PART 1: /blog/post/1608223 [MAS-SBC]
PART 2: /blog/post/1609448 [SBC-NZM]
PART 3: /blog/post/1610374 [NDLS-BCT]
PART 4: CSTM-MAO
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Date:...
more...

29th September 2015
Train no: 12133
Train name: Mangaluru express aka (Rocket, Konkan Superstar)
IRI Trip diary link: /diary/trip/75667
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After a wonderful day at the City of Seven Islands, The next place in my checklist was to the land of beaches, undoubtedly it was Goa. I had a sublime recreation time at Mumbai with college friends who reside at Mumbai for work. I reached CSTM at 20:30 after having my supper in a nearby hotel. I straight away went to the designated platform without a having much of the scouting activities and reclined on the chair. First train which I noticed was the Secunderabad bound Devagiri express which was halted at PF 14 where as CSTM-HWH mail was stationed on PF15. Devagiri departed on its schedule time without even a getting delayed by a minute and it was same with HWH mail as well. As soon as mail vacated PF 15, NCJ-CSTM Express arrived with GOC WDP 4D 40093 as its power. Later Kurla’s WDS6 36122 which pulled the rake of 12133 to CSTM. The train got filled in no time. UR was filled gradually, one UR was dedicated for TNA pax I guess. Later the loco was attached, It was WDG 3A from Kalyan’s inventory bearing the road number 13307. I had reserved till Udupi due to non-availability of seats for Madgaon. I settled comfortably in my side lower berth. S7 was my coach and it was a 2004 made one. It had charging points near the doors. The restrooms were not clean, it did disappoint me but later it was cleaned by the OBHS team. I noticed few cockroach and rodent friends as well :P:P. The train started bang on time and it was crawling till Masjid and later it started to accelerate well. The skip at Dadar was the most phenomenal one. A huge crowd was waiting for their trains and it skipped DR at speed of 80+. I glanced the crowd with a disdainful look, Sorry for that: P:P.. The speed show continued even after that, being a diehard fan of Alco’s what else will I wish for?? I reckon this was the best Alco action I had after the travel in SR’s 24 coach Legendary Vaigai express in 2010 with ED WDM 3D. The Alco’s took us to Thane 7 minutes behind the schedule, where many people boarded. It departed after a five minute halt. Once the train went past Diva, I could not control my sleep so I decided to sleep. I woke up at 7:30 and it was stranded at Rajapur Road for a freight to pass. The early morning sceneries at Konkan were just stupendous. The mist which dwelled over the Western Ghats was similar to a mountain which was a covered white a white blanket. The breath taking beauty of Konkan made to ignore the fact that the train was behind the schedule by an hour and a half. Then the rocket was cruising at a moderate speed and reached Vaibhavwadi road at 8 AM where the Ex Superfast, Tirunelveli Hapa express was waiting. Fortuitously even Mangalore express was halted and it started after a minute. The next scheduled halt was Kankavali. It had a two minute halt at Kankavali where the sun started to dazzle. Next was Madgaon, The Alco started to chug furiously which was such sweet music to person who resides in a place where he gets to see an Alco just once or twice a week. Next it was skipping the stations like Kudal ,Sawantwadi at a good speed and reached Thivim. A college group got down there, I guess they came for a holiday. Astoundingly neither IRI nor the official website displays Thivim halt but I heard few voices saying “Next is Thivim , Be ready “… It was halted nearly ten minutes at Thivim so that it can cross Mandovi express. After this train the train reached Madgaon at 10:45 AM after two unscheduled halts at Karmali and Majorda. The delay was nearly two hours from the scheduled arrival time. After 5 minutes TVC Rajdhani was entering MAO which was led by a GOC Toaster.
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RATINGS:
Speed: 4/5 [This train gets the good priority in its run, in this journey of mine it got delayed severely due to some unseen circumstances. Normally in speed aspect, this train does not disappoint you]
Cleanliness: 3.5/5 [Restrooms were in ok condition. OBHS were cleaning the floor in the morning]
Maintenance: 3/5 [Only few coaches were 2010 and above. It had charging points near the restroom. I could see cockroaches which were hiding in crevices beneath the berths. Rodents were also seen. I guess no proper pest control has happened, ironically the label inside the coach displayed that it was fumigated on August 2015.]
Food: 4.5/5 [On board catering is available, Food may not be fresh or hot but getting an edible food at 22:00 hours in a train is a rare scene. Food vendors can be seen frequently in CSTM-TNA stretch in this train. Same way Breakfast will be available on the following day along with the snacks like sandwich, chocolates and cool drinks are available in plenty. So one need not worry about food during the journey on this train]
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PART 5: /blog/post/1615074