[advaitlele]

Most memorable train journey for me was on 23rd Dec 2005.

I was getting ready to leave for office and got a phone call from my mom. I had to rush to Vadodara - my hometown. There is no direct train at morning hours from Pune. Flights from Mumbai are only in morning and late evening and could not wait for that.

Decided I will go to Mumbai and take Karnavati Express that leaves Mumbai Central around 1.30 in afternoon. Got a volvo bus and reached central stn. Long queue for the unreserved bogggie greeted me. Had no choice so stood there for almost 45 mins and got ticket. Went on the platform and found mad rush - it was christmas holiday season and at least 500 passengers in the queue to board two unreserved compartments. Stood there and finally made it. Stood there on one leg till Bharuch. Then got a seat - 5 people sitting on 3-seat. Finally reached Vadodara after painfully long journey. those 6 hours in Karnavati Express felt endless.

Reached Vadodara, reached hospital straightaway. Saw my son for the first time. The joy of fatherhood made every moment of that journey enjoyable, never felt pain of standing for 5 odd hours

[rulerofsun]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

Reached Vadodara, reached hospital straightaway. Saw my son for the first time. The joy of fatherhood made every moment of that journey enjoyable, never felt pain of standing for 5 odd hours

Congratulations. My dad always told me of his most meorable train journey when I was born. Mumbai to Kolkatta.

I have fond memories of travelling in Gitanjali and the ever moving train mela that used to pass the 3 tier compartment.The ringing of goldspot, thumbs up and drinks that colored my tounge to the 5 am wake up call of Chai Chai..

I had a great train Journey from Thivim to Mumbai . The attendant Tiwari was amazing and the AC compartment was very well maintained. Love Konkan Railways for their hospitality.

Worst was Nagpur Mumbai last year where any one and everyone got into the train and the TC said that they were legit customers of Indian Rail as they had waiting and unreserved tickets. They have also paid the railways and have right of travel!!!

[TKMCE]

Starting a new thread on Inter City Rail Travel reviews There is a existing threead on IRCTC but the posts are mostly on the railway reservation system than about experiences on specifc trains.

Even though Indian Railways is a monopoly operator, the quality of trains vary widely.I am sure many people here have good advice on which trains to choose and which ones to avoid.


One of my worst experiences in recent times was on the 12483 Kochuveli (Trivandrum) -Amritsar express .This is a weekly train running via Alpeppey,Mangalore,Madgaon,Panvel, Surat, New Delhi on Wednesdays and I used the train to travel between Trivandrum and Ernakulam. I chose this train because of the very few stops (three) and the relatively short scheduled running time of three and a half hours. I travelled Sleeper Class. There is also AC 2 tier and AC 3 tier on this train. In the end the train reached half an hour late at Ernakulam Junction.

This was one of the dirtiest trains I have ever travelled on Indian Railways. All the Sleeper Coaches (of Northern Railway) were equally pathetic and appeared not to have been cleaned for weeks. There was a pantry car which also was not inspiring any confidence.

Train was not full when it left Kochuveli. However there were no reservation charts pasted anywhere till the train started and finally ten minutes before the departure, a very hassled commercial staff appeared on the scene who adivsed me to board a particular sleeper coach as many of the people were booked on it from Ernakulam and beyond. In the end this was of no use as lots of passengers from Kollam , Kayankulam etc also boarded the same coach and the coaches were very crowded like a regular passenger train, despite paying the higher sleeper class fare.

Kochuveli is a satellite terminus for Trivandrum and the facilities available are very few . There is no proper restaurant and the location is not convenient to most people.

To sum up, avoid this train , short distance or long distance. There are better alternatives. Only thing to recommend is the very few number of stops but this does not mean a quicker running time between Trivandrum and New Delhi for instance as Kerala Express with double the number of stops reaches quicker although it does run on a slightly shorter route.

[JMaruru]

Which train would you recommend for travel between Bangalore - Mumbai?

There are 6+ trains running between these cities now. But the travel time remains more or less the same from earlier days. This sector badly needs some fast trains a.k.a like rajdhani's. What with bus journey being reduced to around 16 - 18 hours from earlier 22 hours.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Which train would you recommend for travel between Bangalore - Mumbai?

You have two routes to Bombay from Bangalore

1. Via Hubli (Arsikere/Kadur/Birur/Hubli/Miraj/Pune/Bombay)
2. Via Guntakkal (Hindupur/Guntakkal/Daund/Pune/Bombay)

As you rightly said both routes are time consuming. The oldest train running on this section is Udyan. But yes, buses reach faster.

Electrification is ongoing on the Guntakkal line. Hopefully that should increase efficiency and speed. But yes, there are hardly any superfast trains. They cant introduce a Rajdhani, because they are supposed to start only from Delhi (Or Hazrat Nizzamuddin).

But I get your point. They need to introduce a train like Coromandel (Chennai-Howrah); Gitanjali/Bombay Mail (Bombay-Howrah).

In fact the Chennai-Bombay is in the same state; as its an addendum of Bombay-Bangalore. Hopefully the electrification to should improve state of things.

But thinking otherwise, they can introduce a double diesel superfast as of today, which they don't seem to.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by ampere

You have two routes to Bombay from Bangalore

1. Via Hubli (Arsikere/Kadur/Birur/Hubli/Miraj/Pune/Bombay)
2. Via Guntakkal (Hindupur/Guntakkal/Daund/Pune/Bombay)

As you rightly said both routes are time consuming. The oldest train running on this section is Udyan. But yes, buses reach faster.

Effectively there has been no improvement in the Bangalore - Mumbai or Chennai - Mumbai section since the last two decades.

However, Konkan Railway (with a single line) has made a huge difference for Mangalore - Mumbai travel.

Matsyagandha Express does the journey from Mangalore to Panvel in about 16 hours.

The Ernakulam - Pune Bi-Weekly Superfast express does the journey from Mangalore (12.30 PM) to Panvel (2.30 AM) in 14 hours!

(Of course, it is a different story in rainy season).

Prefer Airavat for Pune - Bangalore. 15 hours from Swargate to Majestic

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

Effectively there has been no improvement in the Bangalore - Mumbai or Chennai - Mumbai section since the last two decades.

Very true. In contrast to Mumbai-Bangalore, Mumbai-Ahmedabad by train is at times faster or at par with Road and few trains take as less as 8-9 hours between Mumbai and Ahmedabad which is same as driving between these 2 cities. The lack of double lines and Electrification is another reason to blame for the lethargic progress between Bangalore and Mumbai (Miraj to be precise if we are referring to Hubli- Londa route).

However, Konkan Railway (with a single line) has made a huge difference for Mangalore - Mumbai travel.

Matsyagandha Express does the journey from Mangalore to Panvel in about 16 hours.

Fully agree with you on this. Also, I noticed that despite of not to many options, Konkan Railway has availability too.

When I drove to Rajkot last month, my relatives were trying hard to get tickets for Kadur/Birur or even Bangalore from Rajkot/Ahmedabad. But when they checked trains running via KR, they immediately booked upon finding the availability. Not to forget the fact that their ultimate destination was Chikmagalur and Belur that they could reach from Mangalore/Kankanady faster than they would from Bangalore. Along with this the fact that the overall time taken between Rajkot to Mangalore via Mumbai - Pune - Wadi (or even Miraj-Hubli route) was easily more than 36 hours while the same via Konkan to Mangalore was near 24 hours.

[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Very true. In contrast to Mumbai-Bangalore, Mumbai-Ahmedabad by train is at times faster or at par with Road and few trains take as less as 8-9 hours between Mumbai and Ahmedabad which is same as driving between these 2 cities.

In fact, Shatabdi takes 6h20m from Mumbai Central and less than 6 hrs from Borivali to Ahmedabad. Most of the other express trains take less than 7.5 hrs. It's only the mail trains that will take more than 8 hours.

[pratyush6]

I'll talk about the most scariest journey I took.

So, good old college days and I used to board the Doon Express (now - 13010) train from Dehradun to Dhanbad and then catch another train from Dhanbad to Ranchi (Either Patliputra Exp or Hatia Patna Exp). There used to be a gap of around 2-3 hours, where I would have dinner somewhere near the Dhanbad Station.

Now, I this journey, I was sick and traveling home. After I got down at Dhanbad, I kept waiting for my connecting train, which was delayed by a good 2 hours. This was around 11am at night, where I was so tired and zapped with waiting that I decided to lie on my (large ) bad itself. People on the station asked me not to as someone might flick off my bag, I said, to hell with it. I cannot keep my eyes open anymore. So I slept. Fortunately, no one flicked off my bag and I got into my connecting train.

By this time, I went up to my berth and slept. I remember it was S7. Sometime during the night I woke up to find the train halting usually long for around 2-3 hours. I remember people banging doors, but I was just too dazed to even care.

When I finally came up to my senses in the morning, I was told that the train was looted at that point and someone had managed to bolt all the doors of our bogey, so we were safe. I was like, I don't think I would have put up much of a fight.

Till then I had only heard stories, this time, I (almost) experienced it.

[blackwasp]

Recently - about 2 yrs ago dad, mom and I did a train only trip as follows. Mum-miraj, miraj dharwad, dharwad-lonavala. At each place we stayed at a relative's place and at dharvad we did a hampi-badami car trip.

Best part was it was in month of dec, weather was pleasant and traveled by sleeper. The plan was quite impromptu - maybe a month or less before the trip. The longer trips were overnight.

Although, the trip was fun, it has made me aware that sleeper class is no longer maintained as it used to be 5-8 years ago. I have traveled mum-chennai, delhi-Mumbai frequently and once in Chennai -Delhi rajdhani (another good experience, when we shifted from Chennai to noida). Those days sleeper class was quite a good experiance.

[maddy42]

Best trip was my first journey from Mlr to Mumbai by the Mathsyaganda express. It was really clean, staff were friendly and food was decent. It was a good journey with the exception of the time we reached mumbai outskirts and the train slows down. I really think the railways should deal with traffic near cities. Also can we do something about people taking a dump on the tracks! The train arrives in mumbai at the right time as peoples bowel movement! Disgusting.

The Mum-Blr route is really congested. I believe there are only two routes which does connect the north and south due to which the speed is reduced drastically! It takes almost 22-24 hours on this segment. Volvos do it in 16 which is amazing in comparison. It is ridiculous that karnataka is so under connected even though we did have a couple of railway ministers to say the least. Its taken ages and we still do not have either of the two: Commuter railway around bangalore and mysore blr double line!

Maddy

[faustus77]

Originally Posted by ampere

You have two routes to Bombay from Bangalore

1. Via Hubli (Arsikere/Kadur/Birur/Hubli/Miraj/Pune/Bombay)
2. Via Guntakkal (Hindupur/Guntakkal/Daund/Pune/Bombay)

As you rightly said both routes are time consuming. The oldest train running on this section is Udyan. But yes, buses reach faster.

Electrification is ongoing on the Guntakkal line. Hopefully that should increase efficiency and speed. But yes, there are hardly any superfast trains. They cant introduce a Rajdhani, because they are supposed to start only from Delhi (Or Hazrat Nizzamuddin).

But I get your point. They need to introduce a train like Coromandel (Chennai-Howrah); Gitanjali/Bombay Mail (Bombay-Howrah

In fact the Chennai-Bombay is in the same state; as its an addendum of Bombay-Bangalore. Hopefully the electrification to should improve state of things.

But thinking otherwise, they can introduce a double diesel superfast as of today, which they don't seem to.

Ampere
HI.
Unfortunately Bombay Chennai/Bangalore has been a neglected sector.
Agree about Rajdhani, but what prevents the railways from starting a Duranto express.
I havnt travelled via Guntakal for decades and my last trip, BLR BOM was via Miraj and that too was 5 years back.
Felling nostalgic about Chennai, specially the vegetarian meals. So hope to travel on Bom Chennai route in the near future.
Regards

[ampere]

Originally Posted by faustus77

Felling nostalgic about Chennai, specially the vegetarian meals. So hope to travel on Bom Chennai route in the near future.
Regards

Very true ! I have travelled across the 4-Metro Sectors. Delhi-Bombay, Chennai-Howrah, Bombay-Chennai, Delhi-Chennai. and Delhi-Howrah in pieces.

The best of the lot as per me is Delhi Bombay sector. But surely Bombay-Chennai is the most neglected of the lot.

[gsurya]

I assume this thread doesnt only refer to Indian trains

Best journey:

Hanoi to Saigon (with 3 stopovers in between): Historic train. 4 seater coupes, dining car, decently ventilated. Great views en-route, drinks served on train! Stations in between had no platform, but very clean.

Worst journey:

Nairobi to Mombasa: Historic train. Shocking bogeys still from British era, hardly upgraded, very badly maintained with torn seats, very bad ventilation, late by several hours. Only saving grace was it runs through a national park, got great scenic views, few animals & birds.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by ampere

You have two routes to Bombay from Bangalore

1. Via Hubli (Arsikere/Kadur/Birur/Hubli/Miraj/Pune/Bombay)
2. Via Guntakkal (Hindupur/Guntakkal/Daund/Pune/Bombay)

As you rightly said both routes are time consuming. The oldest train running on this section is Udyan. But yes, buses reach faster.

Electrification is ongoing on the Guntakkal line. Hopefully that should increase efficiency and speed. But yes, there are hardly any superfast trains. They cant introduce a Rajdhani, because they are supposed to start only from Delhi (Or Hazrat Nizzamuddin).

But I get your point. They need to introduce a train like Coromandel (Chennai-Howrah); Gitanjali/Bombay Mail (Bombay-Howrah).

In fact the Chennai-Bombay is in the same state; as its an addendum of Bombay-Bangalore. Hopefully the electrification to should improve state of things.

But thinking otherwise, they can introduce a double diesel superfast as of today, which they don't seem to.

What happened to Chalukya express which was via Hubli route? It was somewhat parallel to the NH-4.

We took the Udyan to arrive in Mumbai. There are lots of halts in North Karnataka section of this route. Most of them might have been politically influenced, as I couldn't see much traffic on this section. I wonder, why they make express trains to halt at these small towns. Once in M'rastra, it is Solapur, Dhaund, Pune and then we are onto Kalyan.

This route badly is in need of a genuine express or super fast train. Yes, electrification will help, too. Hopefully, in this budget they shall make an effort.