My expectations from 12657 over the last 1 year have been very limited thanks to the presence of various TSRs in MAS-SBC sector and this Sunday was no different. It was not really a planned journey as we (read my better half and I) had to make a sudden trip to Chennai for a personal work and return back in a day. Like always, I had booked the onward journey in 12658 for Saturday night and in a rare occasion booked in 3AC in the Tatkal quota for Sunday night journey. I usually prefer SL for both 12658 and 12657 and this was one of the rarest of cases where I had to book in 3A.
MRTS trains are usually deserted on...
more... Sunday nights and this time around, we preferred to take the MRTS route from MTMY to MAS instead of the usual bus route but the train was crowded unusually. We managed to reach MAS at 22:40 thanks to the numerous TSRs from MTMY to Park Town. The number of TSRs in MAS division is at an all-time high and even the MRTS route is also not spared from them. Like on most nights, 12657 was allotted PF5 and as we entered the Platform, Yercaud’s last coach was seen exiting PF6. I was visible upset seeing a WAP4 hauling my previous night’s journey in 12658 and my wife did not want to see the same upset face this night as well. We quickly checked out the loco and my eyes lit up seeing the white stallion 30358 from the Royapuram Loco Shed. Kovai had just arrived on the adjacent platform with marginal delay with another WAP7 while 30426 WAP7 was roaming light on PF3 after hauling Brindavan. Howrah Mail was on Pf8 with yet another P7-30420 so literally it was P7 mania during that hour at MAS as even the just arrived Korba-TVC exp was hauled by a WAP7.
B2 coach was super clean thanks to the supreme maintenance standards set by SBC division and we quickly settled into our SLB and SUB berths 5 minutes before departure. Since 12657 undergoes Platform attention instead of Sec. Maintenance, as soon as the rake is shunted to Platform, Watering + Toilet cleaning is done and same had taken place this time as well. Since I literally take 12657/58, for all my MAS-SBC journeys, I sort of knew most of the LPs by face and moment I saw this particular LP I was confident we’ll have a fairly decent run this time despite the numerous TSRs.
We were given starter at 23:12 itself and departed bang on time. After the TSR at Korattur, Avadi was said good-bye by 23:40 and I was confident enough, we’ll arrive AJJ with only around 15 mins delay. It was a pleasant sight to witness TRL dispatched at MPS of 100+ as we were allotted the fast line post TRL although we had to move to the slow line post TO. Moment we crossed TRL at 23:55, I was sure Yercaud will have to wait for us longer at Walajah for the overtake instead of the usual Valathoor looping.
As expected Yercaud was overtook at Walajah and P7 showed no mercy and breaks were applied only at KPD outer after AJJ. HTE-BNC and late running Kerala had exited KPD only 10-20 mins back and I was sure HTE – BNC will block us the path after BWT.
In one of the best runs in the last 1 year, my Mail arrived JTJ 5 minutes BT and even better BWT 5 minutes BT. This is a record run simply because of the fact that, this train had a simply outstanding history of arriving BT at most stations en-route and the umpteen number of TSRs over the last 1 year or so had completely spoiled so many trains’ performance. By the time we reached BWT, we had almost caught up with HTE – BNC as the gap was hardly 20kms. This had affected the performance in the home run as we were given last minute clearance both at KJM and BYPL and had stopped at BNCE home for 2 minutes. By the time, we entered BNC platform, huge number of crowd were seen exiting HTE – BNC on PF1A indicating we had almost caught up with the SER based train although the gap was quite big at KPD.
Thanks to the Uber and Ola strike, we struggled to get a cab at BNC and finally managed to get hold of a cab to reach home. It was a proud moment for me to witness the fantastic run between MAS and KJM considering the numerous disappointments in the last twelve months.
Thanks for reading!
PS: I am usually very critical of SBC division for its operational mismanagement and corruption but can happily take my hats off for their maintenance of trains. You give them an untidy rake and they will return it to you back in few hours spick and span.
