Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Indian Railways - My Experience !


So after a week i am writing a post here, actually i want to write more often but being little lazy and dearth of Ideas about what to post keeps me away from writing. But Today none of these things are hampering me and i will proceed to write now.

Traveling is something that we all look forward to and i am lucky that i had got chance to travel by all the four Primary transport modes(Road,Rail,Air,Water). But none fascinates me more than Rail traveling and i guess many will share this opinion of mine.


Its been around 8 years that i have not traveled by Train(long journey i must say) as i didn't get a chance to go at a far distant place. 


The farthest memory of me traveling in train goes back to some 20 years back when on holiday we used to go at our Grandparents parents place Deoband(West U.P.) from Meerut, its around 100 kms from here, i remember at that time large Engines run by Coal used to pull Railway compartments, the Engine used to have  
Spherical front shape at that time and lots of Smoke also used to vent out from the Chimney. I remember my parents had to struggle a lot to find a place to sit as General compartments were already occupied by many passengers. There were fights, bhajans, discussions, cards, vendors selling some Chatpata eatable stuff and lots more things going on at one instant in the journey. That makes traveling by a train so special as you experience so many things at one place that you can never experience in any other mode of traveling.


Then we moved to Delhi in early Nineties, same route was followed as Meerut comes in Between Delhi and Deoband, the difference this time was now the Engine was Diesel one except that there was no change in travel experience. At that time the compartments were of reddish Brown colour which i hated very much, that colour was so dull. What i looked forward on such visits was the food that we used to eat, it was not exactly food but some snacks, there were Popcorns and they used to sell it by saying Poppon Karare i guess it has huge effect when you pronounce something differently, then there were Nariyal(Coconut) slices, Chatpata Chola chat and i wanted to have all of them, but being a shy child i never used to ask anything but my parents would sense that from my face and after the completion of journey i would have tasted every single thing.


After living 5 years in Delhi my Father got transfered to  
Betul(Southern Madhya Pradesh) so we were shifted there as it was 1000 kms from Delhi,this will give us a chance of Night traveling. We used to take G.T. Express from New Delhi Station that goes to Chennai and Betul used to come on that route. The train would leave at 6:40pm(still the time is same) from New Delhi and reach at around 9 in morning to Betul. I first encountered the Sleeper compartments then, my mom would prepare food for Dinner and it was fun munching on it while you are on train. My father would always purchase some Magazines from Book stalls, its another flavour of traveling by train to read something. But sleeping is what i never enjoyed in trains as train is continuously moving, but its completely different in AC Coaches which are much stable. But you cannot enjoy your journey better then Sleeper Coaches as the real India travels in it and you also get to see different terrains far better then closed AC Coaches.


Many times when train stopped on stations my Father used to go for purchasing some eatables or Drinking water, at that time i used to get very nervous, what will happen if train left him ? i used to search him where he his from Coach itself and if he is not visible to me tears used to be on corners of my eyes, but we traveled so many times and it never happened.


Now i must tell you about the Beautiful route from Delhi to Betul. If anybody of you has traveled on this route then you must know how scenic this route is. As you start first known place which comes is Agra, i tried many times to search for Taj Mahal but unfortunately its not visible from train. Between Agra and Gwalior comes the Chambal Ghati as the names comes of it we think about the Dacoits who used to or still lives there, after seeing it anybody can say that its a perfect hideout place as there are lots of very small paharis(hills), the complete look of this place takes you to the famous Shekhar Kapoor film Bandit Queen, then you have Beautiful Chambal river flowing whose water i remember at that time was very clear. Next en-route is Gwalior, the first things which i see is the Big Flood lights of Gwalior Cricket Stadium which is just adjacent to Gwalior railway station, then you also get a glimpse of Jain Temples and Gwalior Fort. Next on line is Jhansi  city famous for Maharani Laxmi Bai and best Hockey Player ever Dhyanchand but you don't get to see any interesting place there. Now comes Sanchi which is world famous for its Stupa they contain relics of Buddha and were originally commissioned by Emperor Ashoka the great, you can see them quite clearly as train passes very close to them.

After this Bhopal comes, the Capital of Madhya Pradesh, now from here 200kms of journey is left which i like the most , the terrain is mostly hilly now, different hills in amazing shapes you get to see there , its all green absolutely nature at its best. In Hoshangabad you get to see river Narmada the biggest river of Madhya Pradesh, then Comes Itarsi which is a big junction from there route of South Bound trains and Mumbai bound trains diverges. Now we are in the region of Satpura which is complete hilly and Betul comes in it, as it is very hilly at the back of train one more engine is fitted which helps the front engine in dragging the train forward.As you encounter 4,5 big tunnels  they confirms that we had reached Betul and our Jouney is over. About Beauty of Betul i will have to write seperate post as it has lot to offer.

Old Shatabdi Train
New Spanky Shatabdi

Old Rajdhani Coaches


New Rajdhani Coaches

I must write about the two fastest trains that we have Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani Express. I have not got chance to travel by Rajdhani but have traveled 4 times by Shatabdi. First was once when we went to Jaipur from Delhi, the Cream Blue colour combination at that time was refreshing as we had that Reddish Brown colour or Blue Colour trains only, the speed was also a difference but i never liked the food served in them the taste was not up to the mark, i don't know whats its quality now. Also the fact it has chair car Compartments you get tired in long journey. My sister who does not like to travel in AC on our very first journey on Shatabdi Vomited in the middle of our Compartment, we felt very shy at that time as all passengers were seeing us by grudging eyes but it was not her fault she didn't do it intentionally, afterwards we used to carry Vomit bags for her whenever we used to travel by AC. Now i have seen new age Compartments being used in Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains which have bigger windows and are much more comfortable.

Mumbai Local Train

Indian Railway is the biggest employer in the world and we must be proud of it as it caters to millions of people everyday. Everyone have their tales regarding their travel in Indian Rails.  What you experience in it is a life time one. Whether its Mumbai locals, Rajdhani,the toy trains, the steam Engine running trains you get different experience everytime. You make some great friends while traveling by trains as they give you chance to meet different people in course of your journey. Most of the part of the country is connected by Trains and at a cheaper rate. Don't have any idea about when i will get my next chance to travel by it but i am eagerly waiting for it.

Those who want to read more about Indian Railways i suggest to go through Dinesh Wagle's Travelogue and Anil's Blog



Enhanced by Zemanta



23 comments:

  1. Good. nicely written. So, u too have traveled a lot. I havent been to north india. Planning a trip this winter.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Naulo for your quick comments.
    No not much but got chance to travel when i was in school, since then only nearby places.
    Ya surely you must visit north, have a taste of it and yes winter is the best time to vist north.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I opt for roadways... eventhough the journey time is more and comfort level is not much, still I prefer bus compared to trains.coz I feel safe . the no. of thefts in train is high and you've to be ready wen u near u r station.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I respect your decision Vignesh, many times i also travel through Buses.
    But when you have to travel to distant places you have no chance to chose Rail or Air transport.
    My Father has experienced thefts in both Rail and Buses, its just your bad luck it can happen anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  5. superb post... who doesn't love train journeys? i love to travel by train... carefully observed points...
    u have great remembering skills... i always travel in 2S or sleeper classes... it will be really good there with common people... also about that theft point by Ingmar, I've heard that there used to be lot ot thefts in North Inida? is it true? here we have very less... i havn't heard many... but to travel by trains u need to book a ticket atleast 30-40 days before, since bus fares r very high here...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks my friend Karthick for liking the post, yes true there used to be here in north India, once my Father was traveling early morning around 4am, Dacoits came and looted whole of the compartment while he was lucky as he was sleeping on upper birth and no one noticed him, but such cases happens very rare. For short distance Buses are fine as you get tickets easily but for long distances definitely trains.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very well written !!excellent post! how do you manage to write such long posts??
    Anyway nice explanation of everything.
    I wanna ask one thing abhi ,i know u travelled through road,train,air but when you travelled by water?? u havnt told me this.explore.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks bhai for liking it.
    Ya i was thinking you will ask me this, bhai i had traveled on a Big Boat when i went to Goa, that was my first and last experience till now.
    I have so many things to write but i had to leave most of them also for long post its hard to concentrate for me, i know i don't write that well but you guys always encourage me so whether good or bad i just write.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very nice long article - a great trip down memory lane. I have fond memories of travel by train - even the coalpower engines from Pune out to Hyderabad - the electrified line from Mumbai ended at Pune. When planning your future trip, do check out my free and ad-free trains search website - www.bharatbyrail.com - it will be particularly useful when planning journeys between 2nd tier stations, and between destinations where no direct trains are available. I show all the required connections.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You looks like to be a big Railway lover, thanks for coming here and commenting.
    I have checked your site and its good and valuable for me to plan train journey.

    ReplyDelete
  11. well the first time i traveled in train was my 3rd yr of college.... :) yea.....that late...especially cause my native place is in Uttrakhand and we didn't have railway lines there .....

    my first train trip was from Delhi to Jammu..... beautiful route...... i have been to bhopal so i have seen sanchi which is i believe wat i saw....if it is visible from the route.... :)

    though i'd love to travel in trains but now i wouldn't take it to go home.....i'm in bangalore and to reach Delhi .....even Rajdhani takes.....40 hrs.......so i prefer flying......

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ya pretty late you traveled by train, but i have seen people who are of my age and still have not tried it.
    Sanchi comes few hours before Bhopal and you could see Stupa very close to the Sanchi station on left hand side while going from Delhi To Bhopal.
    In your case time factor comes hence if you can afford flying is the best option.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Man, you brought those days back.

    Its been almost one year now that i haven't traveled in train in India.

    When was in Delhi in 2008 i did a lot of travelling from Delhi to Gorakhpur,, once just to see Satahabdi i took train from Delhi to Lucknow and then changed to another train from there for GKP.

    Whatever ppl say about Shatabdi, i liked it the most, We don't have trains over in our place so to see and experience Shatabdi was a out of world experience.

    Back in 2006 when i was studying in Lucknow i used to randomly take Gorakhnath Express from LKO to GKP. It was a overnight train but i used to buy general compartment ticket and sit in most crowded boggiee to just experience the vibe in those compartments. That used to superb experience.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks a lot Tajim !
    I know that there are no trains in Nepal, read on Dinesh Wagle's blog.
    You must be going home from Sanauli Border which is close to Gorakhpur.
    Ya i too like Shatabdi but just little tiring.
    Infact once we also took Shatabdi [Delhi to Bhopal] to go to Betul and there was direct train also available.
    Its so much fun to travel by trains.
    Ya i know about Gorakhnath Express as my father who used to work in Gorakhpur used to go Lucknow by it. General Boggie have their own experience i also advice everyone to have a feel of it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nice post and reminds me of olden days travel when we used to travel on the same route from Multai .
    You can find some more experiences of mine on my post 'Nostalgic train journey' at blog http://srayyangar.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks Sir for coming here and commenting.

    I always read your posts at your Blog, i even have blogrolled it.

    I know that you had spent time in M.P. , Multai was very close to us originating point of Tapti river.

    I have also read your post when you returned to all the places where you lived and that earned you a place in Limca Book Of Records, its my one of the favourite post that i have ever encountered.

    Ya for sure i will go through your post Nostalgic Train Journey.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi
    It was nice to read your blog. Train travelling are part and parcel of human life in India. Every train journey creates so many stories. It was very nice to read your post.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks Rajib for visiting and commenting.
    Ya trains are just amazing, you must have come across them many times , how was your experience ?
    Your Blog is very nice, looking forward for new posts there.

    ReplyDelete
  19. ohhh great comparision.... but must say still to travel from train can b a painful thing if ur seat is not confirmed

    ReplyDelete
  20. Welcome Mag !
    That could be a nightmare if your seat is not confirmed.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Really nice post, I could also relive some of my train journeys while I read some of yours :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks Siddhartha for visit.
    I am a fan of your blog.
    Hope to see more posts there.
    Travelling is lot of fun and reading travel tale is no too different.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This is really great one.. You know my favorite hobby is India Railway.
    I am proud for our raiway service. I have also travelled lot of time. Still now I am alaways travelled by Railway, if it is Local Trains, Express Trains.. Great...:)

    ReplyDelete

Hey thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner