Journeys to the Lands of my Ancestors (Continuation)
by Jitendra Mulky
2010-04-13
Madgaon Madness
This is the continuation of my travelogue, "Journeys to the lands of my ancestors", posted some months ago, in connection with my journeys over the Konkan Railway over the last 10 - 12 years. This year, once again, I had the opportunity to travel on KR. My wife's cousin's daughter was getting married in Mangalore on May 26th, and we came to know of it only in early April. Since she was the first of the latest generation to get married, we had to go, as we had last been to Mangalore 10 years ago, and had not met up with cousins since then. (Point of interest: my wife's cousins: 40 in Mangalore and Udupi, give or take a few. My cousins: none in this region).
Since the bookings had opened 90 days in advance, it was too late already. All trains to Mangalore had huge waiting lists in all classes. I tried all sorts of permutations and combinations, checking out the various quotas (helps to pay attention to what VSP is telling us), but no luck. I was already contemplating going by bus or even by plane, but still I had hopes of taking the train. And then one fine day, I opened the newspaper to see a full page colour advertisement from Central Railway about the Holiday Specials to be run during the vacation period. Amongst the many special trains, were 3 of importance to me : 0167/ 0168 Dadar - Ernakulam, 0169/ 0170 Dadar - Kochuveli, and 0109/ 0110 Mumbai CST - Karwar. Bookings for 109, 167 and 169 was due to open on 13th April, but there was no indication when the bookings for the return journeys would commence. Since we were due to leave Mumbai on Saturday 22nd May, and return from Mangalore on Monday 31st May, 169/ 170 Dadar - Kochuveli would have best suited us.
So, accordingly on 13th April at 7.45 am, I had turned on the computer, logged on to IRCTC site and was waiting patiently for 8.00 am. But I was not the only gullible person to think that this is a piece of cake. After about 30 minutes and umpteen tries, I could manage to get the page which showed availability, and by then it showed WL in all classes. I was so frustrated, that I really thought of trying out the bus option this time round. But somehow, the IRFCA spirit in me made me look for other options. And on searching for Mumbai - Madgaon, I found berths available for 22nd May in AC 2 tier in 0109 Karwar holiday special. By now the time was almost 9 am, and I could easily book the tickets. So upto Madgaon, there was no problem, but what about after that? I then looked for Madgaon - Mangalore for the 23rd May and bingo!, AC 2 tier berths were available on 1097 Poorna Express.
Now for the return journey bookings. I never even noticed when the bookings for the return Holiday specials were announced, and when I did, it was too late. So without wasting any time, I straight away booked for 110 Karwar Mumbai Holiday Special for 31st May and got confirmed berths, even though the berth numbers were coach A1 nos. 36, 38 and 40 (more about this strange allotment of berths later). For the journey from Mangalore to Karwar, there was no other convenient train except KR2 Verna Passenger, and so I booked sitting accommodation in the same. Since we were going for a wedding, we would be having a lot of luggage and also a few valuables. Therefore for the Dahanu - Mumbai journey I booked AC 3 tier tickets for 9216 Saurashtra Express on 22nd May and for Mumbai - Dahanu it was my favourite 9011 Gujarat Express for 1st June. But since 110 would arrive at CSTM at 05.00 (no stop at Dadar) and 9011 would leave Mumbai Central at 05.45, as a safety measure, I also booked SL berths in the next train to Dahanu, i.e. 9023 Firozpur Janata Express.
I have not noted down any loco numbers during my journey, so people who are interested in such statistics may please excuse me. The day finally dawned - 22nd May, and we woke up to the terrible news of the air crash at Mangalore. Immediately we were flooded with calls from relatives and friends, who put two and two together and made two thousand. After confirming with everyone that we were not on the ill fated Dubai - Mangalore flight and that we were going by train tonight, we could finish our last minute packing in peace. We found ourselves at Dahanu Road station by 15.45. 9216 came in right time at 16.10, hauled by its customary BL WCAM-1. This train gets?Vatva WDM-2 between Porbandar and ADI, BRC WAM-4 (sometimes WAP-4, and once I have even seen it with a LGD WAP-4) between ADI and Valsad, and from Valsad to BCT it gets a WCAM-1 (very very occasionally a WCAM-2 or 2P). We found our berths in coach B1, and asked the lady sprawled out on our berth to vacate it. The journey to BCT was uneventful and we pulled into PF3 at BCT right time at 19.15. Since food would have been a problem, we decided to have an early dinner at the McDonalds' - Rajdhani Restaurant Combo at BCT, and then went home to our place in Gamdevi (Grant Road). We had about 1 hour to rest there, and caught a taxi to CST, reaching there at about 21.40, in time for our train at 22.15. 0109 was announced as departing from PF 9, and we made our way there through the crowds sprawled all over the main concourse hall. Many other departures were being announced notably Hussain Sagar Express from PF8, Shirdi Passenger and Konkan Kanya Express, and also a few arrivals (Mandovi, Indrayani, Tapovan). PF 8/9 was chock a block full with passengers from Hussain Sagar Express, as well as holiday makers bound for Goa (our train), and it was difficult to pull our bags right to the far end of the PF where our coach A1 was supposed to be positioned. The rake was backed onto the PF at about 21.50, and A1 was the 4th coach in the 21 coach rake. But immediately ahead of our coach was a GS coach and we could not enter our coach due to the long line of unreserved passengers, the queue being at least 2 coaches long in length. But later on I noticed that all the passengers were in the GS coach and very comfortably seated, and there were no standees at all. We found our berths (1 LB, 1 UB and 1 SL - so no guesses which berth I took). In the meantime, 2701 Hussain Sagar Express pulled out at 22.00, 10 minutes late at the originating station itself. I tried to go ahead to see the loco of our train, but PF 8/9 is on a sharp curve, and the loco was outside the PF.
We pulled out at 22.24, 9 mins. late. Even at that late hour, some private caterer was providing dinner to passengers, but he was insisting that they take both roti - subzi and pulao, not any one, but both. Many passengers found this amount of food too much, and there was a lot of wastage. After an uneventful run through the Mumbai suburbs, we entered Thane PF 5 at 22.59 and departed at 23.05. At Thane, the half empty coach got completely full, and by the time people settled down for the night, we were nearing Panvel. We had a 12 minute halt at Panvel from 23.44 to 23.56, and I was already half asleep as we pulled out of Panvel.
I was awake by 5.30 the next morning, and found ourselves surrounded with red mud, green plants and blue skies - the typical West coast landscape all the way from South Maharashtra to Kanniyakumari. I received an SMS from Mr. Sriram Sampathkumar (SSK) that he was taking the Mangala Lakshadweep to Ratnagiri and he would cross our train near Kankavli. At 05.55 our train was eased into the loop line at Nandgaon Road, the station before Kankavli. I quickly fininshed my ablutions and went to the door. The starters on both sides of the through line were red. I thought about getting down from the coach onto the tracks and waiting, but decided against it. Within a few minutes, the starter towards Mumbai turned green, and sure enough, Mangala Lakshadweep with a loud honking, went past us. I tried waving at the LP from the door of my coach, but he did not respond. Later I came to know that SSK was on the other side of the cabin.
Our next stop was Kankavli (06.30) and Sawantwadi (07.06), both scheduled stops. By this time we were running close to 2 hours late, but I was thrilled about this, because it would mean a shorter waiting period for me at Madgaon. It had been overcast till then, but just we cleared the tunnel on the border and entered Goa, the clouds cleared as if to welcome us to Goa. Thivim came at 07.36, and the coach again emptied out here - closest station to North Goa. Karmali was an unscheduled halt from 07.52 to 07.58, and again I sensed a crossing. But it was not a high speed one, as the crossing train, Netravati Express has a scheduled stop in Karmali. I was apalled to see the shabby condition of some of the SL coaches of the Netravati. I had taken the Netravati from Bombay V.T. to Coimbatore in 1991, when it was routed via Guntakal and KJM, and with numbers 2135 (if I remember correctly). It was a prestigious train then, and had brand new coaches which were well maintained.
We had another longish halt at Verna from 08.15 to 08.25, but there was no crossing here. All around us, right from the time we entered Goa, we could see people dressed in their Sunday best, off to church, and Verna was no exception. We crawled the last few km into Madgaon, and by the time we came to a halt on PF 2, it was 09.00. A light drizzle greeted us here as we crossed the FOB to PF1. We had already put essential items into a smaller bag, and first things first, we deposited all the other bags in the cloak room. 0109 went ahead on its final leg to Karwar by 09.15, and I did not get a chance to see the loco even. We had breakfast at Benjoe's, the food outlet on PF 1 at Madgaon. By then the rake of Mandovi Express was pulled into PF1 by its customary WDP-4. The rake was more than half empty here, but must have filled up at Karmali and Thivim, because the availability for Mandovi was showing high waiting lists. There was a Ro - Ro train on the middle line between PFs 1 & 2, with all the trucks facing towards Mangalore. The Mandovi left first at 09.30 sharp, followed 15 minutes later by the Ro - Ro towards Mumbai side. The sudden jerk caused all the truck drivers and cleaners to wake up from their slumber, as the temperature had already begun to rise by then. We had close to 3 hours to spend at Madgaon. I was expecting the Okha ERS Express to be overtaken by our 0109, but as we were close to 2 hours late, this must have gone ahead. There was no other action except for the arrival of a half empty Konkan Kanya at 11.30.
Even though Madgaon station has plenty of fans and seats, the heat was quite terrible, and combined with the humidity, it made a deadly combination. I called up a friend of mine who stays near Colva beach, to find out if we could spend 2 hours at her house, but she was leaving for Mumbai by the afternoon flight and was about to leave for the airport. So we had to spend an agonizing time on the PF itself. The waiting room was no better and it was slightly cooler on the PF, where we could catch the occasional breeze. At around 12.30 I decided to have lunch and opted for the Veg thali at Benjoe's. My wife and son preferred not to eat anything and had soft drinks and ice cream instead. Soon the announcement came that 1097 Pune Ernakulam Express would "shortly" be arriving on PF2. That was followed by a mad rush across the FOB on to PF2. We collected our luggage from the cloak room and by the time we reached PF2, there was not an inch of space to safely call our own.The "shortly" seemed never to come, and the heat drained us all out. I wet our handkerchiefs and put them on our heads, but still there was no respite. The Kulem - Vasco Passenger was announced on PF 3. Finally at 13.20, 1097 entered PF 2 of Madgaon hauled by a dark blue - light blue - dark blue Pune WDM-3A. One of the stall owners selling mineral water and cold drinks told us that the AC coaches would come right near where his stall was, maybe to increase his sales. But in reality, the AC coaches were at least 8 - 10 coaches away near the Londa/ Karwar end of the PF. We took our perspiring selves through the crowds and finally made it into the cool interiors of the AC coach. Again we had a LB, UB and SL berth, but the TC had plonked himself on the SL seat, and I could not ask him to vacate. The Pune loco whizzed past us to attach itself to the other end of the train, and at 13.50, we were off. The TC was busy allotting empty berths to some and refusing them to others (I really could not figure out how he was doing that, because as far as I could see, there was no proper logic in his work - but then as later experience made me realize, logic is an unknown entity for some of the KR staff).
We passed the spot where the Londa line takes off from the Karwar line and entered our first tunnel in the southern half of the KR line. By then the TC had checked our tickets, but he was then joined by other railway staff who sat on my SL berth, amongst them a senior person whom everybody respected and called "Nayak Maam (uncle) who would be getting down at Karwar, and another younger man who was to be posted at Surathkal. But I was too exhausted by the heat and the long wait at Madgaon to pick up fights with them, and I climbed up on to the UB and my wife and son made themselves comfortable on the LB. Soon we were all fast asleep. I vaguely remember the train stopping at around 14.25 (so I presume this must have been Karwar). When I woke up, it was 16.25, and we were stationary again. I looked out the window and it was Bhatkal. It was too early for the Matsyagandha crossing, but still I went to the door to see what would pass. It turned out to be a BCN - BCNA rake hauled by two WDG-4s. We were off immediately the freighter had passed, but pulled into Bijoor at 16.55 (unscheduled stop). Here we were made to wait 20 minutes for the Matsyagandha to thunder past us. The next two stops were scheduled, Kundapura and Udupi. Passed Mulki at a decent speed, which caused some excitement in my son, as he was seeing a village with the same name as our surname for the first time. Then slowly as the skies turned overcast again, we took the huge curve around Mangalore port and city, bid goodbye to the Konkan Railway at Thokur, passed through the final tunnel and joined the line from Hassan, to enter PF 1 of Mangalore Jn. (formerly Kankanadi) at 19.00, 5 minutes before time. As the sunlight faded, we got into an autorickshaw, and within 15 minutes we were in our hotel in Hampankatta area, close to Mangalore Central railway station.
Karwar Wars
Our hotel in Mangalore made a good profit that week due to Air India - maybe the only institution to make a profit out of the horrible tragedy of the air crash. There were at least 4 TV crews staying in our hotel, out of which I knew about only one - Times Now. And then came the news of the strike by the Air India employees and subsequent cancellation of flights. Amongst those that got cancelled was a Mangalore - Kuwait flight, and all the passengers were put up in our hotel for a day at the airline's expense. On one of our road trips to Kateel Durga Parmeshwari temple, we came across the typical human response to a tragic event. The site where the plane fell off the cliff of Mangalore airport, is clearly visible from the road leading to Bajpe and Kateel, and this became a sort of impromptu tourist "attraction", with cars, autorickshaws and even buses stopping to allow the passengers a glimpse of the accident site. We too stopped, but could not make out much more than a deep gash in the forest cover from the clifftop down the hill. This is the site that I am referring to Wikimapia Note that someone has marked the site for a future Bajpe railway station on the Konkan Railway line just below the cliff.
Our 7 days in Mangalore and Udupi passed by in a jiffy, mainly because of the wedding celebrations which lasted all of 5 days. And all too soon, it was time to leave. I had booked seats on the KR-2 for 31st May from Mangalore Central to Karwar, where we would have had to spend some 6 hours before proceeding onwards to Mumbai by 0110 Karwar Mumbai Holiday Special. So accordingly we checked out of the hotel at 05.30 am, luckily got an autorickshaw easily at that hour, and by 05.40 we were at Mangalore Central station. Even at that early hour, the station was quite crowded. The empty rake of 6627 West Coast Express was just being shunted out of PF1, and the 6108 Mangalore - Egmore Express was already stationed on PF2. Our KR-2 was scheduled to leave from PF3. In South India, you never go hungry, and sure enough, we stocked up on idlis, vadas and sandwiches from the stall on the PF. It was still early for 6108 to fill up with passengers, so most of the crowd on PF 2/3 was for the KR-2. This rake was a mismatch of coaches. Our coach D1 (the only reserved coach) was the 2nd from the loco and was of SR parentage. The rest were mixed SR and KR/SWR coaches. Our loco was GOC WDM-2 # 16866, who is supposed to be a very "vocal turbocharger" and "screamer" according to comments in our loco database.
At precisely 06.25, with a loud honk, the Screamer pulled out with the 18 coach Passenger and slowly took the huge U turn around Mangalore city to head north. The skies were overcast and the rain came down in buckets. But luckily for us, we were on the side of the train which was away from the direction of the wind, so we could keep the window open without fear of getting drenched.The rainy atmosphere was just the perfect way of saying goodbye to Mangalore, as we slowly entered KR territory at Thokur. But at the very next stop, Surathkal, we were made to stop for a longish period of time. I scanned the timetable, but could not find any train which was due to cross at that time. I thought that it might be a freight, but then with a loud honking, a psychedelic flash of colours passed by, and I knew that this was the Nizamuddin - Ernakulam Duronto, which I had missed simply because no timings were indicated at the intermediate stations. Much later I came to know that Mr. SSK was the LP for this train.
The next station Mulki, again caused some excitement due to its name, and we all felt that we should at least get down on to the PF and claim that the Mulkys had been to Mulky. By then we were already running about 30 minutes late thanks to the Duronto crossing, and the chief really opened up the throttles. The Screamer also lived up to its name, and the noise in the 2nd coach was deafening, often drowning out the conversation. Our coach D1 was the only reserved coach as I had mentioned, and any unreserved passengers were politely asked to go into the next coach through the vestibule, which they did so without a murmur - a far cry from the Mumbai area, where unreserved passengers seem to think that they have full rights and access to the reserved coaches. The coach filled up at Udupi and Kundapura as expected. The train halted at each station only for 1 - 2 minutes, but the journey was never tiresome, as the weather was pleasant, the crowds not impossible, and the loco could easily pull the train at MPS in between stations. Constant supply of food by private vendors ensured that no one went hungry on this Slow train to the Konkan. A short halt at Kumta for the crossing of a freight train, and we pulled into Karwar station at 11.35, exactly 25 minutes late.
I had been debating with myself whether to go on ahead to Madgaon and wait it out there (this would have involved changing of Boarding Point for 0110), or to stay put at Karwar. I even consulted Mr. SSK, who had suggested Madgaon, because the station is larger. But I chose Karwar because here I could get a retiring room for 6 hours for Rs. 60/- (according to the SZ TT), which would be just perfect for us. So I made my way immediately to the ASM's office and asked about the rooms. He directed me to the Booking counter outside the PF. On reaching the booking counter I noticed that there was one more passenger in front of me, who was in the process of booking his motorcycle as luggage. When my turn came, I enquired about the retiring room. The clerk at the counter (unfortunately I could not get his name), told me that he was busy (even though there was no one ahead of me) and told me to wait for 10 minutes. After about 15 minutes, on asking again, he said, "You want the room for 2 hours, and I will be busy at that time, so you will have to wait."
I did not understand his words at first, but still I waited. By that time, there were 2 - 3 other people enquiring about the rooms. Another passenger Mr. B.S. Ganesh Bhat from Shimoga district was also present, and he too wanted a room. In the meantime, the clerk behind the counter kept on accepting bookings of motorcycles and other luggages from at least 2 other passengers. On constantly reminding him about the room, I was finally able to understand what he wanted to say. "You want the room for only 6 hours. When the time comes to return the key and collect the deposit (Rs. 400/-), there will be a big queue for normal tickets, and I will be busy. So I will not waste my time giving you the room."
Mr. Bhat and me however constantly requested him to allot us the rooms (2 out of 3 retiring rooms were available at that time). Mr. Bhat even went up to see the room, where the cleaning lady was cleaning Room Nos. 1 & 2. Mr. Bhat took the room key from her, and occupied room No. 1, even though the cleaning lady was insisting that he do the booking first. We went back to the booking counter and told the clerk there that the rooms are vacant and cleaned, and he should allot us the rooms. But he then insisted that the cleaning lady should hand over the keys to him first. After waiting for another 30 minutes or so (by that time it was already 1 pm), the clerk finally decided to allot room No. 1 to Mr. Bhat. In the meantime, another passenger (who had arrived much after I had arrived), thrust his hand through the window with his ticket and demanded that he should allot room No. 2 to him. When I protested that I was indeed the first one to request for a room, the clerk very rudely said "You people are fighting. I do not want to give you the rooms for 2 hours, and now I will not give the room to anyone." And he walked away from the counter for about 10 minutes.
By this time, my anger was mounting. All the while the clerk had been speaking to us in a very rude tone, he had already made us wait for close to 2 hours, saying don't blame me if I do not attend to you when handing over the room, and now he was saying that he would not give the room to anyone. I then threatened that I would complain about him. By then my family had decided that we do not want the room anymore as it was already past 1.30 pm, and that we would wait it out on the platform. So, I left the window and we went for lunch in the canteen on the platform. But on hearing the word "complaint", the clerk got scared and went to tell the ASM on duty what had happened. He told me to speak to the ASM, to which I replied that I had no wish to complain to the ASM as he would only take his side, instead I would complain to the higher authorities. So saying, I entered the canteen and placed my order. But before the food could arrive, some man came up to me and told me that the ASM was calling me. I went to the ASM's office. He asked what had happened, and I told him. The other passenger who was behind me in the queue was also present in the ASM's office. I told the ASM about the clerk's rude behaviour and how he had made us wait for more than 2 hours and not alloted the retiring rooms even though they were vacant. The ASM then curtly asked me if I wanted a room, to which I refused. I then left the ASM's office and I presume the room was finally allotted to the other passenger, because I saw him go upstairs where the rooms are located. We finished our lunch and waited in the main hall outside the booking counters till 5.15 pm, when the rake which was all this while parked on PF 2, was shunted onto PF 1 and we could enter our A1 coach, which was 4th from behind.
The AC in the coach was again a heaven sent boon after the intense heat (both temperature wise and emotions wise) at Karwar. At precisely 17.45, the loco blew its horn (no idea which loco it was), and we were off. The A1 coach had only 10 passengers and I expected it to fill up at Madgaon. After some superb running, we entered PF 2 of Madgaon at 18.40, 10 minutes ahead of time. I had mentioned earlier that our berth numbers were 36, 38 and 40 (2 UBs and 1 SUB). I had presumed that berth numbers 37 and 39 (both LBs) were given to some senior citizens, but at Madgaon the mystery was solved. They were given to RAC passengers (a couple with their 12 year old son and another lady), and so was seat number 41 (the SLB). The man in the family was allotted seat number 37 along with the other lady, and the mother and son were allotted seat number 39. The "other lady" was of the Christian faith by the way she dressed and spoke, and she brusquely came up to our cubicle and announced to the man "I am supposed to share this berth with you", which caused some embarrassment to him and his wife, and some merriment to the others who were looking on. But I presume they must have made some other arrangement later on. We ordered dinner from the private caterer and immediately retired for the night. It had been a long and exhausting day, and we were physically and mentally drained, and to make things worse, tomorrow morning we would reach CST at 05.00 and our connecting Gujarat Express was to leave from Mumbai Central at 05.45. If there was any delay, we would miss our onward connection, the reason why I had also booked for 9023 Firozpur Janata Express. The TC had reassured me that even though 0109 often reached Karwar 1 - 2 hours late, 0110 usually reached CST between 04.30 and 05.00, i.e. sometimes even before time.
I woke up at 03.30 when the train had halted at Panvel, and got somewhat reassured that we would indeed catch our connecting train. I climbed back up into my SUB and dozed off again, and woke when the RAC family below us made a ruckus as they got down at Thane. I don't know how they shared the seats, but I could not see the "other lady" anywhere. By the time we left Thane it was 04.35, and I woke up my family. Some vague glimmer of hope made me wish fervently that we would zoom through the Mumbai suburbs and stop at Dadar (even though there was no scheduled stop). But fate wills otherwise. The run through the suburbs was sometimes fast, sometimes slow, and it was at Dadar station that the chief really showed how fast he can make it go. But just outside Masjid station, we came to an agonizing stop again. The rake of a train which had arrived before us was slowly shunted out by a WDS loco, and when we finally entered PF 15 at CST (one of the farthest PFs) it was 05.22. Our coach was 4th from the rear, and we really had to run the length of the PF, through the long corridor which houses the luggage booking office and the waiting rooms, through the crowded concourse and into the 1st waiting taxi.
At CST, the official line for the taxis is a little way ahead, controlled by a policeman. But before that there is an "unofficial" waiting group of taxis, who will take you anywhere for a premium. Throwing aside all ethical and moral considerations this time, we took the closest one, which luckily had an overhead carrier, where I just threw the bags. It was already 05.28 by then. The driver thought that maybe we were from out of Mumbai and took the road towards Mohammad Ali Road, instead of taking the more open Queens Road (Karve Road). But he assured me that the flyover on M.Ali Road would cut short our travel time, and we would be at BCT in 5 minutes. I believed him, and maybe we would have reached in time, but for the fact that halfway on the bridge, we saw traffic coming back towards Crawford Market/ CST side. A lady driver shouted "You cannot go ahead, turn back." Not waiting to find out what had happened, I asked the driver to turn back and take Queens Road to BCT.
As we pulled into BCT station, the station clock was showing 05.43. I just thrust a Rs. 100/- note into the driver's hand (the meter fare would have been about Rs. 50/-), and we ran through the concourse towards the train on PF 3. Luck was on our side, the guard was ready to give the go-ahead, but I just requested him to wait 1 minute more. Our coach C1 was 4th from the rear, and no sooner had I thrown in the luggage into the coach, and helped my wife and son in, I looked back and gave the guard a "thumbs-up" signal, which he returned. Immediately the train started and we could then take our own sweet time to settle down in our seats, after listening to a lecture from my wife on how to book "proper connecting trains". Half awake, half dozing, we reached Dahanu Road at 07.50, in time to open my clinic at 08.30 and get back into the routine humdrum of life.
Thanks for the patient hearing.
P.S. I did make a complaint about the rude and arrogant booking clerk at Karwar station, to which I received this e mail within 2 days
Dear Sir, The receipt of your mail and the concerns raised therein are acknowledged, we deeply regret the inconvenience caused to you. The retiring rooms are available on first come first serve basis and there should be no reason to regret the a retiring room to a bonafide passenger if available. The staff in question shall be subject to enquiry and if there are lapses on his part, necessary action shall be initiated. We thank you for bringing the matter to our notice and look forward for your continued support and suggestions in further improving the services provided to the passengers.
with regards DyCTM Konkan Railway Tel -091-22-27572015