[funkykar]

Can someone suggest me a what train to take to enjoy the beauty of Konkan during monsoon? I am from bangalore and dont mind starting from Mangalore

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Can someone suggest me a what train to take to enjoy the beauty of Konkan during monsoon? I am from bangalore and dont mind starting from Mangalore

You can take the Trivandrum Rajdhani express. It departs Mangalore early in the morning and covers most of the Konkan railway section in daylight.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Can someone suggest me a what train to take to enjoy the beauty of Konkan during monsoon? I am from bangalore and dont mind starting from Mangalore

There's quite a few trains on that route: Matsyagandha, Netravati, Garib Rath and the Trivandrum Rajdhani are some of the most popular ones. You can do this Mangalore - some station in Mumbai (Panvel/LTT). Make that trip a few weeks after the monsoon has completely come over the Konkan region so the greenery is transformed. It is a sight to behold.

Travel sleeper if you want to smell and feel the rain and don't mind the wet seats, or a/c if you want to watch the view from the glass cabin.

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Can someone suggest me a what train to take to enjoy the beauty of Konkan during monsoon? I am from bangalore and dont mind starting from Mangalore

Look for a train that departs early in the morning from Mangalore. Rajdhani is one. This reaches Panvel after 6. There are other trains too. Just remember that booking starts 4 months is advance and Rajdhani is sold out within the first few hours. So if want to watch the Konkan coast better book soon, ideally within the next 1 month.

[funkykar]

Awesome! What month is the best or say most rain assured? I am very keen to book the tickets as soon as window is available.

Thank you ALL for such quick responses.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Awesome! What month is the best or say most rain assured? I am very keen to book the tickets as soon as window is available.

Thank you ALL for such quick responses.

With torrential rains, chances of disruption due to landslide in Konkan railway also go up. I would suggest August as a good month when the rain would have subsided a bit. Tip: Avoid Ganesh Chaturthi period as trains are crowded like hell. Also many special trains are run in the 2 weeks leading to delays for other trains as well.

If you have an extra day to spare, there's another option. You can take the early morning passenger from Mangalore to Madgaon. It has 1 reserved coach and TTEs maintain a hawk like vigil not allowing any unreserved ticket holder into the sole reserved coach. It reaches Madgaon in the afternoon. After 1 night stay in Madgaon, take the Mandovi express to Mumbai the next day. This train is renowned for its tasty food. You can soak in the beauty while munching lip smacking delicacies.

The advantage of this plan is that both the trains have a leisurely run throughout, giving you more time to take in the sights and scenes as opposed to the quick run of Rajdhani. You will be held up in sidings for crossing trains due to single track where you can get down and enjoy the calm and serene stations. In rajdhani, other trains will be sidelined for you to pass.

The choice is yours, both ways it will be a memorable journey

[strawhat]

If I may, I would recommend you to begin your journey at Shoranur Jn (SRR) itself. This is traditionally seen as the gateway to KR from south side. Just like Panvel (PNVL) is from the north side. Kerala part of KR is also very unique, beautiful and lush green dotted with several well nourished backwaters.

There is a morning 7'ish departure group from SRR which arrives in Madgaon (MAO) at around 5 in the evening. This group of trains are long distance weeklies and bi-weeklies. So its better to book well in advance as chances are the boarding/alighting points are not covered in General quota. From MAO you can catch Netravathi/Mandovi to continue towards Panvel/Mumbai.

If you plan to cover the route in reverse direction, then there are several day time intercity's starting from Mumbai region (Dadar, LTT or CSMT). Tejas, Jan Shatabdi, Mandovi and Double Decker are the options. The first two are fastest connections and will reach in the afternoon while the latter only in the evening. You can resume your journey towards SRR by Pune-ERS/DR-TEN super fast or Gujarat group non-daily's that leave MAO around 7:30 and drop you in SRR in the evenings.

If you wish to do a more relaxed and shorter journeys, then you can add Mangalore (MAQ) as another stopover point. Then you can add CBE-MAQ intercity/passenger/Ernad express to your options from SRR. From MAQ you can take the convenient MAO intercity.

It is important to book all tickets in advance, especially in the long distance trains. Particularly if you wish to be allotted a Side Lower (SL) berth. Intercity's have an ARP of just 20 days IIRC. Getting a preferred Window seat is pretty easy. Any window seat is the best place to sit, tilt your head on the railings and enjoy the privacy of being one with nature.

[mpksuhas]

Second what AkMar mentioned. Peak monsoon is usually unpredictable time on Konkan railway. Would suggest you wait till July end or Aug.

Though Shornur - Mangalore section is beautiful, you will not be able to view entire Shornur - Konkan section in daylight. Hence would suggest you opt for any train which departs Mangalore in morning, this will help you in getting maximum daylight during your Konkan trip.

Trivandrum Rajadani is a good option. However, earlier Rajadani did not have option to book for intermediate stations, so if you are boarding from Mangalore, you will have to pay till end of journey (Delhi) irrespective of where you get down. I am not sure if this is still the case.

[AkMar]

Hey @funkykar,

I totally forgot one option, the Mumbai Madgaon Janshatabdi express with its vistadome coach. It has HUGE glass windows, glass roof and a glass viewing gallery too at one end. You will need to travel in it from Mumbai to Madgaon to enjoy the view. In this direction the coach is at the end of the rake with the viewing gallery at the rear. Towards mumbai it becomes the first coach, and you'll be left staring at the locomotive. Look out for executive class in the bookings. In monsoon the Vistadome coach runs on alternate days in either direction. Here is how it looks

[ampere]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Awesome! What month is the best or say most rain assured? I am very keen to book the tickets as soon as window is available.

You will be in a Rajdhani and windows closed ! Awesome train, but as per me that wont do justice to what you want to witness.


I would suggest look at the regular ones which run during daytimes. (Netravathi, Matsayagandha etc. I have not seen the time of the day they run. You may want to check that out)

[Shreyas Agarwal]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Secondly, the attendant misled you completely. Halt durations are never cut short for trains even if they are late. How is a passenger who is supposed to board the train from a particular en-route station responsible for a preponed departure?

Sir, now I can assure you that the halt duration is actually cut short and I have proof for that.

Scheduled Arrival at Bareilly: 13:45
Scheduled departure: 13:48
Scheduled Halt duration: 3 minutes

Expected Arrival: 13:58
Expected Departure: 13:59
Expected Halt duration: 1 minute

So the duration has been reduced by 2 minutes or 66%, so the halt durations do cut short.

PS: Coincidentally, this is the same train I took last year and am travelling on once again.

Source: NTES (National Train Enquiry System)