17 takes 45...

I reached Kurla at around 0735. The Deccan Express was yet to pass through, and there was no sign of that train. At about 0741, the Latur-Mumbai CST Tri-Weekly express (1006) rushed through Kurla...

18926-1006

...with Kalyan WDM2 #18926 in charge. It now seems that the same loco works all the way to Latur and back (yet to be confirmed!). If this is indeed true, then this would be longest 'regular' link worked by Kalyan DLS (A good sign that their locos are indeed dependable!). The Deccan express did indeed appear - but at 0743 i.e., 2 minutes after the scheduled departure time of my connecting EMU (0741 Asangaon). The loco in-charge of the Deccan Express was WCG2 #20124 of Kalyan. My EMU pulled in just behind the express, and the starter just turned amber as the EMU came to a halt.
The EMU finally pulled out at around 0746 (Delayed by 5 minutes). The express ahead seemed to run terribly slow. Our train was literally crawling behind Deccan Express. The express finally stopped right outside Ghatkopar station (at the outer signal)...

GC

...and the reason was unknown. The train ahead maintained status quo atleast upto 0800 (the time by which the EMU should have been at Thane!). An Ambernath Fast EMU (which runs behind my train) was diverted to the slow line, and that fella overtook us! We finally made it to Ghatkopar at around 0805. We pulled out, and the EMU picked good speed. We maintained that speed upto Vikhroli. The Ambernath fast EMU was allowed to change back to the fast line (ahead of us!). The Dadar-Kalyan EMU which runs behind the Ambernath EMU also overtook us here!!!
Our train finally got a starter, and we flew out! We had a non-stop run upto Mulund. At Mulund, we were to be shifted to the slow line, but the Dadar-Kalyan EMU was given preference! That EMU ran ahead of us (we had overtaken that EMU at Bhandup), and we slowly trailed that fellow. We crossed the Vidarbha Express here! The EMU finally reached Thane at 0830. A journey that usually takes 17 minutes took 45 minutes today! I rushed out, went to college, and reached back at Thane station by 1400.

Afternoon Session: The first spotting of the noon was Coimbatore LTT Express. The loco in-charge was WCG2 #20122 of Kalyan. The Ratnagiri-Dadar KR4 passenger came close behind...

13044-KR4

...with WDG3A #13044 Shakti of Pune in-charge. I was seeing this train with a WDG3A after a long time now. The train had 18 coaches including 2 reserved coaches, one for Chiplun quota and one for Khed. The crowd, as usual, was heavy. The train kept waiting for about 5-8 minutes at the station. The 1416 CSTM EMU was running late. I decided to wait for the Matsyagandha. The train came in with...

18596-2619


...WDM3A #18596 of Erode. The locos 'face' looked odd (probably the result of some minor crash!). The train pulled out at around 1435 or so. The train stopped after all coaches cleared the platform due to an 'Emergency Chain' pull. This held up my EMU at the outer signal. The EMU finally cleared in, and I jumped in.
We crossed the Chennai Express near Kanjur Marg (WCG2) and the Pune bound Sinhagad Express near Ghatkopar (WCAM3). I finally reached home at around 1600...bye!

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