[autobahnjpr]

A nice read. One good thing to note is the how spotless clean the stations are in your pictures. It is a great achievement for Railways and for the nation. In 1992 when i had gone to dehradun, the thing which stuck me was the cleanliness of its railway station as most of the stations were very dirty specially the tracks and the platforms. I sincerely wish this change continues for many decades to come and our next generation never gets to see a dirty train station.

[naut]

Originally Posted by vigsom

First impressions of the Utkrisht coaches

What’s missing

• No bedsheets and blanket post Unlock 1.0 (have got used to bringing my own bedding)
• No curtains - the coach looked better illuminated and more airy without the curtains

@vigsom, Is it how it is even now ? Don't passengers get any blankets these days ? I have a planned journey from Bangalore to Udupi via PanchaGanga Express (AC 2 tier) for later this month. Wondering if I should plan to carry bedding myself for the journey.

[doomketu]

Originally Posted by naut

@vigsom, Is it how it is even now ? Don't passengers get any blankets these days ? I have a planned journey from Bangalore to Udupi via PanchaGanga Express (AC 2 tier) for later this month. Wondering if I should plan to carry bedding myself for the journey.

I think it’s being reintroduced. Remember seeing a circular online.
Here is the article : https://www.financialexpress.com/inf.../2457117/lite/

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

As for cleanliness, it comes down to the passengers, in my journey, they were as dirty as usual by the time we reached the destination

The sad state of affairs then, now and forever.

Originally Posted by doomketu

The start up spooling sound and the hum once it’s ready ,is a treat to the ears

Thank You @doomketu for your observations. I'd urge you to post your experiences with ALCOs and later ones maybe through a separate thread.

I could write about the happy journeys from NDLS to MAS via TN or GT express with Nagpur being the ice cream stop for us

Again, I'd urge you to create a thread on it; you may not have pics but can recreate your experiences, and who knows, energise yourself in the process.

Originally Posted by Bigzero

there is nothing like the absolute relaxation train journeys gave

Thank you, @Bigzero, for your write up that was straight from the heart; I'd urge you to create a thread on your experiences - in SL and Gen class.

Originally Posted by Fx14

this engine is also used on electrified routes like the one stated by you. Isn't it a waste of diesel given that a WAP-7 could be used on the WR stretch and upto Pune atleast, if not beyond?

Agree with you @Fx14. As far as I know, the section from Daund to Solapur has some sections in which doubling and electrification is still w-i-p. I would have expected the railways to run an Electric loco till Pune, then shift to diesel till Wadi and then move to Electric again. I think IR wants to avoid frequent loco changes and perhaps that's why even the CSTM-Mumbai Express uses a diesel all the way from Mumbai to Wadi. The Chennai-Ahmedabad Humsafar that I rode in once has a WAP7 loco from Chennai to Guntakal, a WDM/WDP from Guntakal to Pune, and then a WAP7 from Pune to Ahmedabad.

Originally Posted by Gansan

Chennai Egmore - Tuticorin is 652 km by rail, so we can say the trip would consume 3700 - 4000 litres of diesel. Not bad for a vehicle which accommodates over 1000 passengers in sleeper comfort!

Agree @Gansan Sir. Approx 6 liters of diesel per km would mean a fuel cost of INR 600/km and that would mean a mere INR 0.6 a km per passenger assuming that the train carries 1000 passengers.

Originally Posted by autobahnjpr

One good thing to note is the how spotless clean the stations are

Absolutely, @autobahnjpr; I've travelled a lot by train on the western to southern sections and have found this upkeep of stations consistent over the last 2 years or so.

Originally Posted by naut

Don't passengers get any blankets these days ?

I did see a circular dated 10 Mar 2022 to state that linen will be provided; however, I'd urge you to either confirm from authentic sources OR better still, take a bedsheet and a blanket along just in case.

[akj53]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

p.s. I hear that people converse very less in trains nowadays, as everyone is fixated on their mobiles. Even during those days, we used to joke that the higher the class of the coach, the less people talk. Sleeper class was the best those days.

Bitter truth on current lifestyle. Earlier we used to converse, some times make friends or share food etc but nowadays people hardly talk even their own group

[Bigzero]

I did fail to mention earlier that I had a chance to see a train with Ulkrisht coaches a few days back as I had to drop someone at the Pune Railway Station. I was at the platform and could observe the train (the Pune-Ernakulam SF exp) from close quarters.

I am sure the Ulkrisht coaches were borne out of noble intentions to modernize the fleet of earlier-generation coaches in some sort of a transitional phase before everything moves to LHB (is it a correct assessment?), and many of them were probably done quite well, but not so much this train I guess! I believe the entire train is running on an old rake which seems to be repainted in a hurry in Ulkrisht colours, with some cosmetic work here and there.

The 2Tier AC coach was of '98 vintage (could make out from the coach number), and didn't seem to be in a great shape at all (from outside). I didn't go inside, so can't comment too much about how good the internal work is.

I am not sure how long coaches are expected to run before they get scrapped and recycled. 24 years should be somewhat old, in Indian Railway coach terms?

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by naut

Don't passengers get any blankets these days ?

Hot off the oven - I undertook a round trip to Mumbai by AC 3 Tier just 2 days back and no blankets or pillows were provided on the inbound/ outbound journeys.

[Akash.D]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

No other noticeable difference to be honest. I felt the color/decor changes are worse off than the earlier blue shades but that's my opinion.

I also like the old coaches as far as aesthetics are concerned. But the most important differences are under the, hood (or skin ). These new coaches (LHB) are safer compared to the old (ICF) coaches. They are made out of stainless steel compared to corten steel in the old coaches and are anti telescopic in case of accidents. They also have higher seating capacity and better ride comfort. If you look at the bogies, you can even see that those are different as well. The new coaches have FIAT bogies which are responsible for the increased speed and ride comfort.

[Voodooblaster]

Utkrisht coaches used to have an wi fi based entertainment system in the pre covid era in AC coaches.

We connect to the wi fi (intranet ) available in the train. The entry is based on OTP. Only one URL , can be accessed. It had a reasonable collection of movies in Hindi and regional languages

There was no lag or buffering . (Seems very few people were using it)