IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 3921 - 3940
From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Re: Bookings and Schedules
Date: 28 Oct 1998 18:22:18 -0500
I assume you mean Airconditioned (AC) 2-tier sleepers (AC2).
Here are the trains in decending order of speed. All trains leave from
Chennai Central. PLEASE RECONFIRM THE TIMINGS WHILE BOOKING TICKETS.
2433 Chennai-Hazrat Nizammuddin Rajdhani Express: Leave Chennai Central
Wed & Fri only 1200 Arr Nagpur Thu & Sat 0305.
Accomodation: AC 1st class (AC1), AC 2-Tier (AC2), AC 3-Tier (AC3).
Fastest train but reaches Nagpur at night. DOES NOT RUN DAILY.
2621 Chennai-New Delhi Tamil Nadu (TN) Express: Leave Chennai Central
daily 2200 Arr Nagpur next day 1400.
2615 Chennai-New Delhi Grand Trunk (GT) Express: Leave Chennai Central
daily 2300 Arr Nagpur next day 1640.
TN and GT have the same accomodation: AC1, AC2, AC3, Non Airconditioned
Sleeper Class (S), Second Class (II). Both are good trains and
generally run on time by Indian Railways standards. TN has fewer halts.
I will not recommend the following trains unless you cannot get
reservations on any of the above three fastest trains.
9767/6039 Chennai-Jaipur/Varanasi Expresses; Leave Chennai Central Mon,
Tue, Fri, Sat. and Sun, 1730 Arr Nagpur following day 1230. Accom:
Either AC2 or AC3, Non AC First Class (F), S,II.
6043 Chennai-Patna Express: Leave Chennai Tue, Thu 1335, Arr Nagpur next
day 0740. Accom: AC2, F, S, II.
7081/7057/5221/5011 Cochin-Indore/Bilaspur/Barauni/Gorakhpur Expresses:
Leave Chennai Central daily 2340 Arr Nagpur next day 1830. Accom: AC2, F
(some days), S, II.
6031/6093 Chennai-Jammu Tawi Andaman Express/Chennai-Lucknow Express:
Leave Chennai Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun. 0530 Arr Nagpur next day 0240.
Accom: only F, S, II.
Good luck! Let me know if you have more questions.
Regards
Kumar
Note: It may be more fun to travel Non AC First Class (F) than in AC
2-tier. February will not be hot and in First Class one gets a better
view of the passing scenery. Also you get a bit more privacy in First
class compared to AC2. F is slightly less expensive than AC2 but a bit
more expensive than AC3. Unfortunately none of the fastest trains have
first class.
>Thank you for your kind offer to help. I am bringing a group of
students to
>India in Feb. 1999, and need to book a train with two-tier sleepers
from
>Chennai to Nagpur to arrive on 15 Feb, preferably a Rajdhani or
Shatabdi. My
>rather out-of-date copy of "Trains at a Glance" indicates a Chennai
Rajdhani
>Express #2633 leaving Chennai on Tuesdays and Sundays at 15:30 and
arriving
>Nagpur at 07:10.
>
>However, checking the abbreviated time-table listed on one of the
web-sites
>for Nagpur I see no mention of this train, but there do appear to be
some
>daily Rajdhanis that are not listed in my schedule. My preference would
be
>to leave Chennai in the afternoon and arrive Nagpur in the morning.
>
>Any help you can give will be much appreciated.
>
>Regards,
>Alan Sponberg
>********************************************************************
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <>
Subject: Re: Bookings and Schedules
Date: 28 Oct 1998 22:20:40 -0500
> Note: It may be more fun to travel Non AC First Class (F) than in AC
> 2-tier. February will not be hot and in First Class one gets a better
> view of the passing scenery. Also you get a bit more privacy in First
> class compared to AC2. F is slightly less expensive than AC2 but a bit
> more expensive than AC3. Unfortunately none of the fastest trains have
> first class.
Couple of problems. First class coach only accomodates 24.
Quota between a particular pair of cities is not going to be
more than say 10. I don't know how large is the group we are
talking about, but it may not fit in.
Second, the bedding is not included in First class fare. One
has to request this specially, and some time the bedding is
not available.
But of course, I also prefer First class to AC classes in winter.
-dheeraj
--------------
Dr. Dheeraj Sanghi (0512) 59-7077/7638
(Off)
Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering (0512) 59-8627 (Res)
Indian Institute of Technology (0512) 59-0725/0413
(Fax)
Kanpur - 208 016 (UP), INDIA. dheeraj@iitk.email
Home Page: <A HREF="http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/dheeraj">http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/users/dheeraj</A>
From: Harsh Vardhan <>
Subject: Thanks
Date: 28 Oct 1998 22:31:11 -0500
Dear Friends,
Thanks for the warm welcome on board. Iam really glad to here and hope that together we can take the enthusiasm for the Indian railways to its pinnacle.
I have already started receiving mail from the friends but it is not clear to me if I have to post my mails individually to the sender or to irfca@cs.email <mailto:irfca@cs.email or to the entire contact group(for which I shall require email contact of each and every member). Could someone kindly let me know?
At FNRM one of the most important activity that I have initiated is an effort to identify, enlist and photograph all steam locomotive that has survived the holocaust. This will include each and every locomotive wheather working with IR, plinthed, condemned, decrepit, industrial, private, preserved or under restoration. I feel that it is of utmost importance because it will form the first step towards positive preservation or even restoration to full working order at a later date. Not many people are aware that IR has put a ban on further scrapping of any steam locomotives since Mar '97 but this and cannibalisation of steam loomotives continues unabated till date because the railway board themselves(or anyone else for that matter) do not have a record of what is there to be saved.
I have prepared an exhaustive list of these locomotives which I shall post as soon as I figure out how to import data from MS Access/MS Word/Wordstar 4.0 to MS Outlook Express(Can anyone help me on this ?). I have also taken photographs of many of these but there is a long way to go. I would welcome any inputs from anyone in any form be it new entries or any gaps to be filled or photographs of these locomotive in plinthed or in working condition.
The next step is to publish a book about all these gems. It will be a pictorical record with history of the engine and few technical details thrown in. This should ensure that these locomotives are preserved forever. Iam looking for a suitable author as well as a publisher for this venture for which also your inputs are solicited. It has to be a book of international quality and not a run of the mill type affair but also has to have a practicle price in Indian Rupees.
I would also request you to post me all the communication taken place so far on the subject of plinthed locomotives.
This is all for now. See you guys later.
Regards,
From: VIRAF P.. MULLA <>
Subject: Nilgiri Rly.
Date: 28 Oct 1998 23:43:49 -0500
Hi Gang,
My friend I.S.Anand a railway fan and an electrics freak has just
returned
from the south with the information that the YAM's will last till next
year.
There will be no new rack steam locomotives for the Nilgiri Railway from
SLM Switzerland since the SLM works have shut down(?). Besides the new
steam locomotives will cost somewhere near Rs.20 Crores. So there are
plans of electrifying the Nilgiri railways. The surplus YAM-1's will be
used on this line after necessary convers
Regards
==========================
Viraf Mulla
C-20/14, Jeevan Bima Nagar,
Borivali (West)
Mumbai 400103
Tel: +91-22-8954510
E-mail: sncf@godrejnet.email
==========================
From: poras p.saklatwalla <>
Subject: My Trip to Jamshedpur
Date: 29 Oct 1998 00:39:00 -0500
Hi Friends,
Returned to Mumbai from Jamshedpur, on Monday night by Gitanjali
Express.
These are my observations and findings though the train Journey was
excellent Both ways; because the train was always before time.
1. the train started on time at 6.00 am from VT and till Igatpuri it was
running late by 15 minutes, this is because of loccals till kasara. At
Igatpuri I saw the Mangala Express bound for Cochin, with a doubleheaded
wdm2's in red white and blue Livelry,from Ernakulam sheds. On gitanjali
there was the WCAM3 from Mumbai and AT Igatpuri we got a Ghaziabad WAP4
attached to our train.
2 WE reached Bhusawal at 12.45 before time by 25 minutes and the train
was almost moving at tremendous speed. Can Someonee tell me from where
does the Mumbai div end and where Bhusawal div starts ? Why do rlys
have
such stupid running time when the train can reach its destination 25 to
50
minutes before time as you all will see as I write this.
At Bhusawal The train which followed us was 1065 Kurla- Varanasi Express
and whoever said that Gitanjali follows this train is wrong as at Manmad
this train Gitanjali whizzed past at full speed, the train reached
Bhusawal at 13.20.~ So Gitanjali leads the way from Manmad by passing
two
trains one at Kalyan the Bhusawal Passenger and the 1065
RatnagiriExpress.
3. From Bhusawal the train left on time to reach Akola at 14.55 again
25
minutes before time, started at 1525 to reach Badnera at 16.30 instead
of
17.00 hrs. After it left Badnera at its schedule departure of 17.05
there
was a long run of 3 hrs to Nagpur when we were running a full 65 minutes
before time and the driver halted the train at Sewagram for 10 minutes.
We however reached Nagpur at 19.20 instead of 20.05.
4. At Nagpur I saw the T.N. on its way from Delhi to Madras running
late
by 6 hrs. When I enquired with the passenger he told me that it had
started 71/2 late from Delhi and wwas now running only 6 hrs late, he
was
optimistic that he would reach Madras may be an hour or sso late. I
really like his optimism !! At nagpur I also saw a WCM 6, which I again
saw it today at Parel in Mumbai today although of a different livelry.
What is this WCM 6 and why arent we uusing on the DC section in mumbai?
5. As luck would have it from Nagpur to Gondia our train got delayed by
1
1/2 hours, as there was a derailment in that area and by the time train
restarted I was asleep but I was told that it was running late. We
reachded Raigarh at 6.00 am instead of 4.50 Am. However at Rourkela we
were running about 45 minutes late and we reached Tatanagar bang on time
!
It just goes to show that a Good driver and a faulty time table for a
prestigious train like Gitanjali has such a lot of make up time. This
means that if there is proper TT Gitanjali and the likes can cover The
Bom
- CAl distance in 27 to 29 hrs.
On our return I was in Ac 3T and it was only after coming down to Kasara
that our train got delayed by 15 mins, but the Kalyan DDR journey was
done
in a record 47 mins time. On the return we had a TATANAGAR WAM 4 and a
WCAM 3 ATTACHED TO OUR TRAIN.
ONE day I visited Cal with a friend by the Rourkela Shatabdi and it was
a
pleasure travelling on this train, headed by a WAP 1. At Cal I saw the
CAL RAjdhani arrived from NDLS with a WAP 5 AND THE POORVA EXP WITH A
WAP 1. On enquiring with Mr. D'gama who works for SER he said the 2101
AC
SUPER DELUXE WOULD BE A CENTRAL RAILWAY TRAIN AND EFFORTS ARE ON TO
START
THE TRAIN BY 1ST DEC, WITH A SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENT IN ITS TIMINGS, AND
ALSO
AN EFFORT IS BEING MADE TO START IT FROM V.T. WHICH IS VERY UNLIKELY,
BUT
AT LEAST FROM DADAR. I HAD A REAL pleasure being taken around the
station
and the yard at cal by Mr D'gama, since he is the husband of one of our
Regional managers Secretary working in Cal.
Also visited SEaldah in the night but the station was a big mess with
refugees from Bangladesh occupying all the walkking space in the
concourse
very similar to those At V.T.
Please send your comments soon and
Remember I HAVE SENT AN EARLIER MAIL; THAT I HAVE TO BE DELISTED FROM
31ST OCT TO 30TH NOV AS I AM GOING ON LEAVE FOR MARRIAGE AND IF I OCCUPY
MORE DISC SPACE MY IT DEPT WILL DELETE ALL MESSAGES. SO PLEASE
UNSUBSCRIBE AFTER 30TH. EVENING. APPU, SHANKU, VIRAF YOUR COMMENTS ON
THE ABOVE TRIP REPORT.-
PORAS P.SAKLATWALLA
TEL :5773535/3636
EXT :4226/4232/4237
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: Thanks
Date: 29 Oct 1998 03:48:12 -0500
Hello Harsh Vardhan,
Unless you want to talk to anyone individually for whatever reason,
sending your mails to irfca@cs.email will broadcast the messages to
each and every one of the members.
From the replies which are generated, you can then make your own list of
individual names of those people you wish to contact on a singular basis
if required.
But that sort of defeats the very purpose of such a forum, so you'd be
better off discussing issues with the whole group. In that case, one
message sent to the irfca@cs.email will suffice.
Best regards.
Shankar
Harsh Vardhan wrote:
>
> Dear Friends,
> Thanks for the warm welcome on board. Iam really
> glad to here and hope that together we can take the enthusiasm for the
> Indian railways to its pinnacle.
>
> I have already started receiving mail from the friends but it is not
> clear to me if I have to post my mails individually to the sender or
> to irfca@cs.email or to the entire contact group(for which I shall
> require email contact of each and every member). Could someone kindly
> let me know?
>
> At FNRM one of the most important activity that I have initiated is an
> effort to identify, enlist and photograph all steam locomotive that
> has survived the holocaust. This will include each and every
> locomotive wheather working with IR, plinthed, condemned, decrepit,
> industrial, private, preserved or under restoration. I feel that it is
> of utmost importance because it will form the first step towards
> positive preservation or even restoration to full working order at a
> later date. Not many people are aware that IR has put a ban on further
> scrapping of any steam locomotives since Mar '97 but this and
> cannibalisation of steam loomotives continues unabated till date
> because the railway board themselves(or anyone else for that matter)
> do not have a record of what is there to be saved.
>
> I have prepared an exhaustive list of these locomotives which I shall
> post as soon as I figure out how to import data from MS Access/MS
> Word/Wordstar 4.0 to MS Outlook Express(Can anyone help me on this ?).
> I have also taken photographs of many of these but there is a long way
> to go. I would welcome any inputs from anyone in any form be it new
> entries or any gaps to be filled or photographs of these locomotive in
> plinthed or in working condition.
>
> The next step is to publish a book about all these gems. It will be a
> pictorical record with history of the engine and few technical details
> thrown in. This should ensure that these locomotives are preserved
> forever. Iam looking for a suitable author as well as a publisher for
> this venture for which also your inputs are solicited. It has to be a
> book of international quality and not a run of the mill type affair
> but also has to have a practicle price in Indian Rupees.
>
> I would also request you to post me all the communication taken place
> so far on the subject of plinthed locomotives.
>
> This is all for now. See you guys later.
> Regards,
>
> HARSH
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: My Trip to Jamshedpur
Date: 29 Oct 1998 05:00:53 -0500
> On gitanjali there was the WCAM3 from Mumbai and AT Igatpuri we got a
> Ghaziabad WAP4
> attached to our train.
Gaziabad WAP 4 ? The normal link loco for this is a Tatanagar WAM 4. A
GBZ
loco is usual for North bound trains like Punjab Mail etc.
> 2 WE reached Bhusawal at 12.45 before time by 25 minutes and the
train
> was almost moving at tremendous speed. Can Someonee tell me from
where
> does the Mumbai div end and where Bhusawal div starts ?
Igatpuri is in Mumbai division, after that is the Bhusawal division.
> Why do rlys have such stupid running time when the train can reach its
> destination 25 to 50
> minutes before time as you all will see as I write this.
So that wise guys like you do not complain if the train reaches on time
(that
is 20 minutes late as per the best time). This is the public time table
- the
working timetable list the public departure time as the arrival time. I
suppose the 'makeup time' is delibrately kept so that any unprecedented
stoppage or delay or slowdown due to a caution order will not affect the
correct public timing of the train.
This is a common observation on double line sections on straight and
level
terrain (like Bhusawal division) that a train arrives early by as much
as 20
minutes. Also note that the 2859/60 has no stops between major towns and
runs
at high speed for hours at end. Your train had the advantage of a WAP 4
loco
which is meant for cruising fast while hauling a heavy mail/express
train.
The well maintained air braked rake of the 59 also helps in maintaining
a good
timing. The railways have this rake in the list of 'zero missing
amenities'
trains.
.
> When I enquired with the passenger he told me that it had
> started 71/2 late from Delhi and wwas now running only 6 hrs late,
The TN exp rake is homed on the Southern Railway - so the Down TN
express MUST
reach New Delhi for the Up train to leave NDLS for MAS. However late it
might
get. If this was Chennai then there is a good chance that the MAS - NDLS
TN
Exp will leave on time even if the NDLS - MAS TN Express is yet to
reach. The
MAS authorities (or any home shed authorities) are under tremendous
pressure
to arrange another rake to send the Down TN on time. While at NDLS the
NR
staff will just enter -'incoming rake arrived late' to explain why the
Up TN
was late. It helps to know these facts. I have once got the 8002 Up
Howrah -
Mumbai Mail via Nagpur on time while the 8001 Dn was yet to arrive - It
was
very late and actaully crossed us at Jharsaguda.
> At nagpur I also saw a WCM 6, which I again
> saw it today at Parel in Mumbai today although of a different livelry.
> What is this WCM 6 and why arent we uusing on the DC section in
mumbai?
How could you see a 1.5 KV DC loco at Nagpur ? Unless it was being
ferried
dead from Chittaranjan to Mumbai division after some heavy repairs. The
WCM 6
was a design failure and is now used only as a trip loco within Mumbai
division - not too far away from the mother shed at Kalyan !
> The Bom
> - CAl distance in 27 to 29 hrs.
What were the timings of trains in the olden times - with changes of
steam
locos and watering etc they were still comparable.
> On our return I was in Ac 3T and it was only after coming down to
Kasara
> that our train got delayed by 15 mins, but the Kalyan DDR
The Dadar station on CR is DR and that on WR is DDR.
On enquiring with Mr. D'gama who works for SER he said the 2101 AC
The 2101 IS a CR train as is evident from the '1' in the hundred's
place. A
SER train would have a 8 like 2859.
Lovely report Porus, I did a bout of mental travelling with all the
details
that we railnuts desire all in present in your report.
Also visited SEaldah in the night but the station was a big mess with
refugees
from Bangladesh occupying all the walkking space in the concourse very
similar
to those At V.T.
Have you noticed how clean and orderly the new building in Howrah is ?
That is
where all the Mumbai trains arrive. VT needs to learn a lesson from HWH
about
station management.
Poras - May I wish a very happy marriage and pray that your wife enjoys
railways as much as you do. Welcome to the club of married train nuts !
Apurva
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>
Subject: Re: My Trip to Jamshedpur
Date: 29 Oct 1998 06:28:46 -0500
An excellent trip report. Keep it up, Poras!!
>
>These are my observations and findings though the train Journey was
>excellent Both ways; because the train was always before time.
>
>1. the train started on time at 6.00 am from VT and till Igatpuri it
was
>running late by 15 minutes, this is because of loccals till kasara. At
>Igatpuri I saw the Mangala Express bound for Cochin, with a
doubleheaded
>wdm2's in red white and blue Livelry,from Ernakulam sheds. On
Seems to me that the Mangala Exp. changes between AC elec. and diesel
locos. at Igatpuri itself. Also, they must have increased the no. of
coaches beyond 18, thus, necessatiting a double-heading.
>
>2 WE reached Bhusawal at 12.45 before time by 25 minutes and the train
>was almost moving at tremendous speed. Can Someonee tell me from where
>does the Mumbai div end and where Bhusawal div starts ? Why do rlys
have
>such stupid running time when the train can reach its destination 25 to
50
>minutes before time as you all will see as I write this.
The Gitanjali has about 25-30 mts. of recovery + engineering times
alloted in the Igatpuri-Bhusaval section. In addition, the difference
in booked and max. speed gives it an additional 10 mts. make-up time.
>At Bhusawal The train which followed us was 1065 Kurla- Varanasi
Express
>and whoever said that Gitanjali follows this train is wrong as at
Manmad
>this train Gitanjali whizzed past at full speed, the train reached
>Bhusawal at 13.20.~ So Gitanjali leads the way from Manmad by passing
two
>trains one at Kalyan the Bhusawal Passenger and the 1065
RatnagiriExpress.
The speeding up of the Ratnagiri Exp. will happen in the middle of
November after which it will reach Bhusaval before the Gitanjali.
>
>3. From Bhusawal the train left on time to reach Akola at 14.55 again
25
>minutes before time, started at 1525 to reach Badnera at 16.30 instead
of
>17.00 hrs. After it left Badnera at its schedule departure of 17.05
there
>was a long run of 3 hrs to Nagpur when we were running a full 65
minutes
>before time and the driver halted the train at Sewagram for 10 minutes.
>We however reached Nagpur at 19.20 instead of 20.05.
The Gitanjali has been dumped with massive recovery times in the
Bhusaval-Nagpur section. The superdeluxe has a more decent running
time from Bhusaval to Nagpur, nearly 50 mts. less than the Gitanjali.
Did the Gitanjali skip Wardha?
>
>5. As luck would have it from Nagpur to Gondia our train got delayed
by 1
>1/2 hours, as there was a derailment in that area and by the time train
>restarted I was asleep but I was told that it was running late. We
>reachded Raigarh at 6.00 am instead of 4.50 Am. However at Rourkela we
>were running about 45 minutes late and we reached Tatanagar bang on
time !
>
>It just goes to show that a Good driver and a faulty time table for a
>prestigious train like Gitanjali has such a lot of make up time. This
>means that if there is proper TT Gitanjali and the likes can cover The
Bom
>- CAl distance in 27 to 29 hrs.
It's almost as if IR anticipates incidents such as derailments,
malfunctioning of signals, etc. to occur routinely and has compensated
for that by providing more than generous recovery times, instead of
tightening up their operations. As a result, may a good train has
suffered.
>
>On our return I was in Ac 3T and it was only after coming down to
Kasara
>that our train got delayed by 15 mins, but the Kalyan DDR journey was
done
>in a record 47 mins time. On the return we had a TATANAGAR WAM 4
The Dn. Deccan Queen covers Mumbai CST - Kalyan in 47 mts. including
recovery times.
>WAP 1. On enquiring with Mr. D'gama who works for SER he said the 2101
AC
>SUPER DELUXE WOULD BE A CENTRAL RAILWAY TRAIN AND EFFORTS ARE ON TO
START
>THE TRAIN BY 1ST DEC, WITH A SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENT IN ITS TIMINGS, AND
ALSO
>AN EFFORT IS BEING MADE TO START IT FROM V.T. WHICH IS VERY UNLIKELY,
BUT
>AT LEAST FROM DADAR. I HAD A REAL pleasure being taken around the
Improving its timings shouldn't be a big problem, since the present
schedule is pathetic. How I wish they would also consider removing
certain unnecessary halts such as Chakradharpur, Kharagpur and Raipur
and give it a genuine superdeluxe status.
Vijay
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Dr. Shirish Yande <>
Subject: Reply to Poras
Date: 29 Oct 1998 09:28:07 -0500
Dear Poras,
Received your exciting report on the Geetanjali Express. Thanh you for
calling
it a Prestige train. My experience of the train up and down to Howrah
some two
years ageo was less exciting. Indeed the train reached in time almost at
all
stations but could have reached earlier at every station as you
experienced.
geetanjali is not considered as popular as the 8001/8002 calcutta Mumbal
mail.
The AC 2 Tier was badly maintained. The train did not have a pantry car
on
both the journeys. We came across many rats in the AC compartment. I did
extensive footplating on those journeys and met many interesting
drivers. We
hit cattle about four times and killed them.( On the Igatpuri Kasara
ghat
section we saw two beautiful tigers, who crossed the track and then
watched
elegently the train passing by)
Most of the times the drivers cursed the quality of track which produced
severe lurching all the time.
That was the time , the Geetanjali was hauled by a yellow and brown
WAM-4
right from Igatpuri through to Howrah and back.This belonged to
Tatanagar shed
and rann really well. True , this train
can travel the distance in well under 30 hours but it is the strategy of
the
deprtment to make sure that trains should always be in a position to
make up
time if delayed. How else do you explain that the Ra Rajdhani covers the
Mumbai Delhi haul in 17 hrs for which the Golden temple Mail takes 22?
Dr. Shirish Yande iporas p.saklatwalla wrote:
> Hi Friends,
> Returned to Mumbai from Jamshedpur, on Monday night by Gitanjali
Express.
>
> These are my observations and findings though the train Journey was
> excellent Both ways; because the train was always before time.
>
> 1. the train started on time at 6.00 am from VT and till Igatpuri it
was
> running late by 15 minutes, this is because of loccals till kasara.
At
> Igatpuri I saw the Mangala Express bound for Cochin, with a
doubleheaded
> wdm2's in red white and blue Livelry,from Ernakulam sheds. On
gitanjali
> there was the WCAM3 from Mumbai and AT Igatpuri we got a Ghaziabad
WAP4
> attached to our train.
>
> 2 WE reached Bhusawal at 12.45 before time by 25 minutes and the
train
> was almost moving at tremendous speed. Can Someonee tell me from
where
> does the Mumbai div end and where Bhusawal div starts ? Why do rlys
have
> such stupid running time when the train can reach its destination 25
to 50
> minutes before time as you all will see as I write this.
> At Bhusawal The train which followed us was 1065 Kurla- Varanasi
Express
> and whoever said that Gitanjali follows this train is wrong as at
Manmad
> this train Gitanjali whizzed past at full speed, the train reached
> Bhusawal at 13.20.~ So Gitanjali leads the way from Manmad by passing
two
> trains one at Kalyan the Bhusawal Passenger and the 1065
RatnagiriExpress.
>
> 3. From Bhusawal the train left on time to reach Akola at 14.55 again
25
> minutes before time, started at 1525 to reach Badnera at 16.30
instead of
> 17.00 hrs. After it left Badnera at its schedule departure of 17.05
there
> was a long run of 3 hrs to Nagpur when we were running a full 65
minutes
> before time and the driver halted the train at Sewagram for 10
minutes.
> We however reached Nagpur at 19.20 instead of 20.05.
>
> 4. At Nagpur I saw the T.N. on its way from Delhi to Madras running
late
> by 6 hrs. When I enquired with the passenger he told me that it had
> started 71/2 late from Delhi and wwas now running only 6 hrs late, he
was
> optimistic that he would reach Madras may be an hour or sso late. I
> really like his optimism !! At nagpur I also saw a WCM 6, which I
again
> saw it today at Parel in Mumbai today although of a different livelry.
> What is this WCM 6 and why arent we uusing on the DC section in
mumbai?
>
> 5. As luck would have it from Nagpur to Gondia our train got delayed
by 1
> 1/2 hours, as there was a derailment in that area and by the time
train
> restarted I was asleep but I was told that it was running late. We
> reachded Raigarh at 6.00 am instead of 4.50 Am. However at Rourkela
we
> were running about 45 minutes late and we reached Tatanagar bang on
time !
>
> It just goes to show that a Good driver and a faulty time table for a
> prestigious train like Gitanjali has such a lot of make up time. This
> means that if there is proper TT Gitanjali and the likes can cover The
Bom
> - CAl distance in 27 to 29 hrs.
>
> On our return I was in Ac 3T and it was only after coming down to
Kasara
> that our train got delayed by 15 mins, but the Kalyan DDR journey was
done
> in a record 47 mins time. On the return we had a TATANAGAR WAM 4 and
a
> WCAM 3 ATTACHED TO OUR TRAIN.
>
> ONE day I visited Cal with a friend by the Rourkela Shatabdi and it
was a
> pleasure travelling on this train, headed by a WAP 1. At Cal I saw
the
> CAL RAjdhani arrived from NDLS with a WAP 5 AND THE POORVA EXP WITH A
> WAP 1. On enquiring with Mr. D'gama who works for SER he said the
2101 AC
> SUPER DELUXE WOULD BE A CENTRAL RAILWAY TRAIN AND EFFORTS ARE ON TO
START
> THE TRAIN BY 1ST DEC, WITH A SCOPE OF IMPROVEMENT IN ITS TIMINGS, AND
ALSO
> AN EFFORT IS BEING MADE TO START IT FROM V.T. WHICH IS VERY UNLIKELY,
BUT
> AT LEAST FROM DADAR. I HAD A REAL pleasure being taken around the
station
> and the yard at cal by Mr D'gama, since he is the husband of one of
our
> Regional managers Secretary working in Cal.
>
> Also visited SEaldah in the night but the station was a big mess with
> refugees from Bangladesh occupying all the walkking space in the
concourse
> very similar to those At V.T.
>
> Please send your comments soon and
>
> Remember I HAVE SENT AN EARLIER MAIL; THAT I HAVE TO BE DELISTED FROM
> 31ST OCT TO 30TH NOV AS I AM GOING ON LEAVE FOR MARRIAGE AND IF I
OCCUPY
> MORE DISC SPACE MY IT DEPT WILL DELETE ALL MESSAGES. SO PLEASE
> UNSUBSCRIBE AFTER 30TH. EVENING. APPU, SHANKU, VIRAF YOUR COMMENTS
ON
> THE ABOVE TRIP REPORT.-
>
> PORAS P.SAKLATWALLA
> TEL :5773535/3636
> EXT :4226/4232/4237
From: Anurag Acharya <>
Subject: IRFCA list administration
Date: 29 Oct 1998 10:47:29 -0500
This is your friendly neighborhood IRFCA list admin. I would like to
point out that I do this as a leisure activity. While requests
arriving at busy times can get backed up, I manage to get to all of
them. Thanks for the reminders but they are not needed.
cheers,
anurag
From: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <>
Subject: Best Zone
Date: 29 Oct 1998 22:44:15 -0500
Dear Apurva,
Yes, I do experienced all the aspects mentioned by you regarding South
Zone been the Best one.
During my journey back to Mumbai from Bangalore,last week, travelled on
Banglore- Mumbai Exp. (Via. Hubli-Miraj). At every major halt, where
train
was at the station, all the toilets were cleaned with pheynol mixture.
For
this they used trolleys fitted with compressor. There were around 4-5
such
trolleys , which could cover the entire length of the train.
At almost all stations it was on time or before time. So my rating is
around 8 for South Zone.
Bye
Shrinivas Joshi
From: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <>
Subject: Best Zone
Date: 29 Oct 1998 22:47:56 -0500
Dear Apurva,
Yes, I did experience all the aspects mentioned by you regarding South
Zone been the Best one.
During my journey back to Mumbai from Bangalore,last week, travelled on
Banglore- Mumbai Exp. (Via. Hubli-Miraj). At every major halt, where
train
was at the station, all the toilets were cleaned with pheynol mixture.
For
this they used trolleys fitted with compressor. There were around 4-5
such
trolleys , which could cover the entire length of the train.
At almost all stations it was on time or before time. So my rating is
around 8 for South Zone.
Bye
Shrinivas Joshi
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: Best Zone
Date: 30 Oct 1998 03:47:46 -0500
Shrinivas,
Only part of your journey was on the Southern Railways. Mumbai Pune was
Central Railways (Mumbai Division), Pune - Hubli was the friendly (but
not too
efficient) South Central Railways (Hubli Division) while Hubli -
Bangalore was
the Southern Rail (Bangalore division).
Apurva
SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI wrote:
> Dear Apurva,
>
> Yes, I did experience all the aspects mentioned by you regarding South
> Zone been the Best one.
From: Alan Sponberg <>
Subject: Thanks for the help!
Date: 30 Oct 1998 09:50:15 -0500
Sankaran Kumar notes:
>> It may be more fun to travel Non AC First Class (F) than in AC
>> 2-tier. February will not be hot and in First Class one gets a better
>> view of the passing scenery. Also you get a bit more privacy in First
>> class compared to AC2.
I've never traveled Non-AC First Class. Could someone explain how the
carriages are laid out. Are there compartments? And do they still have
fold-down berths? And in what way is the view better. (I did once ride
on an
AC2 carriage with widows so discolored that it was impossible to see
much of
anything.)
PS: I've just temporarily joined this list to get some mundane practical
information, and I am very appreciate of your collective willingness to
help. I am also impressed with the high degree of camaraderie and love
of
the subject that seems to characterize this list. I'm not a rail buff
myself, but I will strongly recommend your discussions to a couple of
friends who are. Thank you for allowing me to listen in. (Even though I
don't understand most of the technical information, I can appreciate the
enthusiasm and experience you all seem to share!)
Regards,
Alan Sponberg
*******************************************************************
Alan Sponberg Phone: 406-243-2803
Professor of Asian 406-243-2171 (dept.
office)
Philosophy & Religion E-Mail: sponberg@selway.email
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812 USA
********************************************************************
From: Alan Sponberg <>
Subject: Homing at Chennai
Date: 30 Oct 1998 09:50:43 -0500
In response to my query about travel between Chennai and Nagpur Apurva
Bahadur wrote:
>
>My favorite choices will be the first two trains - GT & TN Express -
both are
>superfast trains (2 series) with rakes homing at Chennai (the 6 number)
Could you explain the significance of the bit about "2 series" and also
about the "rakes homing at Chennai (the 6 number)"? (I'm afraid I'm too
much
of a neophyte for this discussion group, but I do find the technical
details
intriguing.)
From: Madhav Acharya <>
Subject: Re: Thanks for the help!
Date: 30 Oct 1998 10:52:09 -0500
Hi all,
I'm new to the list too, but I hope to get more involved in it with
time.
Alan, in response to your
question, non-AC first class (or "ordinary" first class as I've always
referred to it as) is pretty much
the same as First AC - except there's no AC ! You have cubicles of 2/4
with doors and the berths fold
down the same way as in the other classes. The view is better because
you
don't have the discolored
(and often cracked) windows in the AC class. However, I would not
recommend putting your head too
close to the bars on the windows unless you're sure they're clean -
also,
if you're close to the diesel loco
you can get an eyeful of dirt and soot (I loved it though !)
I was in India this past winter and got some really great pics of a
WDM-2
in Sec'bad (my friend's Dad
was GM/SCR and got us on board for a little test drive). I'll put these
on
my website just as soon as
I can scan them. I was also able to see the diesel shed at TKD and got a
ride in the diesel loco simulator
which was quite neat except when the power went off. They were fixing
WDM2s
as well as the WDP loco
which looks pretty similar except it is more rounded. I personally
prefer
the WDM2 (I couldn't get pics
but I walked along the side of one in the pit where the repairs were
going
on).
Like Alan, I am extremely impressed with the details many of you put
into
your postings. Hope to hear
more stuff related to railways.
Cheers !
Madhav
Alan Sponberg <sponberg@selway.email on 10/30/98 12:50:15 PM
To: IRFCA <irfca@cs.email
cc: (bcc: Madhav Acharya/EastCoast/Mobil-Notes)
Subject: Thanks for the help!
Sankaran Kumar notes:
>> It may be more fun to travel Non AC First Class (F) than in AC
>> 2-tier. February will not be hot and in First Class one gets a better
>> view of the passing scenery. Also you get a bit more privacy in First
>> class compared to AC2.
I've never traveled Non-AC First Class. Could someone explain how the
carriages are laid out. Are there compartments? And do they still have
fold-down berths? And in what way is the view better. (I did once ride
on
an
AC2 carriage with widows so discolored that it was impossible to see
much
of
anything.)
PS: I've just temporarily joined this list to get some mundane practical
information, and I am very appreciate of your collective willingness to
help. I am also impressed with the high degree of camaraderie and love
of
the subject that seems to characterize this list. I'm not a rail buff
myself, but I will strongly recommend your discussions to a couple of
friends who are. Thank you for allowing me to listen in. (Even though I
don't understand most of the technical information, I can appreciate the
enthusiasm and experience you all seem to share!)
Regards,
Alan Sponberg
*******************************************************************
Alan Sponberg Phone: 406-243-2803
Professor of Asian 406-243-2171 (dept.
office)
Philosophy & Religion E-Mail: sponberg@selway.email
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812 USA
********************************************************************
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: Bookings and Schedules
Date: 30 Oct 1998 11:06:17 -0500
> Note: It may be more fun to travel Non AC First Class (F) than in AC
> 2-tier. February will not be hot and in First Class one gets a better
> view of the passing scenery. Also you get a bit more privacy in First
> class compared to AC2. F is slightly less expensive than AC2 but a bit
> more expensive than AC3. Unfortunately none of the fastest trains have
> first class.
>Couple of problems. First class coach only accomodates 24.
>Quota between a particular pair of cities is not going to be
>more than say 10. I don't know how large is the group we are
>talking about, but it may not fit in.
Are you talking about the old first class coach or the new one that IR
has
re-introduced as a composite FC - AC 2-tier coach? Are there trains
which
still
have those old FC coaches (two coupes + four 4-berth cabins?)
Vijay
From: abalchan <>
Subject: [ANB
Date: 30 Oct 1998 12:36:11 -0500
Hello everyone,
I am going to make a trip to India and would like to travel
around by Train. I have followed some of the discussion for a week and
would like to ask for some help on some general questions.
1. Are train tickets (between major cities) difficult to get during the
Dec/Jan period? If so, what should the usual advance purchase be?
2. Is it costlier to purchase a tix in US dollars? Are there certain
seats allocated for people buying in foreign currency?
3. Are major trains fitted with facilities for the handicapped.
4. Is it generally advisable to travel alone? If so, what are
precautions to take?
5. What are some of the more picturesque journeys to take in India?
6. Is there train service from India to Pakistan?
Thanks in advance
Anil
From: Shanku Niyogi <>
Subject: Re: Thanks for the help!
Date: 30 Oct 1998 14:06:08 -0500
How many of the major trains still have non-AC first class? Are there
any
superfasts from Howrah to Delhi and from Delhi to Mumbai that have
these?
I'm travelling that route in February, and would love to travel that
instead
of A/C - smoky window no like :)
Shanku
-----Original Message-----
From: Madhav Acharya [mailto:madhav_acharya@email.email
Sent: Friday, October 30, 1998 10:52 AM
To: Alan Sponberg
Cc: IRFCA
Subject: Re: Thanks for the help!
Hi all,
I'm new to the list too, but I hope to get more involved in it with
time.
Alan, in response to your
question, non-AC first class (or "ordinary" first class as I've always
referred to it as) is pretty much
the same as First AC - except there's no AC ! You have cubicles of 2/4
with doors and the berths fold
down the same way as in the other classes. The view is better because
you
don't have the discolored
(and often cracked) windows in the AC class. However, I would not
recommend putting your head too
close to the bars on the windows unless you're sure they're clean -
also,
if you're close to the diesel loco
you can get an eyeful of dirt and soot (I loved it though !)
I was in India this past winter and got some really great pics of a
WDM-2
in Sec'bad (my friend's Dad
was GM/SCR and got us on board for a little test drive). I'll put these
on
my website just as soon as
I can scan them. I was also able to see the diesel shed at TKD and got a
ride in the diesel loco simulator
which was quite neat except when the power went off. They were fixing
WDM2s
as well as the WDP loco
which looks pretty similar except it is more rounded. I personally
prefer
the WDM2 (I couldn't get pics
but I walked along the side of one in the pit where the repairs were
going
on).
Like Alan, I am extremely impressed with the details many of you put
into
your postings. Hope to hear
more stuff related to railways.
Cheers !
Madhav
Alan Sponberg <sponberg@selway.email on 10/30/98 12:50:15 PM
To: IRFCA <irfca@cs.email
cc: (bcc: Madhav Acharya/EastCoast/Mobil-Notes)
Subject: Thanks for the help!
Sankaran Kumar notes:
>> It may be more fun to travel Non AC First Class (F) than in AC
>> 2-tier. February will not be hot and in First Class one gets a better
>> view of the passing scenery. Also you get a bit more privacy in First
>> class compared to AC2.
I've never traveled Non-AC First Class. Could someone explain how the
carriages are laid out. Are there compartments? And do they still have
fold-down berths? And in what way is the view better. (I did once ride
on
an
AC2 carriage with widows so discolored that it was impossible to see
much
of
anything.)
PS: I've just temporarily joined this list to get some mundane practical
information, and I am very appreciate of your collective willingness to
help. I am also impressed with the high degree of camaraderie and love
of
the subject that seems to characterize this list. I'm not a rail buff
myself, but I will strongly recommend your discussions to a couple of
friends who are. Thank you for allowing me to listen in. (Even though I
don't understand most of the technical information, I can appreciate the
enthusiasm and experience you all seem to share!)
Regards,
Alan Sponberg
*******************************************************************
Alan Sponberg Phone: 406-243-2803
Professor of Asian 406-243-2171 (dept.
office)
Philosophy & Religion E-Mail: sponberg@selway.email
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812 USA
********************************************************************
From: Madhav Acharya <>
Subject: Re: Thanks for the help!
Date: 30 Oct 1998 14:17:26 -0500
I think you should still be able to find ordinary first class on
trains like Kalka Mail ? BTW is the AC express from Delhi-Howrah
and Delhi-Bombay still running ? It used to be 81/82 and 103/104
in the older numbering system (for NDLS-HWH). Can anyone provide
the logic behind the current 4 digit numbering system ? I believe the
first train to use this was 2001/2002 Delhi-Jhansi Shatabdi (now
extended
to Bhopal).
Madhav