[Traveloholic73]

I was overtaken by a rush of nostalgia by this travelogue.
Having grown up in one of the largest Railway clusters of India, Kanpur, flirting with trains, multiple passenger stations, goods train stations and warehouses, loco sheds, numerous relatives working in primary / sec / tertiary rly jobs, boarding / alighting from trains almost every month and waiting for that most romantic and hair raising scenes ever - a train passing by a level crossing - were an indelible part of our lives and memories. In any corner of this huge city, you are never far from the horn of loco or the chugging sounds of the wheels of the coaches.
I used to wake up late well into the wee hours and would always be fascinated by the sound of a distant train approaching with a promise and assurance to take me far and for very long. Till today my favourite relaxation music at the end of a day is the sound of a train wading through huge parches of lands of our magnificent country in heavy rain in the thick of night, unstoppable, unrelenting and comforting.
Thank you for transporting me back to something I have promised myself to keep going back time and again in my future life.

[Rajeevraj]

Lovely thread. Brought back all the nostalgic memories of train travels. Have not traveled long distance in trains for several years now apart from overnight journeys. Fortunately currently live near a railway station and hence able to do frequent train spotting.

Railways definitely have used the lockdown and the resulting lower traffic to focus on infra improvements.

[ariesonu]

Excellent-excellent & just excellent read.
Only you can make a train travel sound so much fun, especially in COVID times.
Written as crisply as it can be, I just wondered when did you get time to shut an eye.
You missed to take some CLEAN washroom pics but your others make up for it.

Krishna banks does look awesome & Narmada river has always had a special place in my heart. As a child, I really loved the sound of train crossing over railway bridges & my mother use to tell me that the first day, after the journey, was spent making CHUK CHUK sounds while tugging on shirt tails of my cousins or friends, to make our own train.
Ah, those indeed were the days of lots of fun and of bruised knees & elbows.

Thanks for just making me remember those beautiful days, while am chugging on the keyboard & somewhere at the back of my head I am silently making that CHUK CHUK sound with a smile on my face.

Regards.

[venkats2001]

What a wonderful travelogue. Thank you for taking me down memory lane.

Childhood vacations were spent travelling from Bombay to Madras, options were either the Superfast (leaving at 8:20 pm or something from Dadar), Chennai Express (afternoon 2:30 pm) or that slowcoach called Madras Mail (two nights on the train, departing at 11 pm and stopping at almost all stations).

Those were the days of buying tickets by going early morning with dad and queuing up at the reservation centre. And leaving well in advance (could not afford taxis those days) to take the Bombay local train from Borivali to Dadar with all the luggage)

And then all the excitement of packing food for the journey - would typically be idlis coated with chilli powder, tamarind rice and curd rice. And we would also plan what to buy at which station on the way. Batata wadas at Karjat station were a must!

And when Daund junction would approach, all the doors would be locked and window shutters pulled down, for threat of robbers!

And then Capt. Gopinath came along and revolutionized cheap air travel for 499 bucks I think. But glad to see IR taking the next steps in terms of service quality.

[DigitalOne]

“Ever since childhood, when I lived within earshot of the Boston and Maine, I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it.”
― Paul Theroux

One would think that an Indian railways train journey between two Indian cities is not magical?? This travelogue proves otherwise.

These days as all travels are by car or flights, I really miss those long train journeys.

When I used to live in Whitefield, Bangalore and I had to go city side alone for some work, I used to take the (infrequent and cheap) local trains just to have that experience. Trains are something else .

[Vijay T]

Excellent travelogue.
Indian Railways have transformed all over India, it seems from the photos that you posted.
I found Konkan Railways much better maintained compared to
other older railway lines.
Enjoyed thoroughly on this motor enthusiasts' territory.

[C300]

Wonderful travelogue. I am a big fan of long train journeys, especially with family and friends. The rail infrastructure has transformed over the past few years. Stations are neat and clean with improved accessibility for elderly and differently abled.

[SulemanP]

Cool travelogue! My last train journey was in 2019 from Pune to Hyd and return. Railways have started Shatabadi Express in this section as it returns to its base junction (Pune) within 24 hrs, so effectively one side journey is covered in less than 12 hrs and if you take a road trip it will go beyond 12 hrs for sure. I had travelled to Hyd in the same train in 2013 for the 1st time and we had those old gen seat cars available in those days.

I agree with you railways has improved by leaps and bounds in hospitality domain...

[SoumenD]

Lovely thread there, had a smile on my face while going through it.

Just like everyone else mentioned, seeing a train journey is supremely nostalgic. Those coaches brings back so many memories from college days when train was the primary mode of commute for me.

Originally Posted by vigsom

Journey to Gujarat – Day2
The only thing that I found constant was passengers’ lack of concern for cleanliness.

...and barring some poor upkeep of washrooms thanks to fellow travellers...

Couldn't agree more. Time and again passengers have proved we don't deserve world class facilities. The absolute apathy towards public property is just sad in our country. For example this Tejas Express case: Stolen headphones, scratched LED screens reported post maiden run (Link)

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by venkats2001

What a wonderful travelogue. Thank you for taking me down memory lane.

And when Daund junction would approach, all the doors would be locked and window shutters pulled down, for threat of robbers!

.

Oh yes, how could I have missed this, even the mahalaxmi express to Kolhapur had this ritual of shuttering down between Miraj and Pune. Those journeys were super fun with the college gang. Robberies or not the onboard staff always asked to out the shutters down.

[MadiMaama]

Lovely post. Inspired me to post my travelogue from 2019, Chronicles of Chaos where a North East trip became a cross Gangetic Plains trip! Tracing the erstwhile MG route from Katihar to Udaipur (now in BG)

[maddy42]

Awesome travellogue! Train travel has really improved over the past few years especially with the customer service aspect. With the current infra upgrades on the station front there should be some great looking buildings come up in the next decade.

Did my last travel on the blr-chennai route and the civic sense of folks especially on the stations was heart wrenching. Plus a lot of trash thrown on the sides of tracks! Like who is ever going to pick that up!

Funny instance was i was seated in a chair car in the middle of the bogie, where the two seats face each other, so you get the most leg room and also can get in and out of your seat without bothering anyone. Had specifically chosen that seat. One passenger actually thought he could try negotiate with me for that seat.

Maddy

[SatyRoy]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Journey to Gujarat – Day2

This was one helluva memorable long distance train journey after close to five years; and I arrived at my destination fresh as a daisy.

What a great write-up. Awesome pictures. Took me down the memory lane. For me it has been quite some years that I have travelled by trains and going through your travelogue just made my day.

[dragracer567]

Thank you for the amazing thread. Being an NRI kid who has barely stayed in India, the only long-distance train I've taken in India during my adult-life was back in 2015 when we took a Rajdhani from Delhi to Kolkata. I must say, just in the past 5-6 years, Indian railways has become quite unrecognizable. Says volumes about the progress made in the railway sector!

Just today, the design for the redevelopment of the New Delhi railway station came out. Glad that the railways are also moving with the times and night trains are increasingly becoming popular in Europe as well due to their lower emissions as compared to flying!



ÖBB Nightjet from Vienna to Brussels





The designs released for the New Delhi Railway station redevelopment.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

the mighty Navjivan with its ever impressive Red WAP4 would thunder past towards ADI.What a sight it was.

Thank You @Dieseltuned. Yes, the Erode/Royapuram WAP4 would sport a light red shade as against the darker red WAP4s of Western Railway. The WAP4s were real fast too. I remember earlier in the 90s, the Navajivan would have a WDM loco from Bhusawal to Ahmedabad. Full distance WAP4 haul happened perhaps in the early 2000s.

Originally Posted by Joscyriac

only when i travel to and from Bombay via the Konkan i get to see some WDP3s and 4s. Still not sure if I'll take the train if I've to go somewhere far when i get home.

Thank You @Joscyriac. Take the train please. Drives will always happen.

Originally Posted by aspire

Nostalgia, some decades back Train was the only option for me to travel from Kerala to Delhi on board 2626/2625 Kerala express, the cutlets they serve couldn't be found anywhere!!

Thank You @aspire. I agree with you - cutlets on board trains were better than what was available in cities.

Originally Posted by Annibaddh

good on you to attempt a dreaded journey these days.

Thank You @Annibaddh. One should never be scared of journeys in the current scenario. Yes, there is no room for complacency or overconfidence w.r.t Social Distancing, use of masks, and keeping immunity up.

Originally Posted by i_nv

Some of the pics are difficult to believe that these stations are in India

Thank You @i_nv. Yes, I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the underpass at Trichy Jn. It used to be an old shabby looking one earlier.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

f) Service Orientation - I still can't believe that one tweet led to a ticket number. Not just that, someone from the IR really had the commitment to follow through the ticket for closure.

My memory of a decade old Chennai Central experience is its filthy, sweaty, smelly entrance. I still remember thousands of people trying to sit, sleep or move around

Thank You @jkrishnakj . This is my second positive experience with a tweet, the first one being in 2016. Then, on the 12656 Navajivan, I noticed that 2 garbage bags that had been placed in the vestibule had overflown. One tweet with a pic and there were railway officials at the next station to inspect and correct the situation.

I agree with your views on Chennai Central; had quite a tough time once in 2013 to get to catch the Chennai-Bangalore Mail.

Originally Posted by Adam

Its been ages since I have done long distance train travels, and your thread definitely brought back some memories

Thank You @Adam. Yes, why don't you go ahead and relive the old times on a train?

Originally Posted by Traveloholic73

Till today my favourite relaxation music at the end of a day is the sound of a train.
Thank you for transporting me back to something I have promised myself to keep going back time and again in my future life.

Thank You, @Traveloholic. You're right - the sound of a train is sure energizing. Go ahead, take a train and fulfill that promise.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Fortunately currently live near a railway station and hence able to do frequent train spotting

Thank You @Rajeevraj, and Lucky You !!

Originally Posted by ariesonu

when did you get time to shut an eye? You missed to take some CLEAN washroom pics but your others make up for it.

Thank You @ariesonu. Yes, I saw the loos but forgot to take pics. Overall, the Indian loos were super clean while the western ones in all the coaches had wet floors thanks to some morons.

I slept well between 11pm and 5:30am, with brief disturbances at 12midnight at Balharshah and 3:15am at Badnera.

Originally Posted by venkats2001

Childhood vacations were spent travelling from Bombay to Madras

Those were the days of buying tickets by going early morning with dad and queuing up at the reservation centre

Thank You @venkats2001. I can relate to the long queues at reservation centres where I've spent upto 3 hours to book tickets.

I've taken all the 3 trains from Mumbai to Chennai, and in olden days, the Dadar Chennai and the Superfast would always arrive 2 hours late. Chennai - LTT Special takes a mere 21hours now, and arrives ahead of time at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. The train stops at Thane too.

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

“I have seldom heard a train go by and not wished I was on it.”Trains are something else

Thank You @DigitalOne. Yes, even I don't miss an opportunity to travel by train. I've done unreserved Mumbai to Surat countless times in the 90s, and once in 2010-11.

Originally Posted by Vijay T

I found Konkan Railways much better maintained

Thank You @Vijay T. I'd love to travel Konkan and the Dudhsagar sector once.

Originally Posted by C300

big fan of long train journeys, especially with family and friends.

Thank You @C300. Theres nothing better than 6 of a family together in a 6 berther. Going one step further, we have actually built lifelong friendship with some folks that we met on trains.

Originally Posted by SulemanP

My last train journey was in 2019 from Pune to Hyd and return.

Thank You, @SulemanP. Yes, trains make distances insignificant.

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Time and again passengers have proved we don't deserve world class facilities.

Thank You @SoumenD. Yes, most passengers couldn't care less about upkeep of cabins and washrooms.

Originally Posted by MadiMaama

Inspired me to post my travelogue from 2019, Chronicles of Chaos where a North East trip became a cross Gangetic Plains trip!

Thank You @MadiMaama. When is your travelogue coming up?

Originally Posted by maddy42

lot of trash thrown on the sides of tracks! Like who is ever going to pick that up!

That is the saddest part of such journeys, @maddy42, to see trash along the tracks. This time, I found trash cans to be within visible range at every station that I saw. Yet, people don't use them.

Originally Posted by SatyRoy

it has been quite some years that I have travelled by trains

Thank You, @SatyRoy; take a train and relive old memories.