IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 4681 - 4700
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Re: Its Smaller Than You Think.. ;)
Date: 12 Dec 1998 19:00:10 -0500
Dear L Webber
Please find some distances for your information - from the KR zonal
timetable 15 Aug 1998
This is only for main stations enroute.
Roha 0 / Khed 98 / Chiplun 128 / Sangmeshwar 170
Ratnagiri 204 / Kudal 343 / Sawantwadi Rd. 364
Thivim 396 (Mapusa Rd.) / Karmali 414 (Old Goa)
Madgaon 442 / Canacona 475 / Karwar 501
Kumta 556 / Honnavar 570 / Bhatkal 611
Kundapura 660 / Udupi 692 / Surathkal 734
Thokur 738 / Kankanadi 755 / Mangalore 760
Rajan Mathew
From: Rajan Mathew <>
Subject: Re: Let us do the Up & Down discussion once again
Date: 12 Dec 1998 19:08:54 -0500
Apurva
Due to the large number of trains, I should believe that many of the
passenger trains have not been brought into the main numbering. Cr has
done
this for many of its trains, but other railways have kept the
shorter/older
numbers.
Infact a new system is evolving where alphabets are used with simple
numbers
especially DMU services
eg JPJ 1 - Jodhpur Jaisalmer Passenger (not a DMU)
4 DMU Diva Vasai Pass. (a DMU)
Rajan
>Some trivia: In the middle of this unique four digit number discussion,
the
>HQ of WR, Mumbai starts trains with two digit numbers like 13 Dn (MCT -
>Valsad passenger ?). I do not have the WR tt at hand, but you can find
such
>two digit trains in there. Why is the four digit code not applicable to
them
>
>Apurva
From: L Webber <>
Subject: Off to India now!
Date: 12 Dec 1998 20:04:44 -0500
Vijay wrote:
>I am going through your list of stations and quite a few of these are
within
>sections that have been newly constructed and would be listed only in
the
>latest zonal TTs or Bradshaw. What I am curious to know is how did you
find
>all these names - do you have the latest railway map of India or the
latest
>Bradshaw, or did you look at the online railway map on
www.indianrailway.com
>- if not, what is your source?
I have a 10 yr old BIG railway map, many quality atlases, on-line maps
(found with Infoseek), a few old zonals, a few TAAGs (not the most
current one), a '92 bradshaw, Murray's Guide, Lonely Planet, 3 other
guidebooks, IR budgets, my memory, notes taken on journeys. I chose
"interesting" PLACES - big river crossings, ALL junctions, ALL terminii
(yes Ajni is there), ALL scheduled stops of a major train (I've listed
these already in irfca - additions / duplicates please!), anywhere on a
railroute mentioned in a guidebook, anywhere else good in my judgement.
>I have traveled on the Viramgam-Okha route twice and have not seen any
>Jamnagar bypass. I checked with my 1998 Western Rly. TT to see whether
this
>New Jamnagar has mysteriously sprung-up in the last three years, but no
such
>luck! So, rest assured, every train to Okha passes via Jamnagar and
the
>distance is correct.
Re New Jamnagar - my bradshaw is adamant. It exists. The route thro
Jamnagar is longer; please someone check out bradshaws of similar
vintage to mine... The line apparently bifurcates at Hapa...
>My 1998 TAAG shows Kaptanganj-Bagaha as 55 kms. Note that the
>Chhitauni-ValmikinagarRd-Bagaha rail link was opened to traffic a
couple of
>years back and my NE TT doesn't cover that. We need this information
from
>someone who has the latest NE TT or Bradshaw.
Hmmm. My bradshaw gives Kaptan-Chhit as 49kms and Valmik-Bagaha as
10kms, making K-C-V-B of 55km suggest C-V is -4 kms... :)) Are Valmik
and Chhit still both on the route when the gap was closed? Was the brad
info wrong? Has there been a shortening? ZonalTT or other brad info,
please!
>Quick question. Have you used the Bradshaw to determine these
distances or
>are they just from the map? If you have used a Bradshaw then I will
use
>only my zonal TTs.
The guesstimated distances are just from maps. So please use a bradshaw
as your first 'port of call', Vijay.... Thanks!
As to my itinerary in India - 3 Rajdhanis 3 Shatabdis 2 Frontiers
2 Mandores etc. etc. total km-age >12000. I believe any holiday where
more than 20% of nights are spent other than in a train is a failed
holiday per se... ;)
You won't hear from me while I'm touring, as the Internet connections
provided even in ACC1 are problematic... ;) But pl post corrections,
comments, distances as requested, new candidate trains / spots, etc...
Regards to all new friends
LW
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From: KRISHNA T S <>
Subject: Cloverleaf arrangement at Basin Bridge
Date: 12 Dec 1998 20:29:50 -0500
Hi guys
Here goes....
The line from Chennai Central station heads north to Basin Bridge - 1 KM
away. Just after Basin bridge the cloverleaf happens, like this:
Line 1: turns due West to Vyasarpadi on the route to Arakkonam - The
junction for Trains going to Bangalore, South India, and Northwest to
Mumbai, etc.
Line 2: Goes North towards Vijaywada, Hyderabad, Delhi, Calcutta....
Line 3: Branches off Line 2 and heads East for about 2 km after which it
turns South and ends at Chennai Beach Station. This is also the line
that feeds Madras Port.
Line 4: Branches off from Line 1 heading due East, crosses over Line 2
and joins line 3, providing a by-pass route for trains heading for the
Port.
Line 5: Branches off Line 4 and joins the northbound Line 2. This allows
trains heading North from Kerala and South Tamil Nadu to miss Chennai
Central. The Alleppey-Bokaro Steel City Express is a train that skips
Chennai Central by using this route.
Line 6: This line branches off from Line 2 and joins Lines 3 and 4
providing a link between North India and Chennai port without touching
Chennai Central.
I've attached a small bitmap illustration with this mail that sort of
gives you the whole picture.
Keep the mails coming. Glad to be an IRFC member
Bye
Krishna
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From: KRISHNA T S <>
Subject: Diesel loco page - bonnet style !!!!
Date: 13 Dec 1998 10:57:13 -0500
Hi guys
Check out this url <A HREF="http://exotic.railfan.net/diesel.htm">http://exotic.railfan.net/diesel.htm</A>. There's some
excellent bonnet style diesel locos here. Also available, a downloadable
diesel loco screen saver - superb pictures
Bye
Krishna
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From: Krishna kant Goyal <>
Subject: Re: IR maps online
Date: 13 Dec 1998 16:40:20 -0500
dear friends, I am fed up with hundreds of e mail from railway fan club
can I come out of this fan club ?
>From irfca-request@cs.email Fri Dec 11 20:49:26 1998
>Received: from mimsy.cs.umd.edu (root@mimsy.email [128.8.128.8])
> by hyena.cs.umd.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id XAA09036
> for <irfca@hyena.email Fri, 11 Dec 1998 23:47:56 -0500
(EST)
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>Received: from 208.243.86.148 by www.hotmail.com with HTTP;
> Fri, 04 Dec 1998 11:58:02 PST
>X-Originating-IP: [208.243.86.148]
>From: "Vijay Balasubramanian" <vijay_642@hotmail.email
>To: irfca@cs.email
>Subject: IR maps online
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain
>Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 11:58:02 PST
>
>Hi Folks,
>
> Check out the following website:
>
><A HREF="http://www.mapsofindia.com">http://www.mapsofindia.com</A>
>
>It has a railway map of India with its share of mistakes. You can also
>display railway maps for the various states.
>
>Vijay
>
>______________________________________________________
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>
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From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: IR maps online
Date: 13 Dec 1998 21:46:35 -0500
What a strange request ! The whole IRFCA effort is voluntary. I cannot
get
enough of railway discussions while another person is fed up. Perhaps
Krishna
Kant should explain what is wrong with the discussions we have on the
IRFCA ?
Or is it the sheer volume of mail ? Is there an issue (railway related)
that he
wants to discuss for which he is not getting any response at all ?
Apurva
Krishna kant Goyal wrote:
> dear friends, I am fed up with hundreds of e mail from railway fan
club
> can I come out of this fan club ?
>
> >From irfca-request@cs.email Fri Dec 11 20:49:26 1998
> >Received: from mimsy.cs.umd.edu (root@mimsy.email [128.8.128.8])
> > by hyena.cs.umd.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id XAA09036
> > for <irfca@hyena.email Fri, 11 Dec 1998 23:47:56 -0500
(EST)
> >Received: from hotmail.com (wya-lfd86.hotmail.com [207.82.252.150])
> > by mimsy.cs.umd.edu (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id XAA19497
> > for <irfca@cs.email Fri, 11 Dec 1998 23:47:53 -0500 (EST)
> >Received: (qmail 412 invoked by uid 0); 4 Dec 1998 19:58:03 -0000
> >Message-ID: <19981204195803.411.qmail@hotmail.email
> >Received: from 208.243.86.148 by www.hotmail.com with HTTP;
> > Fri, 04 Dec 1998 11:58:02 PST
> >X-Originating-IP: [208.243.86.148]
> >From: "Vijay Balasubramanian" <vijay_642@hotmail.email
> >To: irfca@cs.email
> >Subject: IR maps online
> >MIME-Version: 1.0
> >Content-Type: text/plain
> >Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 11:58:02 PST
> >
> >Hi Folks,
> >
> > Check out the following website:
> >
> ><A HREF="http://www.mapsofindia.com">http://www.mapsofindia.com</A>
> >
> >It has a railway map of India with its share of mistakes. You can
also
> >display railway maps for the various states.
> >
> >Vijay
> >
> >______________________________________________________
> >Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
> >
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: [Fwd: MG chopper couplers]
Date: 14 Dec 1998 00:32:56 -0500
Kelvin Lee wrote:
> Gentlemen
>
> Thank you very much. Dr Walker, a big thank you for the diagrams --
hard to download but they have answered practically all my questions on
the chopper couplers.
>
> Although there are two diagrams in your website -- one for the
hook-end and one for the coupling-end -- I take it that they are
separated for clarity. Unless I am wrong, both the hook and coupling
are in one unit. The unused hook is simply raised and locked. The
operating hook then goes into the recess and engages the bar. Please
pardon my ignorance here but how is the bar released and locked? Is
there a lever that is operated by the train crew?
>
> Would you know the reasons why the Malayan railways ditched their
choppers for the knuckle design. Is there anything inherently flawed in
the chopper design.
Maybe the right thinking Malaysian Railway wants the MG to continue for
the time to come. Which is a refreshing contrast to the thick headed IR
who wants to see the MG banished for ever, so the Malaysian Railway is
sort of making their MG rolling stock 'future proof by adding a CBC.
Apurva
>
>
> Thank you for any information or opinions you could give me.
>
> And compliments of the Season.
>
> KELVIN
>
> -----------------
From: poras p.saklatwalla <>
Subject: Re: IR maps online
Date: 14 Dec 1998 04:20:03 -0500
Appu,
He must be fed up of us sending the same mails. Mr.K.K. Goyal why did
you
come in if you were not interested or is it the topics we discuss which
is
boring for you.
PORAS P.SAKLATWALLA
TEL :5773535/3636
EXT :4226/4232/4237
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: PNV - MAO express and other ideas
Date: 14 Dec 1998 07:28:25 -0500
> Can someone go to Goa
> via Miraj, Belgaum, Londa,CastleRock, and Madgaon, or do we still go
to
> Londa and then take an M.G. I mean does the Goa Express go right upto
Goa
> or does it still go upto Londa/ Hubli as B.G., because when I last
went to
> Pune in Sept. I saw the Goa Express and on the coach was writtten
Hazrat
> Nizammudin - Hubli - Hazrat Nizammudin.
Earlier to to this schedule (HNZM-UBL), the Goa Express used to
terminate at Castle
Rock at 3 AM or so, then within five minutes the same rake went to Hubli
as the CLR -
UBL passenger ! During the Up journey the reverse happened, the rake
came to CLR as
UBL - CLR passenger and then 2779 Up (the train is 'Up' till Pune) Goa
Express started
its journey towards Pune.
The BG track from Castle Rock to Kulem is through, freight trains are
already using
this, but the catch sidings for the line are not complete (to
accommodate BG rakes)
hence the commissioner of safety Hubli division is not allowing the
passenger traffic.
> By the way gang, the new train for Madgaon from Panvel is going to be
> disastrous for KRC as which kind soul living in South Mumbai or at
Andheri
> or Borivali or Bandra going to reach Panvel early in the morning to
catch
> the train at 6.00 or 6.30 in the morning, and how is he going to reach
> there ?
I agree with you fully that Panvel is a odd place to start a train,
unless the CR also
arranges a few EMUs which connect to the PNV from CSTM and Andheri. The
railways knows
fully well that NO ONE except gang in New Mumbai can reach Panvel at an
early hour. So
I had fantasized that they back the rake all the way via Vashi -
Mankhurd - Chembur -
to Kurla Suburban ! I cannot see any reason why this cannot happen in
practice. If
Kurla local station has no space, how about the dead end Mankhurd
terminus ? I want
Rajan's comments on this - he has seen and sketched the place in great
details.
Sometimes I feel that the KR gang would decide to start a train, come
what may, the
guys who actually allow the entry into Mumbai proper would relent later,
once this
train would become popular. It is similar to the sanctions and planning,
permissions
and denials that we see within our own office or organization. Once a
project is
somewhat underway, getting further sanctions is easy.
Apurva
> It will be disastrous for KRC, instead even if they start a train
> from say Thane or Diva it will be fine. Viraf, Appu, your comments
and
> also members living around the city. There has to be some mode of
> transport to reach Panvel, and the best I think is train from CST at
5.00
> via Dadar ( so that WR side passengers can avail of these facilities)
then
> Kurla, via harbour or else via Diva so that passengers upto Thane
> Dombivali can take advantage and reach Panvel. Otherwise start the
train
> from Kurla Terminus at 5.45 and the train can reach Madgaon at 13.00
and
> return journey can start at 3.00 to reach Mumbai at say 10.00. This
idea
> of starting from Panvel will prove to be disastrous. Come on friends
your
> views needed !
>
> PORAS P.SAKLATWALLA
> TEL :5773535/3636
> EXT :4226/4232/4237
From: Jayant S <>
Subject: Alco Locomotive Company
Date: 14 Dec 1998 23:08:49 -0500
<A HREF="http://alcoengine.com/alco.html">http://alcoengine.com/alco.html</A>
This is the website for this firm.
I presume this is what was being talked about ?
Jayant S.
--
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: New 6000hp Alcos
Date: 14 Dec 1998 23:39:19 -0500
Brad,
There is something wrong here - there cannot be an 'Alco locomotive
company',
unless I am very wrong, Alco itself stands for American Loco company.
But if
the news is true and these are the same people then this is great news
indeed.
I for one have never seen anything but Alco mainline diesel in India, so
I
would like to know the special qualities that the Alcos have vs. any
other.
The new locos Indian are the GT46 MAC from GM. But the Indian WDM 2 and
its
derivatives (WDM2C/WDG1/WDG2/WDM7/WDP1/WDP2) are all based on the Alco
RSD 29
engine and they are very much alive here. And we must not forget the few
thousand meter gauge YDM 4, which is also a MLW product. As the meter
gauge
network is being converted to broad in India, the surplus YDM 4s are
being
exported to Malaysia and Vietnam. Speaking of exports the Indian WDM 2
is being
exported to Sri Lanka.
Even as I write this note I can hear a freight train with Alco WDM 2s
going
past just half a KM from where I sit. I wish all of you could be here
with me !
Indian Alcos have been fitted with a fuel economy kit and improved turbo
chargers, hence unfortunately for us enthusiasts, the smoke level has
dropped.
There is also a move to replace the hydraulic Woodwards governor with
the
electromechanical GE governors. This move again has reduced the uneven
idling
and hunting which was one of the WDM 2's charms.
One question to all of you - the Indian Alco during acceleration drops
the
field excitation at around 39 Km/Hr and then picks up a fraction of a
second
later, the engine (the prime mover) also cuts off for the same period.
This is
where the series to parallel transition occurs, the jerk of this
transition
can be felt noticeably in the loco as well as in the coaches if you are
paying
attention. Does this happen in Australian, Canadian and other Alco
diesel
electrics as well ?
Apurva
Pune India
GOODWIN ALCO wrote:
> Hi guys,
> Well I am seeking someone who may have read the January 99
> Trains magazine.
> I am told there is an article on the "Alco Locomotive Company" now
> being set up in the States.
> Now I had heard of plans for a loco in the vicinity of 2000hp for
> small to medium applications but the article apparently goes on to
> discuss plans for a new 6000hp Alco.
> Can anyone who has seen this article verify this and tell me what it
> says?
> May be time for GM to start looking over its shoulders again :)
> Best Wishes
> Brad
GOODWIN ALCO wrote:
> > Brad, I copied the Trains article word-for-word. Here it is:
> >
> > ALCO LIVES! TWO HISTORIC LOCOMOTIVE LINES UNITE... SORT OF
> >
> > As I was Glancing through a recent trade journal, the full-page ad
> > stopped me dead in my tracks. There, in factory-fresh paint, was
> > Canadian National M636 2339 looking like it might just burst from
the
> > page. "Now You Can Give Your ALCO Locomotive the Power It's Been
> > Missing," read the headline, neatly centered below the
red-and-silver
> > logo of the ad's sponsor: The ALCO Locomotive Company.
> > Alco? It seemed too good to be true. I pinched myself, checked to
date
> > on the magazine (it is 1998!), and read on. "Through a strategic
> > alliance with Fairbanks Morse Engine Division and Globe Turbocharger
> > Specialties, the National Railway Equipment Company has formed the
new
> > Alco Locomotive Company...dedicated to providing the market-place
with
> > state-of-the-art electrical, mechanical and tractive effort upgrades
> > which will create a more powerful, more reliable, and durable
locomotive
> > than ever before..."
> > Jim Wurtz, NRE/Alco's vice president, marketing and sales, confirms
> > it-Alco is back. A division of National Railway Equipment, the new
firm
> > is the "lead marketer for the Alco locomotive product line." All
engine
> > assemblies and components will be provided by Fairbanks Morse
(another
> > old name that's back in the railroad business), which purchased
rights to
> > the Alco 251 prime mover from General Electric a few years ago.
Globe
> > will handle turbochargers. NRE, a long-established rebuild and
leasing
> > trade, will look after the "chassis" end of the business-from
trucks,
> > frame and carbody, to cab controls, air brake, and electrical
> > systems-under the banner of its newly formed Alco Locomotive
Company.
> > Don't look for brand-new Alcos to start rolling out of NRE's three
> > Illinois shops-at Dixmoor, Silvis and Mount Vernon-any time soon,
> > however. Since setting up shop in Dixmoor, a south Chicago suburb,
in
> > October 1985, NRE has made its stock and trade the reconditioning
and
> > rebuilding of locomotives. That's just what the "new" Alco,
> > headquartered at Mount Vernon, is offering, from "qualified
(overhauled
> > to meet original equipment manufacturer specs) secondhand
Schenectady and
> > Montreal-built locomotives, to completely rebuilt four- and
six-motor
> > Alco and Montreal units with "better than new" warranties.
> > Combining new and rebuilt components with "price and
serviceability,"
> > NRE/Alco aims to repopulate the market with good, reliable
Alco-design
> > units at a price that regionals and short lines can afford.
"There's a
> > strong contingent of customers that want to keep Alco locomotives,"
notes
> > Wurtz, and not just in North America. He estimates there are
between
> > 4500 and 6000 Alco-design locomotives operating in the world, not
> > including those in India, where a separate licencing agreement
prohibits
> > NRE/Alco from plying it's trade.
> > Although the program is still in its infancy, NRE/Alco has acquired
a
> > healthy inventory of 50 or so Alcos in the U.S. and Australia. In
the
> > U.S., the stock is primarily MLW/Bombardier-built M420's and
six-motor,
> > fullcowl HR616's from Canadian National. Among the last domestic
> > Alco-design models built, the units were well maintained, and the
420's
> > have proved popular in the secondhand market. Short lines from
Tennessee
> > to northern Manitoba have snapped up the 2000 h.p. units almost as
fast
> > as CN makes them available. In recent months, major M420
transactions
> > have included 8 sold to St.Lawrence & Atlantic and 21 to OmniTrax,
17 for
> > Hudson Bay Railway, and 4 assigned to Carlton Trail Railway in
> > Saskatchewan.
> > So, 30 years after Alco finished its last new locomotives at
Schenectady
> > (Newburgh & South Shore T6's 1016-17), and more than a dozen years
after
> > Bombardier built the last domestic Alco-design units in Canada, a
> > successor has picked up the standard to carry Alco into the next
century.
> >
> > Hope this answers some questions. The Jan 99 issue of Railfan &
Railroad
> > also has an article. Can you tell me anything about the Alco's in
> > Australia that NRE has acquired? Are they C636's from the Pilbara?
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Re: (Bad) Fish Smell Express and Other Important Trains
Date: 15 Dec 1998 04:27:30 -0500
> 1065 KURLA - VARANASI EXP
> + Renumbered 2165/2166 Kurla (T) - Varanasi Ratnagiri Superfast
Express
> and converted to Superfast
> I am of the opinion that the name Ratnagiri is misleading and the
railways
> must revise the name for this train
I absolutely agree with you - How would you like to have a New Delhi
Express
which terminates 350 Kms from NDLS ? A new name has to be thought for
this
train, no matter how much the IR loves the name 'Ratnagiri'. It was okay
when
there was no KR, but now it is possible for a train to run from Varanasi
to
Ratnagiri, maybe that is what the railways intend in the near future
!Gang what
is the difference between BSB and VNS ? Both are interchangeably used to
refer
to Varanasi.
> 1081 MUMBAI - KANNIYAKUMARI JAYANTI JANATA EXP
> The words Jayanti Janata are not officially used on either the train
or the
> timetable or any official reference. However the name continues to be
used
> by the traveller.
I think this was in series of Jayanti Janata trains (like you have the
SwarnaJayanti series now), but like you pointed out, no official
document refer
to this train as such. All the railway gang refer to this train as 81
Down/82
Up.
> 2961 BANDRA - INDORE AVANTIKA EXP
> + This train has reverted to its original terminus of Mumbai Central
> recently.
My dad returning from IND on the first train that was extended from
Bandra
terminus to MCT and he was charged the difference of fares of the two
stations
by the TC, as ticket was only till Bandra Terminus !
> + There is a new train Kolhapur - Tirupati Express with number 7315
> (Unconfirmed number) via Hubli and Guntakal
The KOP - TPTY train has the name 'Vijaynagar Express'. This is the only
train
out of Kolhapur that reverses direction at Miraj.
> 9019 MUMBAI - DEHRADUN EXP
> + The train has changed terminals and runs out of Bandra Terminus now
What can be the reason for that ? Maybe the longer distance trains can
be
started and ended at Bandra while the trains into Gujrath, Indore etc
(relatively short distance) would start/end at MCT. A similar reasoning
exists
about trains out of CSTM and CLAT. The odd train in the CLAT group is
the 1403
CLAT - MMR Express which leaves Kurla terminus at 1440 to reach Manmad
1945.
Hence it is good only for gang in the Northern suburbs of Mumbai. I hope
in the
same logic, we will never see a commuter train to Pune out of CLAT !
Apurva
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: Change in the STD code of Pune
Date: 15 Dec 1998 04:39:58 -0500
Gang !
>From midnight of 15th Dec 1998, our great city of Pune changes its STD
code from 0212 to 020. Thus my telephone number is 91-20-333159,
although that might change soon to a seven digit number. Will keep you
informed.
Apurva Bahadur
From: Apurva Bahadur <>
Subject: [Fwd: Change in the STD code of Pune
Date: 15 Dec 1998 07:57:58 -0500
Any suggestions for Anil ?
Anil Balchandani wrote:
> Hello Apurva,
> I am planning a trip to India and would like to travel by
train to some places. I need some advice and your opinion on some
plans. Please tell me if this you can render some help via email.
>
> Thanks,
> Anil
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: Shortest Distance Between Two Stations on IR
Date: 15 Dec 1998 08:18:24 -0500
>
> One very important thing I have noticed is that the Mumbai
> Rajdhani departs BCT
> AT 16.55 to reach NDLS AT 9.55 i.e 17 hours, and the final
> Kota - NDLS run
> takes about 6 hours ( pass Kota Jn. at 4.00 am) where as on
> return the Raj
> departs at 16.00 hrs and takes only 4 1/2 hrs to Kota to
> reach at 20.40
> and Mumbai at 8.30. at BCT. Can some kind soul explain this
> phenomenon of
> Raj as it takes roughly around 16 and odd hours in the return journey.
In the early 90s, the Dn. Rajdhani Exp. used to take 5 hrs. 5 mts. from
Kota
to New Delhi - dep. Kota at 4.10 am, pass Mathura at 7.37 am, arr.
N.Delhi
at 9.15 am. At that time, it had its best run - 16 hrs. 15 mts. from
Bombay
Central to New Delhi (1384 km.) - 85.17 kmph. Then these IR folks had a
brainwave :-( and decided to add 40 mts. worth of make-up time between
Kota
and New Delhi - 23 mts. in the Bayana-Mathura section, and 17 mts. in
the
Mathura-N.Delhi section. As a result, the Rajdhani now departs from
Kota at
4.10 am, has a pass time of 8.00 am at Mathura and reaches N.Delhi at
9.55
am. As you can see, IR has not even spared the Rajdhani :-(
>
> By the way gang, the new train for Madgaon from Panvel is going to be
> disastrous for KRC as which kind soul living in South Mumbai
> or at Andheri
> or Borivali or Bandra going to reach Panvel early in the
> morning to catch
> the train at 6.00 or 6.30 in the morning, and how is he going to reach
> there ? It will be disastrous for KRC, instead even if they
> start a train
> from say Thane or Diva it will be fine. Viraf, Appu, your
> comments and
> also members living around the city. There has to be some mode of
> transport to reach Panvel, and the best I think is train from
> CST at 5.00
> via Dadar ( so that WR side passengers can avail of these
> facilities) then
> Kurla, via harbour or else via Diva so that passengers upto Thane
> Dombivali can take advantage and reach Panvel. Otherwise
Why not reverse the timings so that the train leaves Madgaon in the
morning,
reaches Panvel in the afternoon, and after an hr.+ halt, heads back
towards
Madgaon? This will provide convenient times at Panvel for Mumbai folks.
Of
course, Mumbaikers will not be able to travel to Goa and return the same
day
but is that the primary objective of this train? Also, does Madgaon
have
facilities for berthing rakes overnight?
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: [Fwd: IRFC]
Date: 15 Dec 1998 08:26:31 -0500
> >
> > Tell me something - does an Alco ever cross 110 kmph at any
> point? I > was
> > told recently that Alcos used to haul the Rajdhani
> expresses at speeds
> > of upto 120 kmph in the 70s. Apparently they usually do not
> cross 105
> > kmph - similar to the maximum speed permitted on the Mumbai-Pune DC
> > section.
True! The Mumbai Raj/A.K. Raj used to be hauled by twin WDM2 units till
1996(?). These would travel at 120 kmph. max. between Virar and Godhra.
> >
> > One more question - sorry for the long mail - how does the AC-DC and
> > vice-versa occur at Igatpuri? I understand that if the
> locos are of> > the
> > WCAM type, then one pantograph is lowered and the other
> raised when > the
> > loco is in motion. According to your website, your train
> (Pushpak) was
> > hauled by a WCM5 upto Igatpuri and then a WAM4 was attached
> at > Igatpuri
> > platform. How does this happen??
Has been discussed before. The contact wire can be (dis)connected to
either the AC or the DC section through isolators. When the DC loco.
pulls
into Igatpuri, the contact wire is carrying 1500 v DC current. Then the
loco. is shunted out to the adjoining track and before the AC loco.
comes
in, the contact wire is charged with 25 kv AC current.
Vijay
From: Sridhar Shankar <>
Subject: Off to India!
Date: 15 Dec 1998 08:34:13 -0500
Folks,
I will be heading to Madras on a short visit (couple of weeks) end
of this week. Will be making a few trips icluding one that I am looking
forward to in particular - to Shirdi. I think we are going to take the
KK
(made popular by Apurva through his pictures at Daund) from Bangalore to
Manmad. I hope to come back with some cool double headed WDM2 pics.
Anurag, can you please pull me off the list when you get a chance. I
will
rejoin once I get back.
Thanks,
-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: (Bad) Fish Smell Express and Other Important Trains
Date: 15 Dec 1998 08:35:38 -0500
> 1065 KURLA - VARANASI EXP
> + Renumbered 2165/2166 Kurla (T) - Varanasi Ratnagiri
> Superfast Express
> and converted to Superfast
> I am of the opinion that the name Ratnagiri is misleading and
> the railways
> must revise the name for this train
> 1067 KURLA - FAIZABAD SAKET EXP
> + This is converted to a Superfast and renumbered 2167/2168
In a news article that Apurva had posted a while back, only the
Ratnagiri
exp. was supposed to be speeded up. Looks like they decided to speedup
the
Saket Exp. as well so to preserve the schedule sharing. So Mumbai now
has
a superfast train to Faizabad (of all places) but none to
Chennai/Bangalore/Secunderabad.....
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: Panvel - Karjat link
Date: 15 Dec 1998 08:41:29 -0500
> Ram Naik, who hails from Mumbai and who since the past
> several years had
> been looking into the problems of the suburban rail traffic in greater
> Mumbai, revived the project which is of great importance both
> to Pune and
> Mumbai.
Kudos to Mr. Ram Naik for reviving this project - he is most certainly
God's
gift to Maharashtra, in general, and Mumbai, in particular. I do hope
he
does something about the pathetic state of the Mumbai-Chennai line such
as
doubling the remaining single line stretches, introducing
superfast/Rajdhani-type trains to Bangalore/Chennai, etc.
Vijay