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Did you see this video of the Journey by the Chalukya Express from Dadar to Yeshvantpur?
Check it out here -
click hereA couple of days before that Journey, I was supposed to board the 16515 Yeshvantpur Karwar Intercity Express to ride through the Shiradi Ghats to Mangaluru. From there, a Konkan voyage would by the Netravati Express would have taken me to Panvel, and finally the Pragati Express to Pune. Well, initially, this was the plan, but later on; a sharp spell of intense rains drowned many parts of Konkan Railways & also Mangaluru City. Fearing that I might get stranded somewhere in the middle of my Journey; with nowhere to go, I re planned my Journey, by taking a rather straight route to Pune, the first part of which involved a ride in the Janshatabdi express from Bengaluru to Hubballi.
This straight route plan ensured that I reached on the morning of May 31; instead of the evening, as per the previous plan. I hired a cab in the wee hours of May 30, and landed at KSR Bengaluru at 05:15 hrs, with my Janshatabdi scheduled to depart at 06:00 hrs. KJM WDM3A 16862R which was to haul my train that day, also shunted in the rake. The coach was neat and clean, and my Journey began on the dot at 06:00 hrs. After a smooth skip of Malleswaram, we reached our first halt - Yeshvantpur Jn. Just a couple of minutes later, we were on our way, dashing towards the next halt - Tumkur, where we spotted the Fast Passenger to Bengaluru & also waited for the crossing of the Arsikere Bengaluru Passenger.
The Janshatabdi then hurried through the Single line section towards Arsikere; and barring a loop line skip at Ammasandra and a few speed restrictions, we ran pretty much uninterrupted. Reaching Arsikere, we encountered the Shivamogga Bengaluru Intercity led by UBL WDP4B. After missing the Thatte Idlies at Tumkur, I made sure to grab a plate of crispy vadas at Arsikere. Then it was a brisk run up to Birur, where we crossed the Talguppa Mysuru Passenger led by a KJM WDP4. At Birur, the lines to Shivamogga bifurcated from the Hubballi bound lines.
The brisk run continued up to Chikjajur Jn.; in a small confusion I missed the Palace Queen Humsafar Express crossing. Following this, the Siddhaganga Intercity crossed at Shivani. Post Chikjajur, it was single line all the way up to Hubballi Jn. At Davangere we met the Vishwamanava Express bound for Mysuru. In the brief 2 mins, I searched for the famous Benne Masala Dosa, but couldn't find any vendor near my coach. After Harihar, we crossed the Tungabhadra River. The soil colour slowly changed to Black and the sun finally started burning down upon us. As the temperature soared, we steadily made our way to Hubballi.
After overtaking the Manuguru Kolhapur Express at Hubballi outer, we made our way into pf1, right on time, meeting the Amaravati Express to Vijayawada on pf2. It was a whirlwind of a Journey, and the run was just brilliant. I would highly recommend this train for anyone who wants a brisk run from Bengaluru to Hubballi.
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Crossings featured in this video: -
20652 Shivamogga Town Bengaluru Intercity
56275 Talguppa Mysuru Passenger (wrongly mentioned as Shivamogga Mysuru Passenger in video)
12726 Siddhaganga Intercity Express
17325 Vishwamanava Express
Also includes spotting of 11303 Manuguru Kolhapur Express & the 17226 Hubballi Vijayawada Amaravati Express.
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Thanks for watching folks. Let me know of any errors in the video or if you have any suggestions for me. Please put them down in the comments section.
