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Wadi Junction forms the changeover point between South Central Railway and Central Railway, and the byepass before the station serves to divert trains like the 2429 Bangalore-New Delhi Rajdhani Express to Secunderabad. This photograph shows a semaphore arm signal used to control trains on this route. The Mumbai-Chennai line is in dire need of attention!

 

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The close-up of the gauntlet point at the south-end of Chennai Egmore station. This point lets BG and MG trains arrive on the same platform, by switching the points on one common rail. These days, MG express trains are terminated south of Chennai, at Tambaram. Observe an MG EMU on the right and a green YDM/2 locomotive on the far left.

 

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The tracks emerging out of Chennai Central Terminus form an incredibly complex layout - and routing trains over this stretch would need the dexterity of an army ant! The coaches at the far end are berthed at the parcel depot, while tracks on the far left lead into the EMU terminal serving Arrakkonam, Gummidipundi and Tambaram.

 

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Dusk descends on the tracks that head north out of Basin Bridge Junction in Chennai, and move on to Ennore and Gudur. The two lines radiating to the right head east into the Chennai Beach station and Harbor, and busy port activities keep this line busy. Chennai has a pair of trunk corridors that cut each other on grade-separated cross-overs, with a rhombus-shaped layout that offers three options for any train to travel.

 

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This is one of the quirks of having multiple gauges - a gauntlet point south of Chennai Egmore station. This was made for BG EMUs that needed wider tracks on the existing MG infrastructure. The rail on the left is common for both BG and MG trains, and the point merges one side of the two tracks to effect track-sharing. These kind of points can also be found at Ahmedabad station in Gujarat, WR.

 

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The speeding 2639 Brindavan Express crosses the triangular stretch between Krishnarajapuram and Baiyappanahalli in the outskirts of Bangalore. Two lines diverge here north to converge at Channasandra. All the greenery in this picture would vanish, once the Ring Road overbridge gets constructed across the line.