LUCKNOW TO DELHI

I needed to go to Delhi ASAP. There were no seats available in either Shatabdi or even the crawler Gomti Express. There was only the Double Decker [but that has bad timings from Lucknow plus doesn't run daily] available. Curiously, I tried for a weird alternative. Lucknow to Chandigarh is connected via 2 trains, one via the main line called Sadbhavna express [which runs with First AC as well] and two, this loop line train. I booked an RAC ticket for AC 2 Tier in this train for same...
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day that got confirmed to lower berth. As usual, somebody offered me to exchange my SL for an upper berth but this time, I firmly refused. Surprisingly, the curtains in 2A are a good way to control the coldness. Just shove them completely and cold becomes tolerable. I could either deboard at Moradabad or smaller Gajraula Jn. I chose the latter. From here, the route curves/diverges.

Now, I plunged from the luxury of 2A to err, standing in the vestibule of 2S of BE-NDLS ICE. The latter had a lot of crowd and multiple stoppages, especially post GZB. I took to standing in the AC coach vestibule around Sahibabad Jn.Around Tilak Bridge, I even went inside the ICF AC coach to see how it was. The cooling seemed decent though it was still rather full. Most of the crowd seemed fixed on destination as NDLS instead of tertiary stations. After standing for ~3 hours, I reached NDLS.