My account of travel to Madras & Hyderabad in Sept 99 ....

Travelling with two friends to Chennai to attend a friends marriage. (I was just acquainted with the person but a good enough reason get leave and have company to travel to Chennai ... ). I departed from Kalyan by the 6009 dn Madras Mail on the 11th Sep at 0045 hrs - The train came in 15 minutes late hauled by a WCAM3 ... I boarded my coach - S1 (second from engine) - Went upto my sleeper berth and slept ...

Woke up just before Kurduwadi and went to the door and stood there (with walkman belting out Ricky Martin) ... we were making slow but steady progress towards Solapur ... no electric poles around now - surely in diesel territory - just over 300 km away from Mumbai - what a refreshing change to wake up to a morning on a speeding train ... Kurduwadi came .. looking out to the left behind was the goods yard and the NG (Narrow Gauge) Station which connects to Latur Road in the north east and Miraj towards the south west. As pulls into the station from Pune, the train goes under a NG bridge.

Arrived in Solapur for late breakfast ... found out that we were being hauled by Guntakal WDM2 - short hood in front (which was attached at Pune) The train left shortly thereafter .. we were running an hour late compared to the timetable schedule .. passed Hotgi junction ahead intercepted a number of trains enroute. Ahead at at place we moved in to a siding line and went ahead. The line was a dead end. Just then on the main single line the Mumbai bound Udyan Express passed us by. The train then reversed itself right back into the station and then we continued our forward journey. The loop line was not long enough to permit the crossing.

We passed Gulbarga and Shahabad and pulled into Wadi 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Just goes to show that too much time is allotted to trains so that they can get delayed and then make it up. The Mumbai bound 6010 up mail just came in at the same time into Wadi .. We left Wadi right on schedule bound for Guntakal .. most of the section here was doubled till Yadgir .. really exhausted so retired for an afternoon nap over the Krishna and right through Raichur .. Woke up at Mantralayam Road.

Observed the triangle as we departed from Wadi - the line from Hyderabad via Halkatta which is the chord line that byepasses Wadi Jn so that trains like the NZM-SC-SBC or the Rayalaseema may byepass Wadi and avoid a reversal here. Had a good halt here as we had to wait for the 1064 Mumbai bound Chennai express to reach. A pleasant stop. Got a chance to observe the WDM at close quarters.

Left for Mantralayam Road for Adoni enroute to Guntakal. Passed a goods train hauled by two WDG locos. Passed a few other trains .... took some pix here. The line in stretches was doubled.

Getting into Guntakal was one exciting thing being a junction with a lot of fanouts. The unfortunate thing is that so many extras boarded at Adoni and the place was quite cramped for the few stations - the TC's always coming to the coach late, and thus I was not able to get such a good view of the place.

Reached Guntakal just after sunset to meet the Coimbatore Kurla Express. Not much light to make any clear observations. A good stop sent me scurrying around for a few bites. The WDM2 loco was changed here and another WDM2 fixed here this time long hood front. I guess Guntakal was the point where the locos dropped on or off from "home". The train left Guntakal towards Gooty and reached Tadpatri by 9 pm. Retired for the night to a sound sleep ....

Woke up at 0400 am at AJJ with a lot of light peeking in from the many tubelights of the station - one of the big suburban terminal on the Madras suburban system. My friend told me later that we had a really long halt in the night - I pointed out that the halt would be at Renigunta where in fact they had changed engines again with now a AJJ WAM hauling our train (this was confirmed on our arrival in Chennai).

I was busy getting ready for Madras and the day ahead ... washing and even shaving ... one thing I love to do on the train ... A double line upto Thiruvallur became a quadrupled line. The train was now travelling fast towards Chennai Central, as we passed station after station ... Avadi, Perambur and closing in.

Checked out the clover leaf junction between Vyasarpadi Jiva and Basin Bridge Jn - four tracks taking a almost 90 degees curve to head straight on into Chennai Central the left two are for through trains and the two right ones for suburban traffic. The bend was around some oil installation - a refinery or depot or something ... lots of bright lights, storage tanks and a tall chimney tower. We went under a ROB (Road over bridge and met up with the other line at Basin Bridge junction) We pulled into Chennai Central at 0540 - well in time.

PART II - CHENNAI

Chennai Central if one faces it from the front has two main sections. Through trains from the classic red building. To the right of the red building stand a grand building - the SR headquarters with two painted steam locos. I didn't have time to really check these out unfortunately so no details here. To the left of the red building lies a new tall building with separate entrance - this is the Chennai Suburban terminus - This has 4-5 platforms with its own circulation area.

The main stations has two parts - the right which has platforms 1-6 and mainly for north and east bound trains. Platforms 7-11 mainly for trains to south and west.

Took the footbridge and came to the island platform for the MG locals - There are two tracks for MG Suburban services and one track for BG services. MG Locals are very frequent - second to Mumbai. (5-10 minutes headway). Caught the first local that came - After travelling daily on Mumbai's locals, it was a welcome change - the trains were smaller and much quieter - the pickup amazing too. There were hardly any standees and I got to do what I love best - stand at the door ... and observe things go by .. it was a real exciting feeling. We passed Egmore - The first time I saw this great station - a lot of work still seemed to have been done recently - conversion from MG to BG.

The train from Chennai Beach generally moves westwards and curves after Egmore to move in a general south west direction. Between Beach and Egmore there are two MG lines on the right and one BG line on the left. The MG line has all the suburban trains. From Egmore onwards, there is one additional MG line to carry through trains. Thus even fast MG locals ply on these.

A massive yard, much of it reconstructed, between Egmore and Chetput was observed - indeed a major terminii for south bound trains and a number of engines ... YDM's and WDM's around too .... Chetput, Nungambakkam, Koddambakkam to Mambalam - surely a thrilling end to a great day .. as we walked from the station to where we stayed.

The next day, 13th Sept, had to go to a remote place north of Perambur .. Our host suggested we catch a bus from Central Station. Got a lift to Koddambakkam Station - I decided that the starting point was closer to Chennai Beach Station, so we took the local and went right upto Chennai Beach - Got a few good snaps - travelled in the luggage compt since we had bags - the compartment was absolutely empty after Park.

Went to the place I had to visit and passed Perambur by bus - Perambur was indeed a huge place with a sprawling complex housing the ICF - Integral Coach Factory.