Hey guys, here is the final leg of my first major trip of 2019 – the return from Chennai to Mumbai by 12164 Chennai Dadar superfast. For the earlier phases (Mumbai-Chennai-Devakottai-Chennai) please refer to Part 1:
https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2019/04/14/a-racy-trip-down-south-part-1/ . I was quite excited; since ‘The Super’ is my all-time favourite train and I had not travelled in it since 1.5 years ago! On the day of the journey, I got up at around 04 30 using an alarm. After brushing my teeth, drinking a cup of coffee and having a bath; I took an Uber Go to reach MS about an hour prior to the Super’s departure.

The preferential treatment given to 22671 MS-MDU Tejas express was evident; going by the repeated announcements for the train to depart from Platform 2! 😀 56037 MS-PDY fast passenger was to depart from PF1 and 16176 KIK-MS Kamban express had arrived on PF4. 16180 MQ-MS Mannai express had arrived on P3 behind APU-fitted TNP WDG3A 14616R. The Super was berthed on PF8; which was a surprise to me, since I had grown accustomed to the train departing from PF7. The toilets were being cleaned. Meanwhile, 17644 COA-CGL Circar express pulled into PF9 at 06 17 (13 minutes before time! 😉 ); behind BZA WAP4 25033. There were ads on a few coaches; and two of the AC coaches were rather dull and dreary 😦 .

Coming back to my train, my coach B2 was of a 2012 make. Our electric loco till Wadi was AJJ WAP1 22022. An RPM WAP7 30409 came to a halt just behind Circar express. At 06 23, an announcement was made for 12634 CAPE-MS superfast to arrive on PF6. I had a trackside side upper berth; though facing towards MS. We departed right on the dot (06 45) with a long and melodious LT horn; followed by a short blast. Meanwhile, I chatted for a while with my co-passenger, a middle-aged Tamil gentleman; as I remember vaguely, he was working in a Reliance company (but in the manufacturing sector) in Navi Mumbai and had come to Chennai to see his son and the rest of his family – they all eventually planned to shift to Mumbai and stay with him.

We crossed a slightly early 17652 KCG-CGL express at MSB at 07 02. There was a big curve to the left at RPM; thus I could see our loco! The station had a PSR of 25 kmph; then came the huge ELS on the left. This was followed by another PSR of 30 kmph. We overtook a petrol tanker train hauled by ACD-fitted TNP WDM3A 14139R. Washermenpet followed immediately afterwards. Meanwhile, my ticket was checked. I spotted boys playing football at a ground; then there was yet another PSR of 30 kmph. We joined the mainline to AJJ at 07 14; nearly half an hour after our departure from MS. An EMU overtook us; but we had the last laugh at VPY. After the slow run till then, we finally accelerated to a decent speed and galloped through PER; with the HT horn being blown often. Then we dropped our pace again, before accelerating through PEW.

Soon we were ripping at MPS, accompanied by continuous HT and LT honking and mild flat wheel sounds; as Villivakkam, Korattur, Pattaravakkam and Ambattur flew past us. We also overtook 2 EMUs on the way. To my surprise, there was a new SECR DEMU on one of the lines branching to the left at Villivakkam. We slowed down at Annanur home signal; there was a Bombardier rake in the car shed! :O 66016 AJJ-MSB Fast MEMU crossed us before Avadi. Again, I saw a DEMU in the distant left! There was a lake full of moss on the immediate left. An LHB rake crossed us before Hindu College at 07 34 (probably a late running 12624 TVC-MAS Mail), followed by another moss-filled lake.

We slowed down to a crawl and switched to the slow line! :O I again saw boys playing football nearby; before Nelimicherry. Then we accelerated to MPS with short HT bursts and maintained that till Tiruvallur home. In between, we crossed a BOXN freight headed by a WAG7 at Tiruninravur; followed by boys playing cricket at a ground, a cemetery before Putlur and yet another moss-filled lake. Another LHB rake ripped past us; probably 12686 MAQ-MAS superfast. There was a Plasser machine on a siding to the left at Tiruvallur. I had an Upma and a Vada for breakfast. We switched back to the fast lines and blasted all the way to Puliyamangalam home, crossing 66022 AJJ-MAS MEMU before SPAM.

16090 Tirupattur Chennai Yelagiri express crossed us with RPM WAP7 30379, before we crawled through AJJ home and almost came to a stop – the LP twice blew a long LT blast followed by a short one! There was a beautiful lake on the right, before we made an unscheduled halt lasting a minute at the junction (on PF5). I noticed a PSR of 30 kmph on the KPD loop. To my surprise, there was an EMU to Avadi on PF4! There was also a DEMU in the distant right. 66018 VLR-MSB MEMU arrived on PF3. I also spotted another Bombardier rake on the north-side PF1! Then came the biggest surprise of all. As we were slowly crawling out of the station, a 1.5 hours late running 12007 MAS-MYS Shatabdi overtook us at a good speed! 2 of the coaches were covered in black vinyl wrappings! :O The loco was an HOG RPM WAP7 30597 – this had powered my 12632 TEN-MS Nellai express last November 🙂 .

All this excitement unfortunately resulted in draining out my energy (and I had not had a good sleep at home!); thus I clambered up my SUB to catch up on some sleep. Managed to get a really good sleep; was woken up as we had our first scheduled stop at RU – a massive crowd (mostly Maharashtrians) boarded and soon the coach was not only full; it felt alive for the first time! 😀 I dropped back to sleep; finally climbing down from my SUB after some time. Two men from the adjacent coach B3 wanted to join their family here and so requested me for a seat exchange; my aforementioned co-passenger was sleeping on his side lower berth. I agreed to shift to B3 (since that seat – 64 – was also an SUB!) and moved there with my luggage. However, there was a complication; the concerned side bay was occupied by the passenger in the SLB as well as an RAC passenger! Thus, I had to instead share a seat with the passenger in the adjacent side bay (the alternative involved sitting on my SUB; which of course wasn’t a palatable option for a railfan!). Look how a passenger with a confirmed ticket (but SUB) has to adjust for the sake of an RAC passenger! 😛

Interestingly, my current co-passenger was also a Tamil gentleman; though younger than my erstwhile co-passenger in B2, serving in the Army and posted at Devlali near Nasik. We departed Koduru at 10 28, 33 mins late; and ripped through scenery such as plantains, coconut and palm trees – with mountains towering over us in the distant right. The acceleration of our WAP1 was superb, as we sped through more rural scenery in the form of neem trees, neat rows of plants and tall bushes and shrubs; before skipping Pullampet at MPS. Pulled into Razampeta at 11 03, 39 mins late. Now my co-passenger wanted to sleep on his SLB; so I had no choice but to walk quite a few rows and request a gentleman in the side bay to share his seat with me; stating that my seat had been occupied by an RAC passenger. He was part of a group of North Indian/Hindi-speaking men (mostly friends/acquaintances) who occupied the entire row; to their credit, they agreed to my request 🙂 . Interestingly, my earlier co-passenger from B2 greeted me from the adjacent bay; where he sat after having exchanged his original seat as well! Looked like it was raining seat exchanges! 😛

Meanwhile, we crossed a dry river with a sand bed as well as bushes and palm trees; before crawling through the loop line at Nandalur  (in typical SCR style! 😛 ) and overtaking a BCNA rake headed by ED WAG7 28611.  The mountains continued to give us company as we thundered through Mantampalle. Later I saw a lot of buffaloes drinking water from a small pond. Then there were a few stagnant ponds with a lot of thorns. The freight action continued, as we overtook a BOXN freight hauled by twin WAG7s (leading – 24656 of ED) at Ontimitta. Montfort School and a road on the left indicated the arrival of Kadapa. Pulled into the station at 11 56 (43 mins late), coming to a halt on the mainline platform. We had covered the last 33 km (from Mantampalle) in 27 mins at 73.33 kmph and had still managed to lose a few minutes; indicating the tight schedule! 😉 On the left was the rake of the recently extended 17487/88 TPTY-VSKP Tirumala express; with an offlink ET WAP4 22629.

Now there was an intense (at times, a bit heated too!) political discussion going on between the north Indian/Hindi-speaking men in the main bay (adjacent to my present side bay). Besides, in the adjacent bay; a baby was continuously crying loudly while his mother tried to calm him with soothing words – but to no avail! Now, I don’t have anything against babies at all; but any asymmetric sound (as opposed to rhythmic sounds like music, the flow of a river, the rotation of the blades of a fan, cicadas whistling, clickety clack track sounds etc. 😛 ) doesn’t go well with my ears or my mind in general – probably one of the quirks of my condition of Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of Autism), even though it is mild. So, I stuffed my fingers in my ears for a while; till the baby had calmed down a bit.

Meanwhile, we overtook another BOXN rake led by a WAG9 through the loop line at Krishnapuram. I saw that our coach was of a 2008 make and had plug points in all bays as well as biotoilets. Now that the baby’s wailing had subsided somewhat, I tried to block out the political discussion (since I didn’t subscribe to most of the men’s views! 😛 ) by listening to some music on Youtube through my earphones; it worked only for a brief while – since the mobile data was quite weak and thus there were quite a few times when the song would stop in between; while buffering would be going on. Hence, I had no option but to just try and ignore the discussion; while focussing on the scenes outside the window. The freight action continued to dominate; as we crossed a twin WAG7-headed freight after Kamalapuram. Then there was a factory in the far left, as well as small water birds in a stagnant pond.

We overtook a close to 4 hours late running 57274 TPTY-UBL passenger (hauled by GTL WDG3A 14938) at Yerragudipad at MPS. I don’t understand how a passenger train can run so late! We pulled into Yerraguntla (where the loop speed was only 15 kmph) at 12 39, 50 mins late. As we departed after a stop of 2 mins, 19420 ADI-MAS express arrived at the same time behind HOG LGD WAP7i 30727 – the train was 2 hrs 13 mins late! I wonder what was going on; with all these delays! :O Anyway, we soon passed a beautiful lake full of clear blue water (rich in minerals! 🙂 ), amidst towering mounds of stone waste! There was a line branching off sharply to a huge factory in the left; at Kalamalla. The contrasting scenery continued, as I saw a plateau in the far left. Meanwhile, I had a Veg. Thali for lunch: 3 chapattis and jeera rice with Aloo subzi, Dal and paneer mutter as side dishes; plus the sweet soan papdi. On the whole, it was a very heavy but tasty lunch; the sweet was just ok though – definitely not the regular soan papdi standard!

We had a watering halt of 10 mins at Kondapuram. As we accelerated after departing, we overtook a trailer truck on the road; before speeding through a lot of scenery in the form of coconut trees, green fields and neat rows of small trees. Crossed yet another BOXN freight headed by a WAG7 at MPS; before Regadipalli. Due to the technical stop at Kondapuram, we lost some more time; thus reaching Tadipatri at 13 46, 57 mins late. As we departed after a halt of 2 mins, I had to answer the call of nature. While doing so, I noticed that the commode seat in the Western toilet at the front of our coach was broken! What’s the use of producing biotoilets if things like this continue to happen? 😦 By the way, I was also feeling quite sleepy after the heavy lunch. My co-passenger noticed this and suggested that I could sleep on the SUB; while I hesitated, saying that it was not mine; he assured me that I could sleep there till someone came and claimed it.  So I gratefully climbed up the SUB and had a really good sleep of more than an hour.

After I woke up, I saw that the SLB was occupied by 2 people; and anyway it was not mine to start with! 😛 So I headed back to the army gentleman’s SLB (adjacent to my seat occupied by the RAC guy); he was thankfully wide awake and thus agreed to share his seat once more 🙂 . Meanwhile, I saw that we were speeding somewhere after GY; overtaking vehicles on the road. Soon we slowed down to a crawl on the approach to GTL; I saw a few pigs near some sewage and a PSR of 10 kmph on the leftmost line. A freight led by KZJ WDG4 12320 in the distant left departed towards GY. We came to a halt on PF5 at 15 11, 51 mins late. The station was full of activity as ever and quite a few people deboarded. On PF4 was 71302 DEMU to Gulbarga. A BOXN rake on the right departed ahead of us.  A couple of blue BKSC WAG7s 28120 and 27538 on a siding in the left moved towards Adoni.

We departed after a stop of 16 mins. There were a couple of UBL EMDs – WDG4 12086 (in WDG4G ‘Roza’ livery; a first-time spotting for me! 🙂 ) and WDG4D 70508 on a siding in the distant right. I spotted the ETS in the far left and a HP plant on the immediate left. We picked up speed after crossing the line to Bellary and the GTL bypass line from Bellary. After crossing a canal, we were soon ripping at MPS. After Nemakallu, windmills flew past us in the far left. The freight action continued inexorably as we overtook a BCNA rake headed by twin maroon brown WAG5s at Molagavalli. The scenery was of a garden variety as ever, with many bushes, shrubs, trees here and there and cows and goats grazing; only a few desert plants stood out. We had an unscheduled halt at Nagarur on the mainline; against the run of play after a blazing run of 43 km in 33 mins at 78.18 kmph! I noticed a Honda Activa (for the physically challenged) on the left platform! :O

We departed after 5 mins; there was a PSR of 15 kmph on the left. Because of this stop; we were 1 hr 6 mins late when we pulled into the leftmost platform of Adoni; there was a BCNHL rake on the freight loop. 11027 Mumbai Chennai Mail arrived 2 mins before time; on the rightmost platform. We departed after a halt of 3 mins. As we picked up speed, we overtook a bike and a truck with a crane on the road parallel to us. Then we passed a few factories and overtook another bike and a share-cab before skipping Isivi at MPS. Huts and cottages flew past us and the soil changed from black to reddish brown. This was followed by some palm trees and a temple; before we blasted through Kupgal.

There was more variety in the scenery now; with many tall and thin trees, thorny bushes, palm and coconut trees, cows grazing, women working in corn and maize fields, boys playing cricket, hay huts and a tractor. As ever, the man-made rocky hills dominated the distant background. This was followed by a square pond (for the purpose of irrigation) before we ripped through Irananagallu. Soon we pulled into the mainline platform of Manthralayam Road and came to a stop at 16 47; 59 mins late. We had made up some time by virtue of covering the last 42 km in 29 mins at 86.9 kmph 🙂 . There were many goats grazing on the leftmost track! :O We left after a halt of only 3 mins; since the station no longer served as a watering stop. The reason for this became clear as we then crossed the mostly dry Tungabhadra river (except for a few patches of deep but stagnant water; there were also a few water birds!).

Hanumapura was skipped immediately after; Matmari then followed at MPS. There were eucalyptus and neem trees, thatched huts and hay scattered everywhere before the ghost station of Marichethal. We continued to speed through more countryside scenery (stacks of hay loaded on 2 bullocks, herds of goats, lambs and sheep, a tractor-truck, farmers at work, red chillies stacked up, a dry canal, a water tank and a pond full of green water); accompanied by HT honking all the way. The appearance of an Indian Oil Plant indicated the arrival of Raichur; we pulled into PF2 (on the mainline) at 17 11, 43 mins late; having gained some more time due to another raging run – 28 km in 21 mins at 80 kmph 🙂 . There was a PSR of 15 kmph on the leftmost line and a BOXN freight on the immediate left; headed by KZJ WDG4s 12615 and 12635. The station was packed to a certain extent.

We departed after a stop of 2 mins. As we accelerated, we passed Smt Ramabai Nandapur Auditorium, followed by some trash, a factory and a pond. After Yermaras, there were 2 more ponds (one of them stagnant) as well as a mosque, a road, a few huts and cottages, a pipeline and some bushes and shrubs. After Chiksugur, there was one more man-made pond as well as a few thorny trees and coconut groves; I was surprised to observe all this natural scenery in an industrial belt. We then slowed down for the PSR over the Krishna river bridge; only to then accelerate quickly and skip the station at MPS. There were a few desert plants as well as a banyan tree on which clothes were hung out to dry. After another slowdown for a TSR, we blasted through Chegunta. Again I noticed clothes hung out to dry in the hot weather; this time they were hanging from short poles, in the form of a rectangle.

Interestingly, the soil was now a mixture of black and sandy hues. There were also pits and mounds of mud; apart from some drab scenery in the form of bushes and shrubs, and trees here and there. We then pulled into PF2 of Saidapur (again on the mainline!) at 17 46, only 27 mins late now; the result of yet another quick-fire run – covering 45 km in 33 mins at 81.82 kmph 🙂 . Our under-rated WAP1 was slowly edging us closer to the clock! Apart from a cluster of eucalyptus trees, the scenery continued to be drab; as we then ripped through Lingiri. Now there was some variety; in the form of a herd of cows grazing, man-made ponds, cranes and bulldozers, a bullock cart, paddy fields, hay stacks, coconut groves and a stagnant pond where people were fishing. A truck on the road raised a lot of dust.

We zoomed into Yadgir at 18 06, 17 mins late; having gained more than 10 mins thanks to another rollicking run – 23 km in 18 mins at 76.67 kmph 🙂 . We departed after a halt of 3 mins; with our WAP1 continuing to release its new-found energy. We sped through ponds (one of them covered in moss), mounds of mud, tall bushes and shrubs, hay stacks and huts and cottages; before skipping Thangundi at MPS. In the backdrop of the setting sun, we overtook a bike on an unmetalled road and zipped through Nalwar. Then we overtook another bike, a share-auto and a tractor-truck carrying stone blocks. The sight of a few pigs and trash being burnt near huts and cottages indicated that Wadi was approaching. As we slowed down to a crawl and crossed over the points, I saw LGD WAP4 22355 on the left.

We pulled into the junction at 18 41, 24 mins before time; thanks to slack of 1 hr 15 mins given for a distance of 39 km from Yadgir! 😛 We had covered the same distance in 32 mins; at an average speed of 73.13 kmph. More importantly, we had covered the last 228 km from GTL in 3 hrs 14 mins at 70.52 kmph; including the stops at Adoni, MALM, Raichur, Saidapur and Yadgir; as well as the unscheduled halt at Nagarur! If you additionally take into account the crawl while exiting GTL and entering Wadi; this was a fantastic run by all accounts – the WAP1 had once again shown why it should never be underestimated; no matter how old it might be 🙂 . Meanwhile, quite a few people got down here. 11044 MDU-LTT express was waiting on our immediate right; but the indicators were still showing 16382 CAPE-CSMT express, though that train was supposed to have left about an hour ago! :O 11044 departed at 18 46 (a minute late); with a long blast of the HT horn (pure EMD), followed by a short one – the loco was KYN WDP4D 40346. A few people ran and boarded the exiting train at the eleventh hour! 😛

Meanwhile, our WAP1 finally came off; having performed its duties with aplomb. While we waited for a diesel engine to take over, I spotted Pune WDP4D 40585 in the far right; as well as twin GTL WDG3As (leading – 13214) leaving with a container freight in the opposite direction. 57133 BJP-RC passenger pulled into a platform in the distant right; hauled by Pune WDG4 12381. Then our diesel beast (KYN WDP4D 40347) was coupled; a lot of people gathered to watch the coupling operation! 😉 The loco had pure EMD horns (HT as well as LT). We finally left after a long stop of 29 mins. My co-passenger (the young army gentleman) asked me if the train would make up time; since it was late. I informed him that we were on time now and in fact we were well ahead of time at Wadi! He was astonished; so I had to explain about the slack time.

As we slowly crossed over the points, youngsters riding triples on a bike overtook us! 😛 However, they were soon outpaced thanks to the superb pick-up of our WDP4D. We slowed down a bit before again picking up speed and crossing the Kagini river at MPS; accompanied by mild flat wheel sounds and continuous LT honking. At Shahabad, we met the Utkrisht 11301 CSMT-SBC Udyan express led by its customary EMD. As we departed after a halt of just a minute, I noticed the crescent moon; it made for a beautiful sight, with our snake-like train in the backdrop 😀 . Meanwhile, dinner was served – 3 chapattis with paneer mutter; I obviously didn’t want to have the same Veg. Thali again, hence chose a lighter option. My co-passenger shared me half of his sweet (he had opted for the Thali).

We pulled into Gulbarga at 19 47, 2 mins before time; thanks to a fast run of 26 km in 22 mins at 70.91 kmph 🙂 . There was a BOBYN rake on the left and a BOXN rake in the distant right. We left after a stop of 7 mins; with the LP blowing a short blast of the HT horn, followed by a long and short blast of the LT horn. Now that we had entered single line territory (Gulbarga-Boroti is 63 km of single track), there was a scissor crossing at Bablad with a BCNHL freight headed by twin WDG4s. I was impressed by the fact that the halt on the whole took only 8 minutes of our time. The speed on the platform loop was 15 kmph; while the speed on the scissor loop was just 10 kmph. The mainline had an MPS of 105 kmph (95 kmph within the station limits).

In the meantime, the Tamil guys on the side bay next to us (including the RAC passenger) chatted with me for a while; regarding my career as a HR (specifically Recruiter) – I was flattered by their interest.  They were also curious about my taking photos and videos; I told them about my passion for railfanning, separate from my profession as a HR. We had another crossing at Gaudgaon; this time with 11311 Hassan Solapur express, hauled by a UBL WDP4. The train crossed us at a sedate pace, since the signal on the mainline was amber; rather than green. The whole process was again swift; consuming only 5 mins 🙂 . I retired to my rightful SUB (just above the SLB occupied by the Tamil men); finally having decided to call it a day. However, the railfan in me refused to sleep 😛 ; we made another unscheduled stop at Dudhani – this time on the mainline. 17308 BGK-MYS Basava express departed (after a scheduled halt) with a long horn; followed by 2 short blasts. After 2 mins, we left with a long blast of the LT horn; followed by a short one.

One thing I failed to understand is why were we made to stop; given we were on the mainline and Basava on the loop? Also, this is not the first time I have experienced such a phenomenon while travelling by 12164; Basava seems to be a kind of nemesis for this train! 😛 Anyway, it did not take long for me to fall asleep after all this action! I had a decent sleep on the whole; except for waking up a few times to answer the call of nature. Couldn’t stay awake for the loco change at Pune (to a KYN WCAM2/3) though; when I finally clambered down from my berth, we were somewhere between KJT and KYN. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, before parking myself near the door with my luggage. We were having a blow-hot blow-cold run; alternating between ripping at MPS and crawling. A WAP7-headed LHB rake crossed us at 05 12; probably 12297 Ahmedabad Pune Duronto. We then blasted through Badlapur, accompanied by melodious twin tones of the WCAMx leading us.

There was an unscheduled stop at Vithalwadi for half a minute; during which 22944 Indore Pune superfast crossed us behind BRC WAP4E 22704. As we neared KYN home signal, I turned on my Samsung J2 smartphone’s mobile data and tried to open the Whatsapp; so that I could message my family after getting down at KYN. However, the app caused the phone to hang; so that I was forced to open the instrument, take the battery out and insert it again – since I couldn’t even switch off or restart the system! In the process, my memory card fell somewhere and I didn’t even notice until after I reached home! Thus all my photos and videos (and quite a few apps!) were gone, just like that! 😦 To add insult to injury, my phone battery nearly conked out (rather predictably!) and I had to put it on charge (using my powerbank) till I got home.

After the phone fiasco, I was relieved when we entered PF6 of KYN at 05 42, 45 mins late! I don’t know exactly where we lost so much time; but I’ve been noticing (while tracking the train at https://etrain.info/in ) that 12164 always loses a significant amount of time between Pune and Dadar (in an FEDL section!) after reaching Pune on time or before time (mostly the latter!); and thus always ends up reaching Dadar late by half an hour on an average! :O Anyway, 12116 Solapur Mumbai Siddheshwar express pulled into PF7 a mere 4 mins after the Super’s arrival; behind Pune WDP4D 40579. The Super departed just as Siddheshwar arrived. My co-passenger (the army gentleman) had also deboarded here along with me; he was to take 17617 Mumbai Nanded Tapovan express in order to reach Devlali. He told me that the train would come on PF4; I replied that it would be either PF4 or 5.

After bidding my acquaintance goodbye, I headed off to one of the FOBs in order to board an EMU to Vikhroli. 12106 Gondia Mumbai Vidarbha express pulled into PF5 with its usual WAP7; at 05 53, 13 mins late. The EMU which I boarded was damn crowded (I was in a 2^nd class coach, obviously!) despite the early hour! In spite of my fatigue; as a railfan, I couldn’t help observing all the early morning action! 😛 12051 DR-MAO Jan Shatabdi passed us at Diva with its customary EMD. We overtook Vidarbha at Thane; here I saw that the loco was Ajni WAP7 30310. 22105 Mumbai Pune Indrayani express then passed us behind a blue-white ALCO. Vidarbha got its revenge at Mulund; thundering past us at MPS, never to be seen again! We crossed an LHB rake hauled by a WAP7 before Bhandup; probably the newly converted 12859 Mumbai Howrah Gitanjali express. I took an auto from Vikhroli to reach home by around 7 am; thus bringing a giant rollercoaster ride to an end! Thank you so much for being with me throughout! 🙂

LEGEND

Technical Abbreviations

• HT – High Tone
• LT – Low Tone
• APU – Auxiliary Power Unit (specifically for charging the loco batteries when it is idle)
• ELS – Electric Loco Shed
• PSR – Permanent Speed Restriction
• ACD – Anti-Collision Device
• MPS – Maximum Permissible Speed
• EMU – Electric Multiple Unit (or electric local/suburban train)
• DEMU – Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (or self-propelled diesel trainset)
• MEMU – Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (or narrower local with vestibules)
• LHB – Linke-Hofmann-Busch (a modern Swiss company which manufactures coaches with high speed capability and anti-climb safety features; used in Rajdhanis, Shatabdis , and many Durontos and AC expresses)
• LP – Loco Pilot
• HOG – Head-On Generation (power generated from the engine transferred to the coaches through a cable)
• SCR – South Central Railway
• SECR – South East Central Railway
• ETS – Electric Loco Trip Shed
• TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction
• EMD – Electro-motive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)
• FEDL – Fully Electrified Double Line
• FOB – Foot Overbridge
• ALCO – American Locomotive Company (and an old class of diesel engines of the 1960s)

Station Codes

MQ – Mannargudi

PDY – Puducheri

KIK  – Karaikal

TNP – Tondiarpet

COA – Kakinada Port

CGL – Chengalpattu

BZA – Vijaywada

AJJ – Arakkonam Junction

RPM – Royapuram

KCG – Kacheguda

MSB – Chennai Beach

VPY – Vyasarpadi Jeeva

PER – Perambur

PEW – Perambur Locomotive Works

TVC – Trivandrum Central

MAS – Chennai Central

MAQ – Mangalore Central

SPAM – Senji Panambakkam

KPD – Katpadi

VLR – Vellore Cantonment

MYS – Mysore

TEN – Tirunelveli

RU – Renigunta

ED – Erode

TPTY – Tirupati

VSKP – Visakhapatnam

ET – Itarsi

MS – Chennai Egmore

DR – Dadar (Central)

UBL – Hubli

GTL – Guntakal

ADI – Ahmedabad

LGD – Lallaguda

KZJ – Kazipet

GY – Gooty

BKSC – Bokaro Steel City

MALM – Manthralayam Road

MDU – Madurai

LTT – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (Kurla Terminus)

CAPE – Kanniyakumari

CSMT – Mumbai CST

KYN – Kalyan

BJP – Bijapur

RC – Raichur

SBC – KSR Bengaluru (Bangalore City/Majestic)

UBL – Hubli

BGK – Bagalkot

KJT – Karjat

BRC – Vadodara

MAO – Madgaon