The day dawned as usual [Yah! The sun rised in the east :-)]. At 06:30 I found myself wiping a wet seat in a First class coach of an EMU scheduled to depart Belapur CBD at 06:33. The train left on time. It was raining too heavily and all windows/doors of the coach were closed. The train managed a decent show and reached Kurla at about 07:12. I walked through the FOB, to reach Platform 5 (From PF 8). My usual train - 07:17 Ambernath Fast was expected soon. Just minutes after I reached the platform, a WCG2 hauled train zipped past Platform #6. The loco came in with her horn blaring and the headlights on. The assistant held the green flag tight while the loco flew at the Maximum speed through the platform. The train was 6010 Chennai - Mumbai Mail. She should have reached CSTM by 03:45, if on time!!!
My train reached on time. It was raining heavily, and hence standing at the door was not in question! Most seats were wet, but still I managed to find a seat that wasn't wet. The train kept medium pace (thanks to the rain!). One thing that I had noticed on reaching Kurla was that most trains were late. An indication for the same was that a Slow EMU towards Kurla was shown as "0:00 ST" which is usually used to indicate special services.
The rain had no signs of subsiding (that was a painful indication!). While on the run, we crossed two more WCG2 hauled express which I presume to be Bhubaneshwar - Mumbai Konark Express and Hyderabad-Mumbai Hussain Sagar Express. We crossed about 2 WCAM3 hauled expresses also. Our train kept medium pace throughout the journey. She managed to make it to Thane sharp at 07:35 (2 minutes early!). Just as the EMU was pulling into the station, a heavily late-running 1082 Kanniyakumari - Mumbai CST Express hauled by a WCG2 slowly pulled into Thane! This train should have actually reached CSTM by 04:55 while she had just reached TNA at 07:35! CSTM is still a good hour away!
The remaining journey by bus was normal! I had to return from college at about 09:30 AM. I got a bus back towards Thane only by 10:30. I reached Thane at about 11:00. Had some light snacks and was back in the platform to take a train back home! I reached the platform at about 11:30 (or there abouts). Just as I neared the platform, a train scheduled for 10:23 left the platform (an hour late!). I sat down on a seat on the platform watching the passing by trains. The clock kept ticking away, and there was no signs of any fast EMU coming in. In the meantime, Pawan Express towards LTT, and 3201 Rajendranagar-LTT Expresses went through Thane. Many un-suspecting passengers were waiting on Platform 7 for the Trivandrum bound 6345 Netravati Express which was scheduled to arrive TNA at 12:00. The Sahyadri Express from Kolhapur came in and left. Minutes after the sahyadri left, the PA system gave out a rather annoying message: "6345 down Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Trivendrum Netravati Express, is expected to arrive at its rescheduled time - 1500 hrs!" That was a g00d 3hrs behind schedule. There was no prior announcement or notification regarding such a rescheduling!
At about 12:20, an Fast EMU came in. This train was actually scheduled at 11:11!!! The train was crowded, and people had taken every centi-metre of space available. I decided to leave the train. At about 12:30 another EMU came in - scheduled for 12:11. This one was relatively empty, and I could get space to stand! The train charged southwards with occasional slow downs. We crossed the Nagercoil bound Express and Pawan express on the way. Reached Kurla at about 12:50. Had a refreshing cold drink before continuing my wait for a Belapur Local that finally arrived at 12:58.
In all, Most UP trains of the day were delayed to a extent of 30-90 minutes. There were q considerable number of cancellations in the slow line. A long way to go CR!
My train reached on time. It was raining heavily, and hence standing at the door was not in question! Most seats were wet, but still I managed to find a seat that wasn't wet. The train kept medium pace (thanks to the rain!). One thing that I had noticed on reaching Kurla was that most trains were late. An indication for the same was that a Slow EMU towards Kurla was shown as "0:00 ST" which is usually used to indicate special services.
The rain had no signs of subsiding (that was a painful indication!). While on the run, we crossed two more WCG2 hauled express which I presume to be Bhubaneshwar - Mumbai Konark Express and Hyderabad-Mumbai Hussain Sagar Express. We crossed about 2 WCAM3 hauled expresses also. Our train kept medium pace throughout the journey. She managed to make it to Thane sharp at 07:35 (2 minutes early!). Just as the EMU was pulling into the station, a heavily late-running 1082 Kanniyakumari - Mumbai CST Express hauled by a WCG2 slowly pulled into Thane! This train should have actually reached CSTM by 04:55 while she had just reached TNA at 07:35! CSTM is still a good hour away!
The remaining journey by bus was normal! I had to return from college at about 09:30 AM. I got a bus back towards Thane only by 10:30. I reached Thane at about 11:00. Had some light snacks and was back in the platform to take a train back home! I reached the platform at about 11:30 (or there abouts). Just as I neared the platform, a train scheduled for 10:23 left the platform (an hour late!). I sat down on a seat on the platform watching the passing by trains. The clock kept ticking away, and there was no signs of any fast EMU coming in. In the meantime, Pawan Express towards LTT, and 3201 Rajendranagar-LTT Expresses went through Thane. Many un-suspecting passengers were waiting on Platform 7 for the Trivandrum bound 6345 Netravati Express which was scheduled to arrive TNA at 12:00. The Sahyadri Express from Kolhapur came in and left. Minutes after the sahyadri left, the PA system gave out a rather annoying message: "6345 down Lokmanya Tilak Terminus - Trivendrum Netravati Express, is expected to arrive at its rescheduled time - 1500 hrs!" That was a g00d 3hrs behind schedule. There was no prior announcement or notification regarding such a rescheduling!
At about 12:20, an Fast EMU came in. This train was actually scheduled at 11:11!!! The train was crowded, and people had taken every centi-metre of space available. I decided to leave the train. At about 12:30 another EMU came in - scheduled for 12:11. This one was relatively empty, and I could get space to stand! The train charged southwards with occasional slow downs. We crossed the Nagercoil bound Express and Pawan express on the way. Reached Kurla at about 12:50. Had a refreshing cold drink before continuing my wait for a Belapur Local that finally arrived at 12:58.
In all, Most UP trains of the day were delayed to a extent of 30-90 minutes. There were q considerable number of cancellations in the slow line. A long way to go CR!
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