Your train, our train and my train

The excitement on the evening prior to a long, unadulterated, pure railfanning trip was unmistakable. I completed my work early in office and headed home to finish dinner, have a short nap before waking up at 2330h to board the taxi I had booked.

I was going through the plan as I rode my scooter home – I will board 16320 Banaswadi (on that Friday – Jan. 24, 2020, originating from Krishnarajapuram KJM) – Kochuveli Humsafar Exp (HS) from Coimbatore Jn (CBE) to Kollam Jn (QLN), Aswath boarding at KJM. We will take 16381 Jayanti Janata Exp (JJ) to Kanniyakumari (CAPE). Then take 12634 Kanniyakumari Exp (KK) from Kanniyakumari to Tirunelveli Jn (TEN). Then take 16791 Palaruvi Exp from Tirunelveli Jn to Kollam Jn. The next day, take 16102 Chennai Exp from Kollam Jn to Tiruchchirappalli Jn (TPJ), while Aswath will get down at Madurai Jn to catch 17236 Exp to Bengaluru, I will take 16615 Chemmozhi Exp from Tiruchchirappalli Jn to Coimbatore Jn.

Two changes were necessitated prior to actual day of travel as Aswath had to relocate from Bengaluru to Chennai. So, he got himself a ticket in 22207 Chennai – Thiruvananthapuram AC Super Exp (Super AC) for the Down trip and 12654 Rockfort Exp from Tiruchchirappalli Jn to Chennai. So, both the trains that we were planning to take for our onward journeys have to finish their ‘tomorrows’ of JJ Exp before reaching Kollam Jn.

Many of us would have faced this – the heart-in-the-mouth moment when you get a call from that friend who is supposed to join you for a long RF trip like this one. I was no exception, when I received a call from Aswath at 2 PM on Friday. Yes, you have guessed it right. He dropped the expected bomb shell that he was still in office while his train would have already got packed in one of the platforms at Chennai Central (dep 1625h). I told him, “Please give me the next phone call at 1630 to say you are in the train” and cut the call without allowing him to talk anything more! He promptly messaged me that he was on-board by 1615h. Relief!

Back to me driving my scooter in the lesser-than-usual-traffic of Thudiyalur Road… I haven’t packed my stuff yet, as the trip was 3N 2D only – not much will be required. The plan for the nap got spoiled as Aswath demanded that I come to CBE station at 2300h, say ‘Hi’ to him and then board my train – this was the penalty for being so big-brother-ish during the 2 PM call. I had no other choice but to budge.

I told him, “So maapla, you want me to see you in your train, then see our train and then board my train!”

My flatmate Ram offered to drop me at the station – so I cancelled by taxi booking and started at 2115 to enable him return home early.

Coimbatore Jn

CBE is very active at this part of the day, rather night with continuous arrivals and departures on both directions (Erode/ Palakkad). I stepped in when 42 Up Alappuzha Exp was entering the platform (3). Its departure was shortly followed by 74 Up Cheran Exp from PF4. 79 Dn Intercity Exp from Chennai sneaked into PF1. All along, I was checking with Aswath on his ‘tomorrow’ of Super AC over JJ Exp both running BT. He confirmed it finally happened at Kettandappatti, one station before Jolarpet Jn. His train was ‘trolled’ (word used with due acknowledgements to the new gen YT Railfans) by 12695 TVC Daily SF Exp at Tiruppur because of which, an otherwise all-the-way BT run got affected. Finally, the trolled trolled the troller at Peelamedu. He confirmed that it was a treat to watch the overtake as PLMD also has a platform for the mainline. 25 Dn Island Express (CAPE-SBC) soon came and went (PF4), while 12682 Weekly Exp to Chennai was brought to PF3. PF2 was occupied by the empty rake of Passenger from Pollachi Jn, which sleeps there overnight.

AC Super (‘Your Train’) soon arrived behind a white horse into PF1 – this train could easily be the clear winner for the heaviest train running in IR as of date. Met Aswath and asked him to remember getting down at QLN as it was only ~4h worth of sleep for him.

12695 soon got handled through PF1. 12682 departed from PF3, soon followed by 16528 Cannanore – YPR Exp with diesel multi and 20 Mail through the same PF. JJ Exp, the ‘Our Train’, was received in PF1. With some hopes of getting a good coach for the next day travel, I walked to S5 – Alas! It was a worn down 1996 make coach with paint peeling off and that old world look washing out all hopes inside me for a comfortable travel.

16616 Chemmozhi Exp got WAP-1 + WDP-4D combo for its trip towards TPJ (PF4). 16315 MYS – KCVL Exp soon came to PF1. Interestingly enough, the Public Announcement System (PAS) at CBE still announces 16381 as ‘Jayanti Janata Express’ and ironically enough, Mysuru was not updated for 16315/6.

Humsafar Exp

‘My Train’, for my first ever travel in a Humsafar train, arrived a 0110h. I got into B7 after taking a customary selfie. Courtesy IRCTC charts, I was able to see that my Lower Berth was occupied till CBE – there will not be any unnecessary fight to gain my LB my right! However, I had to wake up the attendant in the next coach B8 to get the linen replaced – he agreed to. To my shock, he had apparently slept the minute I crossed the vestibule. I had to wake him up again after 10 minutes – and to my shock again, he was like he was hearing it afresh!! I was awake till the train reached the trunk line again at Podanur Jn. The next moment I remembered was waking up with heavy eyes while the train had halted at Ernakulam North station at 0430h. Lot of commotion as there were a lot of people getting down. I would certainly rate the comfort of the berths, the toilet, the washbasin and the toilet fittings as far ahead in terms of quality – it was worth paying a slight premium over the regular 3A fare. Add to that the display boards inside the coaches that were providing interesting updates on where the train was. I slept again, to be woken up at Kottayam. I stayed awake till the train crossed the two tunnels after KTYM. With a disturbed sleep, I got up at Chingavanam, where my train was looped for a crossing with a multi passenger towards ERS.

It was broad daylight by the time my train halted at Chengannur, the third of the ‘Fabulous Four’. I decided to do door plating as the air was chill and the weather perfect for standing in the door. I got in at Kayankulam Jn. Soon, Perumon bridge over the Ashtamudi lake arrived, signalling the ‘landing approach’ to Kollam Jn. We rolled into mainline PF1, Aswath duly waiting near where my B7 would land.

JJ Exp

We finished our breakfast in the VLR stall in PF1. A plate of Idly, Dosai and Vadai, with watery sambar and a white liquid with zero viscosity labelled as chutney. Koyilaan, koyilOn, Quill-on, Kollam – all combinations were available in the PAS. Soon 81 Dn JJ Exp was announced. We boarded the S5 that I had spotted the night before. Both Lower Berths/ Windows on the Western side. This train can be awarded the ‘Queen of TT Slack’ – ample buffer at all major junctions and at zonal/ divisional hand over points. We had a leisurely run from QLN to Kochuveli, where we were asked to wait for sometime before admitted into TVC. Not much to note down except for an impressive crossing with a revving WDP-4D hauled KeSK Express and the numerous puzhas and kayals that dotted the entire stretch. There were a lot of places where we could see the Western Sea. 

Equally, we both were engrossed in our discussions on astrology. I have not covered the stretch South of TVC by train – so I was excited when the train departed TVC. The speed was not certainly at par with the run from QLN. Soon the first of the five tunnels surfaced.

It was a slow run through. I had my mobile popped out of the window to take a video – the sun was starting to be a bit harsh on my hands. The only saving grace was the cool wind that was blowing even as late as 10 AM (it was like that for the entire two full days – we didn’t feel sultry at all despite the bright sunshine and heat).

We got looped at Neyyattinkara as expected, for the crossing with 16723 Anantapuri Express. It was after a long wait that that gentleman showed his face. He got the starter first as the block ahead of him was already free, while we had to wait a bit longer to get ours. Neyyar was in full flow. 25 Dn Island Exp (16525) was waiting in the loop at Parassala. KL-TN border was crossed along an aqueduct (one of the many we can spot enroute) followed by the balance tunnels, one-by-one. We soon reached Kuzhithurai and spotted the short-terminated Punalur-CAPE Passenger standing in the loop. Our train was vechi-senjified (‘held for a long time and surgery done’) for almost 30-45 minutes. It felt even longer with the hunger pangs inside us shouting louder than our loco’s horns. After the terrible wait, we got the clearance, rolled slowly like a road-roller and reached Nagercoil Jn PF1. Surprisingly, the starter was given sooner than expected and we were despatched into the branch line to CAPE. The 15 km run was brisk. We reached CAPE in less than 30m.

An inquiry for a retiring room revealed that there are cheaper ‘AC Huts’ available for Rs. 150. We chose one and settled down to leave our bags and head for lunch. These are a series of 6x8 rooms with a fan, AC, cot, a small stool and a bigger ledge to keep our bags, on either side of a narrow passage. It had three common bathrooms – all were maintained well. The AC was also very good considering we were the only occupants in those 10 huts put together.

Cape Comorin

Kumari Munai or Cape Comorin are alternative names of the Land’s End at Kanniyakumari town, the name which is crushed like a butter murukku inside one’s mouth by PAS to announce it as Kanyaakumaari (or worse Kanyaa Umaari at QLN). I strongly recommend borrowing relevant audio clips of station names from the native speakers and use them in the stations along, so that we have consistency. Google Akkaa showed us a Marwadi Bhojanalaya when I asked her for Pyoor Veg restaurants nearby – the picture of their Rajasthani thali meal was inviting! I wouldn’t call it as delicious – it was reasonable for a typical thali meal. Their Chaas was tasting like amrutam from heaven though. We spent the next two hours at the Land’s End, doing nothing other than sitting on the parapet wall and allowing the occasional bigger waves to spray some salt water on us. The session was wrapped up at 1530h and we walked back to station.

KK Exp

Depending on loyalties, the term KK could mean Karnataka-Kerala Express or Kanniyakumari Express. I don’t intend to hurt the feelings of the fans of 127/ 128 KK Exp. Our KK Exp was headed by DMW made WAP-7 #39002 RPM, packed in PF1. We had two Side Upper berths with rear facing windows on the Western side. The run to NCJ was sedate. We soon discovered the wheel flange squeal capability of our rake soon after we left NCJ – the sharp right turn our train took let out squeals that could literally be heard even a km away!

With the setting sun behind the mighty Western Ghats, the view on the left side of the direction of travel was beyond words. With each hill that appeared in the farther distance, with each windmill that cropped out of nowhere, with each random pond spotted, the beauty of this region was only on an increasing trend.

After a brief scheduled halt at Valliyur and a brisk run, the spotting of a tall temple tower announced we were near Nanguneri (Vaanamaamalai, for staunch Iyengar folks). With a namaskaram from the mind and heart to the mighty Thothadrinatha Swamy, I was looking forward to the city that prefixes ‘Yelaei’ to each sentence said – yes, Tirunelveli it is.

A WDM-2 hauled passenger was heading towards Tiruchendur, while our train was negotiating the sharp left turn at Melapalayam to cross the Tamrabharani river. We were admitted into PF1 with the train happily acknowledging the curves and points with its wheel flange squeal. We reached 10m BT at 1850, tracing yet another untravelled section. With almost 4h at our disposal, we decided to head to the town to have darshan of Nellaiappar and Kantimati Ambal.

Nellai

One of the famous quotes of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi was “Nellai enakku ellai. Kumari eppodhum thollai”. It meant Nellai (Tirunelveli) is his (southern) limit, Kumari is always a problem (as it was a bastion of Congress and CPM). We have now entered the good-hearted Nellai from the troublesome Kumari :)

We took a bus and got dropped right in front of the main entrance of the temple. Lucky enough for me, the Iruttu Kadai was still open at 1930h. I managed to get through the mad rush and buy adequate parcels of the Tirunelveli Halwa and a couple of loose ones wrapped in plantain leaf for eating there. We had a peaceful and wonderful darshan of both Nellaiappar and Kantimati Ambal, along with another peaceful darshan of the Nataraja swamy of Thaamrasabhai. Had dinner in Nellai Saravana Bhava opposite the temple – it was better than average and tasty. A bus back to Junction and we were in PF3 shortly.

Palaruvi Exp

Remember my recommendation elsewhere in this trip report on sourcing native audio clips for station names? I will take it back now – courtesy: the announcement of names of Tenkasi, Punalur, Kollam and Ernakulam by the lady who was announcing the departure of Palaruvi Exp. I don’t have any more to say!

Palaruvi Exp did not have any reserved coaches in consist, as of the date of freezing our plan. These were since announced later – so I booked tickets on the first day of its announcement. Happy to say  that I was the first one to book a reserved ticket in this train – some small piece of self-advertisement that I can do without feeling shy for boasting myself!!

The train had a WDG-3A from GOC running LHF. Our coach was in the middle of the consist. The train rolled out at 2245h sharp. Yet another untravelled section for me. I was a bit tired with lack of proper sleep the night before – so decided to hit the berth early. I was doing passive railfanning all along till Tenkasi Jn, by which I decided to get sleep proper. I got up briefly (just rolled over to my stomach and peeped out of the Lower Berth window) to see the platforms at Sengottai and Punalur. The next thing I remember was Aswath waking me up as we were nearing Kollam Jn. We reached QLN at 0445h – spotted a hotel opposite the station, booked an AC room and hit the bed for a session of sound sleep.

I got up at 8 AM, refreshed myself and as usual asked Google Akkaa to suggest a Pyoor Veg restaurant nearby – she gave me a suggestion less than a km away. We decided to walk as it would kindle our brisk energy inside us and make us feel hungry as well. The breakfast was very good – dosai and poori with a coffee to wrap up. On the way back to the hotel, we spotted a super squeaky LHB rake of Mumbai bound Netravati Exp crossing an LC which was right in the middle of the sharp and huge C curve that this train had to negotiate to reach the Junction. With a few hours at our disposal, I ventured into another round of sleep till 11 AM.

Kollam Mail

16102 Exp to Chennai is no doubt the BG avataram of the famous 106 Up Quilon Mail of the MG days (it was running till TVC for some time in the interim). With a leisurely departure of just a few minutes before noon, this train was not occupied till it reached TSI. This was the most awaited stretch of my travel plan as we will be climbing the ghats from Punalur to Aryankavu and descending it from Aryankavu to SCT (agreed, I travelled in the same section the night before, but it did not involve any sightseeing). Based on the up gradient on both directions, banker locomotives are attached for trains at both ends of the ghat (PUU and SCT).

The train had a leisurely run till Punalur, where another AEB fitted WDG-3A from GOC was attached as our banker. It was 1300h by the time we were at PUU, with another 2.5h of run through the ghats before we strike gold, oops, any shop that sells food for lunch. Incidentally, the heavy breakfast that we had, came in handy – we were ok to wait. The ascent was steep as PUU was much lower in altitude than how SCT was compared to Aryankavu. The first two of the six tunnels came before Tenmala.

The view of the valley on the Southern side was awesome. I am sure it would be even better just post monsoon. Please hold on to the doors on the right side facing direction of travel if you are coming from PUU (and left side if you are coming from SCT). I doorplated from PUU to SCT.

The most awaited moment arrived soon – the passing through the next three tunnels, which lead to the opening over the famous Pathimoonu Kannara bridge on top of the Aryankavu viaduct. It was really a moment to cherish! Unfortunately, I hadn’t realised on time that the video button had got stopped due to whatever reason, two seconds after I had clicked ‘record’ just prior to the first of the three tunnels – anyway, railfanning is not restricted to just photos and videos – the memories of a trip cannot be erased from our internal C drive any day! Aryankavu station, the KL-TN border and the longest tunnel in the route were passed one by one before we reached Bhagavatipuram station Home signal.

After clearing the mandatory brake testing halt, we were given clearance from the line which otherwise opens up to a catch siding, to the mainline towards SCT.

SCT had IRCTC vendors selling good quality lemon rice – it was enough for our lunch with some chips packets as accompaniment. We took the left divergence post TSI, the mainline towards Virudunagar Jn, which I have travelled only till Srivilliputtur from the other (VPT) end. The stretch was a bit dry, with super long block sections of 20-30 km each. After halting at Kadayanallur and Rajapalayam, the train came to a halt at SVPR. I was looking for Palkova vendors, unfortunately, no one was available. With a brisk run through the ‘Japan of India’, the Sivakasi belt, we reached VPT before time. This BT saga continued all the way till TPJ.

Two crossings enroute, one at Kalligudi and one at Tirupparankundram, both were negotiated at MPS through the mainline as the crossing trains were the usual suspects, puny II Ordy passenger trains. Soon, Madurai city was in sight. We were admitted into PF1 and given invitation to the American style of operations till Vadipatti. Trains take the right side of travel in this stretch.

Vaigai river was having what it seemed to be stagnant and not running water. Even after an unscheduled halt for some 10m at Kodai Road, we managed to be BT at Dindigul Jn. I got down on the non PF side, crossed the next track and hopped on to the other PF to meet a fellow railfan, Balaji, who was there to take Vaigai Exp to Madurai.

Our train started at 2000h sharp. With an amazing chugging run through the mini-ghat section near Kalpattichatram, we reached TPJ in no time. The home signal was also cleared without any fuss and we rolled into PF3 at 2110h. With an hour at our disposal, we decided to go to Central Bus Stand to have dinner.

Tiruchchirappalli and the Wrap-up

We walked down the mainroad and had a delicious dinner at Hotel Shri Sangeethas just next to the Roundtana. Butter Naan, Panner Butter Masala and Fresh Lime Soda with Salt to wrap up. We walked back to the station and reached PF1. I bade good bye to Aswath as he was taking Rockfort back to Chennai. As I headed to the North end to see the power of Rockfort, I saw my train, Chemmozhi Exp rolling in to PF2 with a GOC ALCo in the lead. Rockfort was given starter soon after Chemmozhi cleared the points, along with him was a parallel departure of 16852 Boat Mail to Chennai (via Mainline) from PF5, led by a GOC WDM-3A that had a melodious horn and awesome chugging sound. Amazing sight it was.

Soon, the power for my train got backed into PF2 (Chemmozhi has a reversal at TPJ) – WAP-1 leading and a WDP-4D trailing. I walked to my S3 coach, evacuated the unauthorised occupant of my LB #33 and dozed off. I remember waiting at Erode Jn for a very long time, as is the norm for this train with a lot of TT buffer. My usual instinct kicked inside me as the train crossed Sanganur bridge just before Vadakovai (CBF), as I have got used to it by now since I am travelling almost every week in this route. I didn’t pre-book a cab as my plan was to take a bus from CBE. However, the tired torso in me was pushing me to get down at Vadakovai itself and take a taxi. I got down and called the trusted taxi provider, Go Taxi. He put me on hold – just then the loco gave out the horn. He came back on the line and told me it will take 30 minutes more for a cab to be arranged. I ran and got into my just-rolling-out train again and went all the way to CBE Main. Got out of the station and took an Ola from their booth to head home.

Overall, a wonderful trip to fulfil my desire to trace a few untravelled sections down south. Thanks for your patient reading. Feedback and comments are most welcome!

Full set of photos in my Flickr album is available here

Full set of videos in my YouTube account (not monetised!) is available here