Due to the accident, the entire schedule went haywire and that resulted in massive replanning. My brother wanted to return to Bangalore on 29 October itself, while my parents (alongwith my Sister-in-law) were planning to return on 30 October. I had a ticket for Poorna Express departing Ernakulam on 30 October. On friday, 27 October, Myself and my Sister-in-Law set out for a journey to Thrissur to book tickets for each others journeys. The plan was: My brother would take a bus from Thrissur on 29th evening, myself would take a train from Thrissur to Ernakulam on 30th morning while my parents (with my sis-in-law) would take a train from Thrissur to Coimbatore (3352 ALLP-Dhanbad Express) on 30th and then board 2678 CBE-Bangalore Intercity from there.
We took a bus from right outside our home to the Municipal Bus station, Kodungallur. From there we boarded a Limited Stop bus bound to Thrissur. We got down at Chettiyangadi which is the stop for the Railway station as well as the KSRTC bus station. The first thing on our agenda was to book tickets for my brother. We tried all the travel agencies around the Bus station. We tried even the reservation counter of the state run KSRTC. They day being a sunday, and a weekend of a week which had handfuls of holidays, all buses were running full. Finally a travel agent agreed to give us a seat which is reserved for Ernakulam Quota. We had to pay the fare from Ernakulam to Bangalore (Rs. 650, Shama Volvo). Getting a seat was more important!!! After managing to get a seat, we walked towards the reservation counter.
Just as we neared the counter, Mangalore-Trivandrum Parasuram express pulled into the station with a Erode WDM2. Simultaneously on Platform 2, the Ernakulam-H.Nizammudin Mangala Express pulled in (WDM3A #14052, Ernakulam). We filled the reservation forms, and took a token (#463, #464). The token number that was just called was #323!!! We were still 140 tokens away. The time was 1215. Sometime after the Mangala & Parasuram went, the Mangalore bound Parasuram Express pulled in with an Erode WDM2. The Ernakulam bound Mangala express too pulled in with an Ernakulam WDM2 around the same time.
After both the trains went, it was the chance of the Hyderabad bound Sabari express to pull it with a WAP4. After the Sabari went, The Kochuveli bound Kerala Sampark Kranti pulled in with twin locos. A live WDM2 of Ratlam, and a dead WDM2 of Ernakulam right behind. Our token numbers were called at around 1345. We got the tickets in a matter of about 10 minutes (3 seats for 2678 CBE-SBC Intercity in AC Chair Car, and One seat for 2124 Pune-CSTM Deccan Queen in AC Chair Car).
We then proceeded to the IRCTC Sassya Vegetarian Food Plaza. The styling of the plaza was at par with private restaurants. The service, and food was good! This restaurant is surely recommended to all! The bill was about Rs. 80 (Two plates of Kerala Parotta with Veg Curry, One Pineapple juice, and one Mosambi juice). The bill was quite cheap as compared to the service offered!!! We then took a Rickshaw to the Municipal Bus stand, popularly known as Sakthan stand, and boarded an ordinary bus bound to Kodungallur. We got down right in front of our home! I enjoyed train spotting at Thrissur. I could not photograph any trains, though I had a camera, since I wasfully tensed about the availability of tickets and since the car was still in police custody, and we were in touch with police officials to get all the formalities done!
We took a bus from right outside our home to the Municipal Bus station, Kodungallur. From there we boarded a Limited Stop bus bound to Thrissur. We got down at Chettiyangadi which is the stop for the Railway station as well as the KSRTC bus station. The first thing on our agenda was to book tickets for my brother. We tried all the travel agencies around the Bus station. We tried even the reservation counter of the state run KSRTC. They day being a sunday, and a weekend of a week which had handfuls of holidays, all buses were running full. Finally a travel agent agreed to give us a seat which is reserved for Ernakulam Quota. We had to pay the fare from Ernakulam to Bangalore (Rs. 650, Shama Volvo). Getting a seat was more important!!! After managing to get a seat, we walked towards the reservation counter.
Just as we neared the counter, Mangalore-Trivandrum Parasuram express pulled into the station with a Erode WDM2. Simultaneously on Platform 2, the Ernakulam-H.Nizammudin Mangala Express pulled in (WDM3A #14052, Ernakulam). We filled the reservation forms, and took a token (#463, #464). The token number that was just called was #323!!! We were still 140 tokens away. The time was 1215. Sometime after the Mangala & Parasuram went, the Mangalore bound Parasuram Express pulled in with an Erode WDM2. The Ernakulam bound Mangala express too pulled in with an Ernakulam WDM2 around the same time.
After both the trains went, it was the chance of the Hyderabad bound Sabari express to pull it with a WAP4. After the Sabari went, The Kochuveli bound Kerala Sampark Kranti pulled in with twin locos. A live WDM2 of Ratlam, and a dead WDM2 of Ernakulam right behind. Our token numbers were called at around 1345. We got the tickets in a matter of about 10 minutes (3 seats for 2678 CBE-SBC Intercity in AC Chair Car, and One seat for 2124 Pune-CSTM Deccan Queen in AC Chair Car).
We then proceeded to the IRCTC Sassya Vegetarian Food Plaza. The styling of the plaza was at par with private restaurants. The service, and food was good! This restaurant is surely recommended to all! The bill was about Rs. 80 (Two plates of Kerala Parotta with Veg Curry, One Pineapple juice, and one Mosambi juice). The bill was quite cheap as compared to the service offered!!! We then took a Rickshaw to the Municipal Bus stand, popularly known as Sakthan stand, and boarded an ordinary bus bound to Kodungallur. We got down right in front of our home! I enjoyed train spotting at Thrissur. I could not photograph any trains, though I had a camera, since I wasfully tensed about the availability of tickets and since the car was still in police custody, and we were in touch with police officials to get all the formalities done!
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