#TRAINCYCLOPEDIA
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2201/12202 Lokamanya Tilak Ter. Kochuveli GaribRath Express.
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ETYMOLOGY:...
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Garibrath Trains a brain child of the former railway minister Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav, aims at providing easy connectivity to the regions at speeds faster than normal Superfast trains and with full AC accomodation at very subsidized rates affordable to the poor people. The name Garib rath literally translates as Poor Mans Chariot. Fares are just the 2/3rd of the fare in normal AC coaches. Passengers are not provided any extra comforts like bedding and food. The trains are fit for 130 kmph which is the same speed as the rajdhani express trains. Passengers often complain about the lack of space and congestion.
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HISTORY:
The sector between Mumbai and Kerala witnessed tremendous increment in the traffic after the Konkan Railways was developed. The was a need for another connectivity to Kerala from Mumbai. Hence the Garibrath train from LTT in Mumbai to Kochuveli in Kerala was announced. After 10 long years a train was put to Kerala from Mumbai on a regular basis. The train had its maiden journey on Thursday Jan 31 2008 from the Kochuveli Terminus. The train departs from Mumbai on Mondays and Fridays at 16.55 and arrives at KCVL the next day at 20.30. The train departs from KCVL on Sunday and Thursday at 08.50 and reaches Mumbai LTT at 11.45 the next day averaging about 57 kmph .
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DESCRIPTION:
The train is maintained by the Southern Railway. The trains base station is Kochuveli Terminus. The train offers 2 classes of accomodation AC 3 Tier sleeper Economy and the AC Chair car. The rake consists of 12 AC economy compartments and 2 AC chair car and 2 Generator vans. The train is a hugely popular one . The train is one of the first trains to hit WL. The train passes through the Mumbai suburbs during the evening times.slowly the landscape changes to semi urban in the Panvel side and turns completely rural after ROHA. The train passes through the Konkan coast and the Malabar Region in Kerala which has Red laterite soil and the region is famous for its ALPHONSO mangoes and jackfruits which are endemic to only India and found nowhere else in the world. The train plies on the Western Ghats which is famous for its bio diversity and offers a scintillating view of the mountains and valleys. the route is exceptionally beautiful during monsoon. The train connects the Marathi,Konkani, Kannada, Tulu and Malayalam speaking regions. the train crosses the rivers of Patalganga, Vasishti, Savitri, Zuari and Mandovi, Sharavati, Netravati, Valappattanam, Kadalundi, Bharatapuzha, Periyar. The train is one of the fastest trains on the Konkan railway and chugs at a good 110-115 kmph on the Konkan railway. The train gets slowed down when it enters Kerala where the mps is just 80 kmph on the MAJN-SRR route. The train initially had 21 stoppages but the halts at Thane,Kasargod, Tirur, and Tiruvalla were added later due to public demand. The train is very famous for its dirty exteriors and is one of the dirtiest train. Also the seating comfort is pathetic in the AC chair car and it is recommended only for short journey of about 3-4 hrs. The train is stationed at KCVL for the full day of Wednesday but still SR is unable to maintain it well. The train does not get an electric loco unlike its slower sibling the Netravati exp which gets a WAP 4 loco in the SRR-TVC route.
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LOCO LINK:
The train was hauled by ALCOs from Golden Rock Shed during the inaugural days. Soon the link changed to WDGs from Erode and finally the link is a ERS baldie WDM3a. The baldie is continously alloted to this train from the past 3-4 years. Kalyan WDG3a and GOC WDG4s are the usual offlinks.
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RSA: There does not exist any Rake sharing arrangement for this train.
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VERDICT:
The train is a value for money alternative and a faster train from Mumbai to Kerala. The train is extremely dirty and unclean and this proves to be huge negative factor. speed is good and fares are very cheap. But as the saying goes " GOOD THINGS DONT COME CHEAP ".similarly the train is not that a great one to travel.
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RATINGS:
Speed: Excellent 9/10
Comfort: pathetic 2/10
Cleanliness: pathetic 1/10
Food: poor and lack of pantry 3/10
Punctuality : Good but unreliable during monsoon 8/10
Total score: 23/50