Mughalsarai, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Fatehpur.
Dep. Howrah: 7.15 pm Arr. Allahabad: 9.00 am Arr. Kanpur: Noon
>3) Might it just be better to take the Rajdhani to Delhi, take some
pictures
>there, and hop on a Rajdhani to Mumbai? What are the timings for that?
If you wish to experience a complete Rajdhani journey, this is the best
option. Besides Delhi has a lot to offer in terms of
Rajdhanis/Shatabdis and other express/mail trains. If you have time,
you can catch a shuttle to either Ghaziabad (AC loco. shed) or
Tughlakabad (WDM2 shed as well as container depot). You have quite a
few superfast trains to Mumbai in the evening:
Rajdhani Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 4.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 8.35 am
A.K. Raj dep. Nizamudin: 4.50 pm Arr. Mumbai: 10.15 am
Paschim Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 5.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 3.15 pm
Swaraj Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 9.45 pm Arr. Mumbai: 6.20 pm
The last two will give you a chance to travel on a non-AC coach.
Probably, the most scenic streches in terms of hills and curves are
Kota-Nagda and Ratlam-Dahod; the Swaraj Exp. travels through these
during daylight.
>4) Is Kanpur station and the Kanpur-Jhansi-Bhopal line better for
railfans
>than Allahabad and the Allahabad-Satna-Jabalpur line (I would guess
so)? If
>I'm going to spend a day (or even an afternoon) sitting in a station
>watching trains go by, which of the two might be better?
Definitely, Kanpur. You'll catch the LKO Shatabdi Exp. on its way to
N.Delhi (with a change of loco.) and probably the Rajdhanis on their way
to Howrah/Bhubaneswar/Guwahati/Patna. In addition, there is an MG line
going towards Farrukhabad-Kasganj-Agra Fort. It also has an AC loco.
shed for the air-braked WAG4s. Allahabad would give you a chance to see
some WDM4s.
The Jhansi-Bhopal-Itarsi line has quite a few more trains/superfasts
than Allahabad-Jabalpur-Itarsi. You'll cross the GT exp., AP Exp. and
the Rajdhani (if it happens to be operational on that day) among other
trains. In addition, you'll encounter the Satpuras(?) between Bhopal
and Itarsi with spectacular views, and cross the Narmada river.
In the Allahabad-Itarsi section, you'll cross the Narmada between
Jabalpur and Narsinghpur. An interesting station is Madal Mahal just
after Jabalpur with platforms on both the sides of one of the tracks but
access only from one of them. Between Sohagpur and Bagra Tawa you'll
cross the Tawa river. What's neat is you'll first go through a tunnel
and then a minute later you'll go through a bridge over the Tawa.
5) Is Pushpak a better train than Ratnagiri?
Not really. Both are superfasts with limited halts. Pushpak averages
about 56 kmph. between Kanpur and Dadar whereas Ratnagiri averages about
58 kmph between Allahabad and Kurla. Pushpak's halts: Kanpur, Orai,
Jhansi, Lalitpur, Bhopal, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusaval, Igatpuri, Kalyan,
Dadar. Ratnagiri's halts: Satna, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Bhusaval, Igatpuri,
Kalyan.
With Ratnagiri, you'll have a 9+ hr. run with a WDM2 in command, out of
which 3 hrs. is in the daytime. With Pushpak, only Kanpur-Jhansi is the
diesel section which is crossed during night.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
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From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Good timetable itinerary question
Date: 06 Oct 1998 07:43:12 -0500
>I was originally interested in taking the Rajdhani up to Kanpur or
>Allahabad, but if this means that the stopover is very short, perhaps I
>should reconsider. One of my goals is to get at least a bit of
photography
>in at stations, especially since the North-Northeast corridor doesn't
have a
>lot of photographic coverage in our group, and I personally would like
to
>get a couple of WAP photographs for possible modeling.
You shouldn't have any problem catching WAPs. You'll get to see quite a
few Bo-Bo AC locos. in the Howrah-Gaya-Allahabad section : WAM1/2/3,
WAG2/4. Also, look out for the WDM4 shed just at the west end of
Mughalsari; you may be able to spot a couple of these at Allahabad.
>
>1) What would be the comparative timings of stops for Rajdhani Exp.,
Jodhpur
>Exp., and Kalka Mail be? (I guess the latter has the most stops).
If high-speed travel is your preference, go for the Rajdhani which
travels at a top speed of 130 kmph. The Calcutta Rajdhani via Gaya
operates five days a week and halts at Dhanbad, Gaya, Mughalsarai,
Allahabad and Kanpur. Major skip : Asansol. The Bhubaneswar Raj.
operates on the other two days and halts at Asansol, Dhanbad,
Mughalsarai and Kanpur. Major skips: Gaya, Allahabad (a big one!)
Since the layover at Kanpur is nearly 16 hours before the Pushpak rolls
in, it's best to go all the way to Delhi and experience a (hopefully)
non-stop 5 hr. run at 130 kmph.
Dep. Howrah 5.00 pm Arr. Kanpur 4.40 am Arr. N.Delhi 9.40 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Asansol (includes the quadruple-track section
between Barddhaman and Asansol), Kanpur-N.Delhi
If you want to travel by a twin-WDM2 hauled Rajdhani take the Calcutta
Raj. via Patna which stops at Madhupur, Patna, Mughalsarai, Allahabad
and Kanpur. Major skips: Asansol, Jha Jha.
Dep. Howrah: 1.45 pm Arr. Kanpur: 5.00 am Arr. N.Delhi - 10.00 am
Daylight stretches: Howrah-Jha Jha (can see electrification in progress
beyond Jha Jha) and Kanpur-N.Delhi.
The Howrah-Jodhpur superfast travels at 110 kmph. max. Halts between
Howrah and Kanpur: Asansol, Dhanbad, Parasnath, Gaya, Dehri-on-sone,
Mughalsarai, Allahabad. So skips Barddhaman, Durgapur, Gomoh and
Mirzapur.
Dep. Howrah: 11.30 pm Arr. Allahabad: 12.15 pm Arr. Kanpur: 3.00 pm
Layover of 11 hrs. at Allahabad to catch the Ratnagiri
Layover of 6 hrs. at Kanpur to catch the Pushpak
Daylight stretch - Gaya-Kanpur. Would most probably encounter the
Vindhyas(?) in the Gujhandi-Gurpa section at dawn. Would cross the
longest rail-over-river bridge (a little over 2 kms.) between Sonnagar
and Dehri-on-sone - over the Sone river.
The Kalka Mail is also superfast and travels at 110 kmph. max. It has
quite a few more halts between Howrah and Kanpur: Barddhaman, Durgapur,
Asansol, Dhanbad, Gomoh, Hazaribagh Rd., Koderma, Gaya, Dehri-on-Sone,
Sasaram, Babhua Rd., Mughalsarai, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Fatehpur.
Dep. Howrah: 7.15 pm Arr. Allahabad: 9.00 am Arr. Kanpur: Noon
>3) Might it just be better to take the Rajdhani to Delhi, take some
pictures
>there, and hop on a Rajdhani to Mumbai? What are the timings for that?
If you wish to experience a complete Rajdhani journey, this is the best
option. Besides Delhi has a lot to offer in terms of
Rajdhanis/Shatabdis and other express/mail trains. If you have time,
you can catch a shuttle to either Ghaziabad (AC loco. shed) or
Tughlakabad (WDM2 shed as well as container depot). You have quite a
few superfast trains to Mumbai in the evening:
Rajdhani Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 4.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 8.35 am
A.K. Raj dep. Nizamudin: 4.50 pm Arr. Mumbai: 10.15 am
Paschim Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 5.00 pm Arr. Mumbai: 3.15 pm
Swaraj Exp. dep. N.Delhi: 9.45 pm Arr. Mumbai: 6.20 pm
The last two will give you a chance to travel on a non-AC coach.
Probably, the most scenic streches in terms of hills and curves are
Kota-Nagda and Ratlam-Dahod; the Swaraj Exp. travels through these
during daylight.
>4) Is Kanpur station and the Kanpur-Jhansi-Bhopal line better for
railfans
>than Allahabad and the Allahabad-Satna-Jabalpur line (I would guess
so)? If
>I'm going to spend a day (or even an afternoon) sitting in a station
>watching trains go by, which of the two might be better?
Definitely, Kanpur. You'll catch the LKO Shatabdi Exp. on its way to
N.Delhi (with a change of loco.) and probably the Rajdhanis on their way
to Howrah/Bhubaneswar/Guwahati/Patna. In addition, there is an MG line
going towards Farrukhabad-Kasganj-Agra Fort. It also has an AC loco.
shed for the air-braked WAG4s. Allahabad would give you a chance to see
some WDM4s.
The Jhansi-Bhopal-Itarsi line has quite a few more trains/superfasts
than Allahabad-Jabalpur-Itarsi. You'll cross the GT exp., AP Exp. and
the Rajdhani (if it happens to be operational on that day) among other
trains. In addition, you'll encounter the Satpuras(?) between Bhopal
and Itarsi with spectacular views, and cross the Narmada river.
In the Allahabad-Itarsi section, you'll cross the Narmada between
Jabalpur and Narsinghpur. An interesting station is Madal Mahal just
after Jabalpur with platforms on both the sides of one of the tracks but
access only from one of them. Between Sohagpur and Bagra Tawa you'll
cross the Tawa river. What's neat is you'll first go through a tunnel
and then a minute later you'll go through a bridge over the Tawa.
5) Is Pushpak a better train than Ratnagiri?
Not really. Both are superfasts with limited halts. Pushpak averages
about 56 kmph. between Kanpur and Dadar whereas Ratnagiri averages about
58 kmph between Allahabad and Kurla. Pushpak's halts: Kanpur, Orai,
Jhansi, Lalitpur, Bhopal, Itarsi, Khandwa, Bhusaval, Igatpuri, Kalyan,
Dadar. Ratnagiri's halts: Satna, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Bhusaval, Igatpuri,
Kalyan.
With Ratnagiri, you'll have a 9+ hr. run with a WDM2 in command, out of
which 3 hrs. is in the daytime. With Pushpak, only Kanpur-Jhansi is the
diesel section which is crossed during night.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
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From: BSR SHARMA <>
Subject: Birur - Talguppa Branch Line
Date: 06 Oct 1998 08:59:51 -0500
Any one knows about the fate of Birur Jn. (RRB) -
Shimoga Town (SMET) - Talaguppa (TLGP) Meter Gauge
branch line off of SBC - MRJ line (after SBC - MRJ
was converted to BG)? This line was leading to the
famous Jog (Sharavathi River) Falls (and also
Visweshwaraih Iron & Steel Works at Bhadravati).
Also, is the Bangalore City - Bangarapet (Kolar Gold
Fields) Narrow Gauge line still in existence/operation?
B.S.R.Sharma
San Diego, Calif.
---Sankaran Kumar <sankaran_kumar@hotmail.email wrote:
> >What does the SR time table (not available in Pune
yet ) say about
> Mysore -
> >Arsikere and Hassan Mangalore section. Are they
BG operational yet ? I
> look
> >forward to travel to Mangalore via the Sakleshpur
- Subramanya Road
> ghat on
> >the BG.
>
> The time table indicates that the
Mysore-Hasan-Arsikere BG section is
> open with two Mysore-Arsikere passengers running in
addition to an
> Arsikere-Sakleshpur passenger which runs on the
Hasan-Mangalore section
> upto Sakleshpur. Sakleshpur-Kankanadi is still
under BG conversion.
>
> Kumar
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From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: Birur - Talguppa Branch Line
Date: 06 Oct 1998 10:00:39 -0500
The Birur-Shimoga line was slated for conversion to bg the last I know.
I do not know the latest position.
The Dharmavaram-Bangarapet ng line has already been converted to
bg.Which means that the crude built-by-hand-in-the-backyard diesel
railcar have also ceased to exist. Real eyesore they were.
best regards.
Shankar
BSR SHARMA wrote:
>
> Any one knows about the fate of Birur Jn. (RRB) -
> Shimoga Town (SMET) - Talaguppa (TLGP) Meter Gauge
> branch line off of SBC - MRJ line (after SBC - MRJ
> was converted to BG)? This line was leading to the
> famous Jog (Sharavathi River) Falls (and also
> Visweshwaraih Iron & Steel Works at Bhadravati).
>
> Also, is the Bangalore City - Bangarapet (Kolar Gold
> Fields) Narrow Gauge line still in existence/operation?
>
> B.S.R.Sharma
> San Diego, Calif.
>
> ---Sankaran Kumar <sankaran_kumar@hotmail.email wrote:
> > >What does the SR time table (not available in Pune
> yet ) say about
> > Mysore -
> > >Arsikere and Hassan Mangalore section. Are they
> BG operational yet ? I
> > look
> > >forward to travel to Mangalore via the Sakleshpur
> - Subramanya Road
> > ghat on
> > >the BG.
> >
> > The time table indicates that the
> Mysore-Hasan-Arsikere BG section is
> > open with two Mysore-Arsikere passengers running in
> addition to an
> > Arsikere-Sakleshpur passenger which runs on the
> Hasan-Mangalore section
> > upto Sakleshpur. Sakleshpur-Kankanadi is still
> under BG conversion.
> >
> > Kumar
>
> _________________________________________________________
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> Get your free @yahoo.com address at <A HREF="http://mail.yahoo.com">http://mail.yahoo.com</A>
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: Look-up request
Date: 06 Oct 1998 10:01:53 -0500
>
>A question for our Mumbai/Pune friends who have access to Mumbai
>suburban time-tables.
>
>I know there are some (very few) locals from Bandra/Andheri that cut
>across Raoli junction and connect to new Bombay. DO these locals go
>to Panvel? Is it even theoretically possible for someone living in
>Bandra or Andheri to use these locals to connect to the Trivandrum
>Rajdhani to/from Goa? I suspect headed for Goa would be impossible,
>since the Raj gets to Panvel @ 5:45 or so. Coming back from Goa may
>be more feasible since the Raj comes to Panvel @ 19:40 (I think). Is
>there a local after 19:40 from Panvel to WR? Please do post the
>answer.
If such locals do exist, how do they compare in run-times to locals from
Vasai Rd. to Andheri/Bandra? Since once can get down at either Panvel
or Vasai, I am wondering which of these two options would a) be faster
for Bandra/Andheri and b) more convenient.
If they decide to patch-up the Panvel-Roha line and bring it upto 110
kmph., Mumbai would not only get a Shatadbi to Goa but the Rajdhani's
times at Vasai and Panvel would line-up with suburban schedules making
it a viable alternative. In addition, the irritating overtakes of
Frontier Mail, Jaipur Exp. and Awantika Exp. would cease to exist.
Vijay
Vijay
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From: Shankar <>
Subject: Good timetable itinerary
Date: 06 Oct 1998 10:11:08 -0500
Hello shankun,
You have been receiving a lot of sound and important info from friends
out there regarding your impending concentrated dose of train travel
while in India.
Two one small suggestions:
I can tell you from my personal experience:
-Stay off Rajdhani and Shatabdi type of trains as far as possible: make
just one or two journeys on them.
Normal superfasts really let you get a feel of things, experience
railwayland so to speak. With the plush, starchy insides of the a.c.
Rajdhani and Shatabdi, with double tinted dark glass, you hardly get to
see much of the object of our passion, the trains.
-In case you intend photograhing trains extensively, like I do (at least
five rolls on each trip), be as discreet as possible. Most of our fellow
deshis go overboard when it comes to security, usually only to make a
fast buck. You can get really hassled. Especially the RPF personnel:they
are real wooden headed blokes with almost zero comprehension.
The best bet it to carry an instantly pocketable zoom compact. DON'T
EVEN DREAM OF SLUGGING A SOPHISTICATED SLR anywhere on railway premises
unless you wanted to be perceived as a capitalist spy!
I generally use a 35-70 Konica Big mini or a 35-105 Olympus.
Best regards.
Shankar
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Good timetable itinerary
Date: 06 Oct 1998 10:11:08 -0500
Hello shankun,
You have been receiving a lot of sound and important info from friends
out there regarding your impending concentrated dose of train travel
while in India.
Two one small suggestions:
I can tell you from my personal experience:
-Stay off Rajdhani and Shatabdi type of trains as far as possible: make
just one or two journeys on them.
Normal superfasts really let you get a feel of things, experience
railwayland so to speak. With the plush, starchy insides of the a.c.
Rajdhani and Shatabdi, with double tinted dark glass, you hardly get to
see much of the object of our passion, the trains.
-In case you intend photograhing trains extensively, like I do (at least
five rolls on each trip), be as discreet as possible. Most of our fellow
deshis go overboard when it comes to security, usually only to make a
fast buck. You can get really hassled. Especially the RPF personnel:they
are real wooden headed blokes with almost zero comprehension.
The best bet it to carry an instantly pocketable zoom compact. DON'T
EVEN DREAM OF SLUGGING A SOPHISTICATED SLR anywhere on railway premises
unless you wanted to be perceived as a capitalist spy!
I generally use a 35-70 Konica Big mini or a 35-105 Olympus.
Best regards.
Shankar
From: Prakash Tendulkar <>
Subject: AC loco - Neutral section
Date: 06 Oct 1998 10:19:15 -0500
When AC (or AC/DC) loco enters a neutral section in AC zone,
panto is never lowered. Other than that rest of the process
is similar to what AC/DC loco does when changing from AC zone
to DC zone and vice versa. Start air compressor manually and
shut it off along with the other gadgets, shut down motors,
shut down MG (Motor Generator), shut down exhauster, etc..
Once the neutral zone passes (as indicated by voltmeter coming
live), start all these auxiliaries and motors.
When MG is shut off, headlight switches automatically to battery
power. It is bit dim but not too bad.
Prakash
From: Sridhar Shankar <>
Subject: Re: News and Views
Date: 06 Oct 1998 10:30:13 -0500
Folks,
Why is the 'single line' an issue for the max. speed? I realize that
there
would be issues regarding crossing - preventing sustained running at
high
speeds, however, I doubt if the single line is utilized to such an
extent
that this would be a major problem.
So, what is the deal?
-Sridhar
****************************************************************
Sridhar Shankar 1616 E. 50th Place, Apt.13A
GSB'99 Chicago, IL 60615
University of Chicago (773) 752 1131
*****************************************************************
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: A really wierd train (Okha - Puri)
Date: 06 Oct 1998 13:38:32 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: ranand@us.email [mailto:ranand@us.email
Sent: Monday, October 05, 1998 12:54 PM
To: irfca@cs.email
Subject: A really wierd train (Okha - Puri)
My parents just brought me the SC railway timetable and I
saw this train "Okha - Puri express". Certainly, compared to
all the other strange trains introduced in the recent years, this
one sounds quite reasonable. However, the route of this train is
along the Howrah - Chennai line down to Vijaywada and then
up to Ballarshah!! If you look at the railway map of the region,
this route is obviously much longer than taking the Vizianagram -
Raipur line. Any insight into this train?
Anand
-----------------------------
Does this qualify for Pushkar's "dumb and dumber" list :-) Not unless
there is some station in the Balharshah-Vijayawada or
Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section that has sufficient "religious"
importance
to merit a connection to the holy cities of Dwarka and Puri.
Vijay
From: Pushkar Apte <>
Subject: Re: A really wierd train (Okha - Puri)
Date: 06 Oct 1998 14:06:27 -0500
The Gujarat-Puri train story is even curiouser: the Okha-Puri Exp has a
sister
- the Ahmadabad-Puri Exp. The two run on the same route from Ahmadbad
to
Wardha (via Vadodara-Surat-Bhusaval). Then the Okha-Puri train follows
the
path mentioned by Anand, while the Ahmadabad-Puri train goes to
Vizianagram via
Nagpur-Durg-Raipur. Now here's the interesting part - both trains get
to
Viziangram @ the SAME time, inspite of these very different routes. And
then,
they again share timings upto Puri. Ditto on the return trip. IMO the
Okha-Puri train route is mainly for a connection to Vishakhapatnam from
the 4
main Gujarat cities ( Ahmadabad-Vadodara-Surat-Rajkot), since
Ballarshah-Vijaywada are already served by Navjeevan Exp.
-Pushkar
Balasubramanian, Vijay wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ranand@us.email [mailto:ranand@us.email
> Sent: Monday, October 05, 1998 12:54 PM
> To: irfca@cs.email
> Subject: A really wierd train (Okha - Puri)
>
> My parents just brought me the SC railway timetable and I
> saw this train "Okha - Puri express". Certainly, compared to
> all the other strange trains introduced in the recent years, this
> one sounds quite reasonable. However, the route of this train is
> along the Howrah - Chennai line down to Vijaywada and then
> up to Ballarshah!! If you look at the railway map of the region,
> this route is obviously much longer than taking the Vizianagram -
> Raipur line. Any insight into this train?
>
> Anand
>
> -----------------------------
>
> Does this qualify for Pushkar's "dumb and dumber" list :-) Not
unless
> there is some station in the Balharshah-Vijayawada or
> Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam section that has sufficient "religious"
importance
> to merit a connection to the holy cities of Dwarka and Puri.
>
> Vijay
--
Regards,
Pushkar
-------
From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Re: Birur - Talguppa Branch Line
Date: 06 Oct 1998 19:17:22 -0500
>Any one knows about the fate of Birur Jn. (RRB) -
>Shimoga Town (SMET) - Talaguppa (TLGP) Meter Gauge
>branch line off of SBC - MRJ line (after SBC - MRJ
>was converted to BG)? This line was leading to the
>famous Jog (Sharavathi River) Falls (and also
>Visweshwaraih Iron & Steel Works at Bhadravati).
Birur-Shimoga Town is now BG with four passengers (incl. 2 from
Bangalore City) running each way. Shimoga Town-Talaguppa is still MG
with two passenger trains running each way except on Sundays.
>
>Also, is the Bangalore City - Bangarapet (Kolar Gold
>Fields) Narrow Gauge line still in existence/operation?
Parts of the NG have been converted to BG. Bangalore City-Chikballapur
is BG with one passenger train running except on Sundays.
Bangarapet-Kolar is BG with 3 trains running (except on Sundays) each
way. No info on Chikballapur-Chintamani-Kolar. It is either closed or
under BG conversion.
>B.S.R.Sharma
>San Diego, Calif.
>
Kumar (also from San Diego).
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>
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From: caboose4 <>
Subject: Re: a request
Date: 06 Oct 1998 23:29:46 -0500
Please unsubscribe for about two weeks.
My job takes me a way from the computer.
Will subscribe when I return.
Caboose4@juno.email
Cordova, Al.
BTW- This is a good list for information.
Keep up your out standing work.
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From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: A really wierd train (Okha - Puri)
Date: 07 Oct 1998 06:14:35 -0500
>The Gujarat-Puri train story is even curiouser: the Okha-Puri Exp has a
sister
>- the Ahmadabad-Puri Exp. The two run on the same route from Ahmadbad
to
>Wardha (via Vadodara-Surat-Bhusaval). Then the Okha-Puri train follows
the
>path mentioned by Anand, while the Ahmadabad-Puri train goes to
Vizianagram via
>Nagpur-Durg-Raipur. Now here's the interesting part - both trains get
to
>Viziangram @ the SAME time, inspite of these very different routes.
And then,
>they again share timings upto Puri. Ditto on the return trip. IMO the
>Okha-Puri train route is mainly for a connection to Vishakhapatnam from
the 4
>main Gujarat cities ( Ahmadabad-Vadodara-Surat-Rajkot), since
>Ballarshah-Vijaywada are already served by Navjeevan Exp.
>
>-Pushkar
>
I took a look at the TAAG and realized that
Wardha-Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam-Vizianagaram is only 60 kms. longer than
Wardha-Raipur-Titlagarh-Vizianagaram. So the Okha-Puri Exp. doesn't
really follow a much longer route than the ADI-Puri Exp. With the
commissioning of Sambhalpur-Angul-Talcher link, the distance between
Jharsuguda and Cuttack should be reduced by more than 400 kms. and
trains such as the Kalinga-Utkal Exp. and the ADI-Puri Exp. can cut down
their run-times by 5-6 hrs. It then makes sense to reroute the
Okha-Puri Exp. via this link and provide sectional service to
Visakhapatnam via Khurda Rd.
Curiously, Puri has direct trains to places such as Okha, Patna,
Ahmedabad and, of course, Delhi but NONE to Mumbai and Chennai. Why is
that? Could someone with an SE timetable find out whether there is
through coach service between these cities? At present, one would have
to take the Konark exp. from Mumbai and change trains at Khurda Rd.
Mumbai-Nagpur-Jharsuguda-Sambhalpur-Cuttack-Khurda Rd. is atleast 100
kms. shorter than the Konark route
(Mumbai-Wadi-Secunderabad-Vijayawada-Khurda Rd. - ~1930 kms.). So one
can probably expect a Mumbai/Kurla - Puri Exp. via the former.
Comments?
Vijay
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From: Vivek Prakash <>
Subject: 5000 hits!
Date: 07 Oct 1998 07:51:21 -0500
Hi everyone,
I'm currently in the middle of studies for my final exams at uni here,
but I thought this needed posting.
I'm thrilled to say that my timetables site, although presently
dilapitated and badly in need of updating,
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/9770/">http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/9770/</A>
has exceeded 5,000 hits this week - 5000 hits in under 11 months. This
makes a few important points which need to be mentioned -
Firsty, the simple fact that there have been so many people means that
there is indeed a definite need for a comprehensive site on the net that
caters for people who want timetables on the fly. Secondly, I have
received over 300 messages asking for more information in just 11 months
- this seems to say that there is also a need for people out there who
are will to answer general queries about IR, help make travel plans, and
give advice etc... this is at present a niche in the web which needs to
be filled.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that IR should really get it's act
together and put up a site tailored specifically for people wanting
timetables and info, online booking etc... Tons of rail companies, like
amtrack, have such sites up. It's really slack on the part of IR.. and
not only that, they're also missing out on a lot of easy revenue.
Thoughts, comments?
Regards
Vivek Prakash