Category: Trip Reports

A Short Trip to Jolarpettai on the Inaugural Mysore-Chennai Vande Bharat Express

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Chennai Mysore Vande Bharat Inauguration PM Modi

This travelogue is an account of my short trip from Bangalore Cantonment (BNC) to Jolarpettai (JTJ) on the inaugural Mysore – Chennai Vande Bharat Express. Read on to have a quick glimpse of South India’s first Vande Bharat Express – the arrangements en route, the cab view, the snacks, seating, ride quality, and more. 11.11.22 – The Inaugural Day Almost a month ago, South India’s first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off by PM Narendra Modi from Bangalore to Chennai Central whereas the commercial run from Chennai Central to Mysore to Chennai Central was to start from the next day,

Away We Go On Our Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 2

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Gandhidham Railway Station

To read Part 1 of the 2019 annual rail pilgrimage series, please click here. 2 days of our trip had passed and we were thankful to the almighty for treating us to some pure Alco action. While Punjab provided us with Vitamin G (Greenery), Rajasthan, this time, provided us with Vitamin R (Rains) and that too in excess. Just a week before our trip was to commence, there were heavy torrential rains in Kutch and Rajasthan which lead to flash floods and, as a result of which, all the trains were either canceled or short terminated at various stations en

Away We Go On Our Annual Rail Pilgrimage – Part 1

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Jodhpur Railway Station

Right from my childhood, trains have been my fascination and whenever an opportunity arises, I try my best to sneak in a quick ride. Sometimes, things fall in place but sometimes….. Well…Read on… The Annual Rail Pilgrimage 2018 was a roller coaster ride with Rajeev Nair, Ganesh Iyer, the young Chechu mama, and yours truly covering close to 5 Indian states and riding on the fastest and slowest trains on Indian Railways. So, once the four of us were back from our trip, the WhatsApp group that we are a part of, started buzzing with dream-itineraries, train and flight schedules,

The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 4: The Final Frontier

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The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 1: The Planning The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 2: Jet, Set, Go The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 3: A Ride Back in Time After a good night sleep, we all woke up fully refreshed the next day. Finished our morning chores and all of us sat down to have breakfast which was complimentary. We ordered each and every item from the limited breakfast menu.  Tummies full, we then got ready and proceeded to go to Gwalior railway station to catch our train to Motijheel. Reached around 09:10 AM and took the FOB to reach the

The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 3: A Ride Back in Time

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The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 1: The Planning The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 2: Jet, Set, Go The mobile alarm went off exactly at 03:45 AM and I quickly checked with GI if he was awake. After a positive reply, I finished my morning chores. We checked out of the hotel at 05:00 AM and booked an Uber to New Delhi railway station. The roads were deserted and within 15 minutes we were at platform 16 of New Delhi railway station.  Taking the foot overbridge, we came to platform 1 where our train 12002 New Delhi Habibganj Shatabdi Exp. was expected.

The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 2: Jet, Set, Go…

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The Annual Rail Pilgrimage

To read Part 1 of the Annual Rail Pilgrimage, click here. 12th Sep 2018 With less than 24 hours to go for the trip, it was time to pack up things and finish everything beforehand to avoid any last minute hassle. All done, I lied down to catch some sleep. Meanwhile, Chechu mama had already commenced his trip from Chennai and his train was somewhere in Central India. Rajeev was to start his trip around 04:30 PM on 13th to reach Mathura the next day morning at 07:25 AM. 13th Sep 2018 Our Indigo flight 2988 from Bangalore to Delhi was to

The Annual Rail Pilgrimage: Part 1: The Planning

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The Annual Rail Pilgrimage

Jerusalem, Mecca, Dwarka, Bodh Gaya etc. are some of the holiest places in the world visited by millions and millions of people from around the globe. For some, it’s a ritual that makes them visit these places year after year while for some, these holy places hold spiritual significance. For some, it’s a way of connecting with God while for some it’s just a way to find peace and solitude from this maddening world. However, for the four of us (names to follow soon), we have a different line of thought. We may or may not undertake annual pilgrimages to

The 3M Magic – Monsoon, Marwar & Meter Gauge – Part 3

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Marwar Mavli Meter Gauge

Click here to read part 1 of our journey from Bangalore – Marwar via Delhi Cantt or to read about our adventures onboard Marwar – Mavli meter gauge passenger, please click here. After enjoying to our heart’s content onboard Marwar – Mavli meter gauge passenger and then having a cool gush of wind striking our faces as we neared Udaipur, it was time to head back to Delhi and then onward to Bangalore. After having a quick power nap, Ganesh, Rajeev and I quickly changed, had a customary cup of tea each, took an auto and were standing outside Udaipur

The 3M Magic – Monsoon, Marwar & Meter Gauge – Part 2

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Marwar Mavli Meter Gauge

To read part 1 of this trip from Bangalore – Marwar via Delhi, please click here. After reaching Marwar Jn. at an unearthly 02:45 AM, me and my friend Ganesh Iyer, headed to the SL class waiting hall to catch some sleep. Unfortunately, the steel chair felt more like a rock and with great difficulty and torture, we spent a couple of hours there. Outside on the platform, there were a few families sleeping on the floor. Upon asking, we found that they were headed to Ramdevra Mela. Ramdevra is near Pokhran on Raikabagh Palace – Jaisalmer line. Around 04:30 – 04:45

The 3M Magic – Monsoon, Marwar & Meter Gauge – Part 1

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My last journey by a meter gauge train happened to be sometime in the early 90s when I used to visit my grandparents in Jodhpur. We used to take the Bhuj-Palanpur MG, get down at Bhildi, wait for a couple of hours and then catch the next train coming from Palanpur and heading to Jodhpur. I have faint memories of those trips and really enjoyed riding behind the chugging alcos. So, when a friend of mine, Ganesh Iyer suggested that we cover the last MG (meter gauge) section in Rajasthan (Marwar Jn. – Mavli Jn.) during the 4-day long Independence