Introduction:
It was my dream to travel aboard the Rajdhani for a long duration, and finally my wish was fulfilled on 25 March 2018 when I boarded 12432 NZM-TVC Rajdhani from H. Nizamuddin to my home in Madgaon. I left my hotel Park Inn by Radisson I.P. Extension, Patparganj at around 9 a.m. Since it was one of my rare visits to Delhi, I left the place early although it showed a cab riding time of just a little over 20 minutes. I feel waiting at the station is much better than getting tensed in the cab en route.
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H. Nizamuddin:
I reached H. Nizamuddin by 9.30 a.m., and got off at the main entrance side of the station. The skies were clear and the sun was steadily rising, taking the temperatures up slowly. Surprisingly, H. Nizamuddin was comparatively quiet and the usual bustle in metropolitan stations was not seen. In fact, apart from one EMU on Platform 5, no other trains were stationed on the platform, although a slew of announcements were being made, notably among them being Gondwana Express (delayed by 4 hrs 15 minutes), Chennai to H. Nizamuddin express (delayed by 15 minutes), the Bandra (T) - H. Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express, Yesvantpur - H. Nizamuddin Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express and Yesvantpur - New Delhi Karnataka Express (delayed by 1 hour 30 minutes). Since I had a hearty breakfast at the hotel, I was not interested in sitting at the Comesum Restaurant, and since it was the Rajdhani, I did not pack any lunch/ dinner for the route as well. I loitered on Platform 1 from the main entrance gate right up to the end of the platform towards New Delhi side. As I was walking, an EMU to Palwal slowly chugged in on to Platform 2. On Platform 4, Bandra (T) - H. Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express slowly rolled in, and the usual swarm of passengers got off the train and began walking towards Platform 1. At the entrance, the usual army of auto drivers and taxi drivers were present offering their services to the passengers. The hustle was back again!!! It took almost about 15-20 minutes for the crowd to disperse, and by this time, the clock had ticked past 9.50 a.m. I got bored loitering on Platform 1 and finally decided to make my way to Platform 5 which was from where the Rajdhani was due to depart. I took the escalator because of the luggage I was carrying, and perched myself on the foot-over bridge, gazing down on the tracks. As soon as I climbed the bridge, within 7-10 minutes, the Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express slowly chugged in on Platform 6. I heard passengers speaking Kannada, my native language, and for a second, was transported to my native place Dharwad, a small and quiet town in North Karnataka. I could see the porters making way to the AC Compartments to carry the luggage of the passengers, some passengers bargaining for the price quoted by the porters, while most of them made their way themselves aboard the bridge. Once the Karnataka Sampark Kranti hustle got quiet, the EMU on Platform 5 departed at 10.20 a.m. Upon its departure, I slowly made my way down onto Platform 5. The coach indicators displayed the coach position, and thanks to IndiaRailInfo, I knew that my coach was at the far rear end, next to the Generator-cum-Guard van. I walked slowly, mindful of the crowd. As I reached at an interim place, the red serpent drew in onto Platform 5, hauled by the customary WAP 7, honking to make its presence aware, and signalling to the passengers of the arduous journey it would undertake until Vadodara where the loco would change to diesel. The coaches were generally decent looking, barring a few old coaches whose paint had faded. I walked further ahead, until I reached my destination - H1, an August 2015 manufactured First AC Coach. I was allotted a lower berth in Coupe B, and comfortably settled down in the coupe. One old uncle came into my cabin, and took the seat next to me, who was travelling all the way to Trivandrum on the Radjhani. The AC coach attendants provided us with the comfortable soft pillows, clean bed sheets and face towel. Finally, after the customary jerk, the mighty Rajdhani began its journey towards Trivandrum at 10.59 a.m., a journey that would cross the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.
The journey... to be continued....