Bangalore-Mumbai-Kerala odyssey! Done....

I am finally back in Bangalore after a 2885 kilometre round trip spanning over 7 days! I started off on August 03 (Sunday) heading to Mumbai on board the 6530 Udyan Express. It was Krishnarajapuram WDP4 #20044 which did the honors of taking me to Mumbai.

The train left Bangalore on time, and we managed to be not much delayed through the trip and reached Mumbai with a delay of just 3 minutes!

It was then two rain drenched days in Mumbai, when i was busy to the core with time for nothing! Still managed to sneak in an hour long railfanning at Ghatkopar and Kurla.

It was then time to head home...in Kerala! I took the Netravati Express from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus on August 07. The loco that did the honors on this trip was WDM3D #11149 of Erode. The run was normal, and we were more-or-less on time till we reached Kudal, but was about an hour late the next morning! Finally landed up at Trichur delayed by around 51 minutes.

After two full days of relaxation at home, it was now time to head back to work in Bangalore! My booking was on the 6528 Yeswantpur express, boarding at Shoranur. Since, there were no proper connecting trains from Thrissur, I decided to take a bus all the way to Shoranur. I took a bus first from Kodungallur to Thrissur, and then another one from Thrissur to Shoranur (A detailed report on these may be expected soon!).

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I reached Shoranur by around 2000 for a 2150 train! With close to two hours in hand, I had the liberty of checking around the station, but rains and heavy baggage made be settle down on Platform 2/3 itself! My train turned in at around 2118 (instead of 2145). The loco doing the honors was WDM3A #14083 of Krishnarajapuram! My coach was a 1997 built 3A coach. The cooling was really effective! The train left Shoranur sharp on time!

My sleep was slightly disturbed since I picked up an allergy (probably was caused by dry mouth!). I had kept an alarm for 0430. Got up in the morning, and headed straight to the door! We were then heading to the loop line of Rayakkotai for a crossing. Finally landed up at Hosur at 0543, delayed by about 25 minutes.

I got down at Hosur and headed off to the bus station. The rickshaw driver made a killing carrying four passengers on a share basis charging Rs 20 per head for a hardly 2 km ride! Buses were, being a monday morning, pretty crowded and many headed off without stopping!

Finally managed a to get into a TNSTC Salem-Bangalore bus and got down at Bommanahalli, and reaching home finally by 0700 (earlier than the train reaching Yeswantpur!). What a trip it was!

You can see the images here.... bye for now!

Comments

Anonymous said…
My booking was on the 6528 Yeswantpur express, boarding at Shoranur. Since, there were no proper connecting trains from Thrissur, I decided to take a bus all the way to Shoranur. I took a bus first from Kodungallur to Thrissur, and then another one from Thrissur to Shoranur

Hi Binai,
There is, in fact, a direct train, the ERS-SRR Passenger (I don't remember the number) which leaves TCR at 19.40 and has a scheduled arrival in SRR at 21.10. I have had a very interesting experience with this train:
I too travelled by the 6528 from SRR-YPR in May this year. Like you, I too was travelling from TCR along with my parents and relatives, and we had decided to take the passenger from TCR to SRR, and arrived in TCR at 19.20. I went to PF-1 and bought tickets. We waited till 19.45, but when there was no sign or announcement of its arrival, my mother grew apprehensive. I then went and checked its running status at the kiosk. It showed the train running 40 minutes late! By then, it was 19.50 and the announcement was made for the 6525 CAPE-SBC Express. At this point, my mother and others decided to go to SRR by bus, despite my explanation that this train would make up as it had a huge buffer of 45 min. between Vallatol Nagar and SRR (1 km). So, without even cancelling the tickets, we all boarded two autos to the bus stand and boarded an Ottapalam-bound bus (via SRR). We left at 20.05, and reached SRR at 21.00 after a highly uncomfortable bus journey (we had to stand till Wadakancheri). To the shock and surprise of my folks, the passenger glided into PF-3, just five minutes after we entered the station. So I had the last laugh, and my mother promised me that next time, we would take the train, come what may!
We had an excellent dinner at one of the three NVRR's on PF-2/3. 6528 arrived on PF-2, at 21.40, five minutes ahead of schedule. We left on time, but reached YPR at 07.45, 20 minutes late, as we kept getting held up by a late-running 6731.

Regards,
~~~~
Manish,
Bangalore.

[PS: This comment was an impulsive response to your blog. Sorry if I have bored you or cluttered your blog with this long post!]
Binai K Sankar said…
I am pretty much aware of the train. There is one express too - the ALLP-MAS Exp, which would connect the CAN-YPR at PGT. I purposefully took the bus in order to have some railfanning at SRR, and also to escape being tensed if the passenger gets delayed badly