The Legend- Fourteen Thousand Nine!

We come across many things in life, which stay connected with us for long, for craziest of the reasons. I have many such things, to which I’m connected to, and some of them are the ones which one couldn’t even imagine. I’d describe one such beautiful thing to which I’m connected to.

Coming to the point, I love trains. More so, some particular rolling stock. I’ve experienced some breathtaking moments and heartbreaks.

As they tell, breathtaking moments are not usually long lived, but the heartbreaks are. I’ve lived some worst heartbreaks, three of them to be precise, and they crippled me. One after another, life kept throwing beamers at me. I’d say, if there is a worst decade that I would probably see ever in my life, it would be this one we’re presently in (2010-2019).

Railway is something that helped me organize my life, that gave me the confidence through these rough patches. I always believed machines had life. And the way these not so huge machines took on the challenges that were thrown by mother nature, I got the hope that I could survive at the worst conditions. And no sooner I had those thoughts, I faced the second of the three. My love for machines is something I realized when I was literally sad over a locomotive that was destroyed by an angry mob, sometime in early 2016.

I was not mature enough to take on those worst heartbreaks that I was referring to, when they first started to flow, and later on, by the time last one came, I understood the importance of loss of a valuable relationship/something.

I’ve been someone who liked to have someone in my life to share it with me, however I got rejected multiple times, for obvious reasons of immaturity. And finally, when I found someone, it was not practical. Now, I’m in search of something that is undefined, and probably that is something which I’m not sure of. In this phase, railway and the beautiful rolling stock have come to the rescue one again. This one, though is known to be a minor fix, still is working out.

This was first brought into my attention by my dear friend, AB. For those of you who don’t know, I photograph trains. This was a rare rolling stock, and was often referred as a precious capture. There were days when you could see four of them with a single train, if you were at the right spot in the right time, however, with the way things have changed, or rather, are changing, the kind of rolling stock that I’m describing is something that came down to two when it first held my attention.

That particular click triggered one more person, SKS, and almost a decade after he left train photography, he picked up his camera and pulled out some best clicks that I ever came across. Mesmerized by his craze, it grabbed more of my attention, and that is when I realized the importance of the wonderful machine. It was something which didn’t grab my attention, purely because of my dedication towards the other kinds, however once I understood how precious it was, it became one of my top priorities.

Two of them were doing absolutely fine we were having plans of chasing them at our leisure, however one of them had to undergo change earlier than expected, due to a mishap. This meant there was only one left, and it remained super special and our utmost priority, at the diminishing bandwidth we had.

Personally, I had very little bandwidth and I missed capturing the “Legend” (let’s call it the Legend starting now) numerous times. I felt sad, and yes, that hope of capturing it for one final time in the avatar is was, before the railways changed its appearance and features. Even though I tried doing it, it never happened.

As it was portrayed in the movie “Om Shanti Om,”  it is told that “Agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to puri kayanat usey tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai,” which translates to wonderful quote in the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, “When you desire something badly enough, the entire universe conspires to give it to you,” (I always believed that it is something that is like a fairy tale and something that doesn’t happen in reality), life gave me a surprise, on a lazy Summer Sunday, when finally I was barely up and the sun was at his prime in my region.

I was awaiting for the confirmation of a similar looking rolling stock, and when someone confirmed that it was the legend himself, I extend my plan to go to a better place. On my way to that place, what used to be a crowded place, was barely filled with people. The places where I used to wait for tens of minutes with innumerable other vehicles, holding my handle/steering, waiting the signal to show up green, I found myself alone. Reason- heat.

Finally I reach the spot, and I aim my camera towards the direction from which the legend is supposed to show up. I imagine the legend in the frame and was assuming on how an ideal shot would look like.

There were two trains that were supposed to come before the legend, thanks to the particular train the legend was assigned to, and the Special treatment it received, and from the other side, while I was not hoping to capture any train, I got to capture 4 of them.

Finally, the two trains that were supposed to be in front of the legend, the mighty Duronto bound for Capital, for which I’ve waited numerous hours at similar conditions few years ago, and the Golconda Express, bound for Guntur, with a surprising loco from Kolkata, pass by. This means, in all probabilities, the legend was all set to show up.

I had captured this legend earlier, and I was not so tensed back then. Probably because I never realized that my life is going to be streamlined in such a way that the moment I was living in would be so precious.

It was 46 degrees on a Summer afternoon. I could have been in the comforts of a 17 degree cool room, or sit in a movie hall watching Iron Man say “And I am Iron Man” before snapping the fingers, thereby destroying Thanos. Yet, I find myself shy away from a garbage bin, under the tremendous heat, waiting for legend to show up. It’s the moments like these, which make life worth living.

I see the smoke from far, which means the legend is making his way. I pray to god one last time- “Please no train from the opposite side blocking the view.”

I clutch my camera, and I find my palms are wet.

I wish someone could calculate my blood pressure at that time. I’m sure it would have touched all-time high.

The legend shows up. My heart skips a beat. Eyelids wide open.

“Focus”- I tell myself.

The beauty of the legend is mesmerizing. Even after 26+ years, the rock solid masculine looks of the legend never fade away. On top of it the appearance- inarguably the best livery a railway engine could ever don. Orange-Blue with yellow stripe. The Guththi WDM3A Baldie #14009 is in his full flow.

My fingers are in autopilot mode- they start clicking the pictures- before the one final picture that I was dreaming off.

I held on for a moment, and finally when the moment was right- and

Click!

And right after the shutter sound, the proud smile that I carried, fulfilling nothing less than a beautiful dream.

Here is the image that I shot!

Dedicating this to my dear friend, SKS, who is on the other side of the planet.

Failure.

I'm a failure. I love being one because everytime I fail, I learn.l something new.

I failed numerous times. There are somethings which I left.

Yes, I have my weaknesses and I'm proud about them.

There are numerous things I learnt only after failing and I bet one can never learn without failing.

There are some things which I choose over a better future. I don't regret. Because those things matter to me, they give me bloody satisfaction when I sleep, that yes I've prioritised my life properly.

I've spoken to people about how better my life could be, and given the way I just speak but never implement things, people think I'm just a person who talks.

There's something people don't realize.

I struggle in my daily life. I learn things in a very hard way. And when I implement the things I learnt in a hard way and when I succeed, the satisfaction I get is enormous.

I may be written off as a failure today because that is what I am. I may be rejected by 10,000 people. But I'm hopeful of a tomorrow, when I'll see myself successful, and a10,001st person accepting me.

Uncertanity.

Life is full of uncertanities.

I like someone. I'm told by my intuition that they is no longer available, and I'm unable to accept the fact. Period.

It's very difficult for us to accept the things, but yes, life gets terrible after we try to accept things.

As I just was getting the feels of them being taken away, but I neither put those feelings in my thoughts nor wrote them down anywhere, so when I just wrote that down, reality stuck real bad.

They are successful. I'm not.

I am kind of successful in the scope I had, but there's a constant question that keeps poking me- what kind of Justice is this?

I lost some people in my life, and I regret things which I always would have done if they were here today.

I so wish I could tell the one whom I like what I want to tell and do something else which they told me to do, but I fear the social status. I fear the end of association with them, as a close.. err.. good.. err.. long lost best friend.

Forget all these, I'm scared to listen on their availability. Because the pain I'd get is terrible. Not like two lovers getting separated due to mere difference of opinion, but it's more like being separated due to something more cruel. Death. Yes, you read it right. That is how scared I am when it comes to expressing my feelings.

10 years is not a small time period. We've had good times, bad times, we told ourselves sorries, thank yous, wept each other's tears, helped each other, we saw both of us graduate, we saw both of us get jobs, we saw each other undergoing some terrible times and what not. (My heart suddenly pumped faster while I was writing these lines, felt so good.)

Why is the society so unfair?

Why is it that a man's social status while getting married should be better than woman?

Why is this fear of rejection stopping me?

Why should I be sad?

I wrote this and usually when I do this, sadness shrinks. I'm hoping that this time it's no different.

Or may be not. I'm still sad.

May be this is a phase that I should go through.

The Dream House.

I'm dwelling is a nice home.

I dreamed of a home! The dream home accepted me until her verandah.

I tried to enter beyond, but she rejected.

I build myself as a better person and tried to enter. Rejection. Again.

I rebuilt myself again, as a better person, Rejection. Rejection. And rejection.

Heart is where the home is!

On the contrary, the privileges were going down. I was getting cool drink, whereas now I don't even get a glass of water whenever I visit.

I now have a choice of owning some other home, but she doesn't mesmerize me as how my dream home did! Further, I find my present home better than owing that some other home.

I shall wait, to see if my dream home lets me in, or ejects me from the verandah by letting someone else in.

Bengaluru Rajdhani- The Primo Supremo!

The Rajdhani atmosphere is entirely different. India being the land of vast diversity; you get a good preference if you travel by any prestigious train. But if you travel in the Rajdhani, you get the utmost preference. It’s obvious that you get a majestic feeling when you travel such a train.

The mighty Bengaluru Rajdhani Express.

******************

Speaking about Majestic, upper case “m” intended, one fine day, I’ll probably make it in time to the major railhead of the Garden City, “Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru,” popularly known as “City Station” or simply “Majestic,” and ask the auto driver to drop me at “Madras Gate.” As I usually do, I’ll definitely read the station name "Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru" thrice- in all three languages, get the goosebumps, and head to my designated coach by completing the security check, which definitely wouldn’t be as strict as what they will be, if I’d fly to the national capital. I’m sure I’ll be spending more than what it would probably take to fly, and flying will be an option which will take me to my destination 7 times faster than the rail journey, but I’d still travel in the confines of a coach which will fight with rails for almost 1500 miles, giving gentle jerks along over a period of 34 hours; almost a day and half.


After safely locking my belongings, I’ll walk the length of the platform to check the locomotive which would date my train. I sincerely hope that it would be a diesel link until my hometown’s major railhead, Secunderabad. I’ll click a picture with the destination board which would proudly say “Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru - Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express” written in three languages, with the picture of the beautiful Mysore Neo Dravidian structure, the state legislature, Vidhana Soudha, and the ever prestigious Indian Parliament stickers on it.


Once the 1500 mile journey takes off, I’ll probably bid bye to my friends who might show up to see me off from my favourite city, and then will settle in my seat to sip the piping hot Rasam with butter and breadstick, with the train rushing past the local station where I have seen this very train skip, Malleshwaram. Then we’ll decelerate and make a nonstop dawdle past the second major railhead of the Bengaluru, Yeshwantpur, before taking on a right curve whose embankment angle can be felt from the confines of the coach and then later on pull up for some speedy run, before making a final slowdown in the city limits to skip the last junction point within Bangalore, Yelahanka, post which I’ll have my dinner, the run still speedy and I’m sure I’ll be rushing to finish it before the train enters Makali ghats.


Piping hot paneer curry with not so good chapaties, and rice with dal and curd would probably be my dinner, trust IR to not change the menu even after ages. I’ll make sure I’ll gulp down the food as soon as possible and stand on the left hand side door, probably by changing the coaches through vestibules because the most of the doors would be blocked by the catering staff. I’ll experience the train completely ignore a growing town’s only railhead, Doddaballapur, on the platform road, at full 115 KMPH, with the breeze blowing into my hair (hopefully I will have some left) and the diesel locomotive will be shooting successive proceeds at full tilt.


I’ll feel the deceleration and I’ll probably visualize the loco pilot’s actions in the cab, shifting the throttle lever down to reduce the speed and follow the speed restriction for considerable amount of distance between the railheads of two hamlets - Oddarahalli and Thondebhavi. This time, I’ll find a door on the right hand side, so that I’ll get a nice view of the ever beautiful Makalidurga range and probably peep out to gaze the mighty range with my train curving on its edge. I’ll visualise the pictures before the Makalidurga stretch was electrified, and probably will Google for the pictures of the King Karnataka Express with the mighty Itarsi twin diesels, which probably will have passed by this stretch an hour before us and eventually will be chased down and overtaken before we separate the ways. I’ll recall the memories of various trainspotting outings at Makalidurga, and once we skip Thondebhavi, I’ll head back into the confines of the coach, and call it a day.


I probably won’t be able to help myself, but I’ll definitely wake up when our train is halted at Raichur, an important city and district headquarters in North Karnataka; at the wee hours of the next morning. I’ll surely stand by the right side door for better part of coming 25 miles, recalling my childhood. Once we depart Raichur, I’ll keep searching for the towering structures of Raichur Thermal Power Station, and the moment they come into the visible range, nostalgia will hit me hard; goosebumps will come along, and I’ll cherish those moments for a lifetime. After all, it’s this place where I grew up, and it’s this place where my romance with railways began.


I’ll probably get a good glimpse of the building named “Outdoor yard” in the RTPS site, and I’ll recall the days when I used to hop into my mama’s scooter and learn computer in the very same building. Soon after it, lines from Raichur Thermal Power Station will join us, and it’ll remind me of the tipping yard, which would still leave me awestruck for the engineering concept they follow- the entire wagon is tilted to empty the coal.

The 12 hour late running Rajdhani Express crossing river Krishna in broad day light. Very rare occurrence.

Shortly following this; the mighty Krishna would give me darshan; which will take this experience to the next level. We’ll slow down to 75 KMPH, and cross the mighty river bridge across the Krishna, which happens to be the first place where I saw a train in my life. I’ll turn my gaze backward to get the complete glimpse of the Raichur Thermal Power Station and the view will definitely make me rethink about my life in the hamlet on the other bank of the river - Shaktinagar. After skipping the Krishna Station, which by then, could be a junction, I’ll head back and sleep again.


It’ll definitely be difficult, in the berth with cozy blanket and tonnes of memories in mind from childhood. Somehow I’ll manage to get some sleep, and the next morning when I wake up, we’ll be trashing the last station of Karnataka in the journey, Kurugunta. I’ll rush to the door to take in the atmosphere of Karnataka for one last time, and I’m sure whatever is present around; that belongs to Karnataka, will give a good send off to Karnataka’s most prestigious train while it exits the state for one last time in its journey.


We’ll enter Telangana for the second time, and then after trashing Tandur at a speed of one hundred and ten kilometers an hour, we’ll slow down to the sharp curves laid in foothills of the Ananthagiri Range. I’ll recall our cab ride in a train across this stretch and also my quick ride to Ananthagiri to capture the trains in the S- Curve. I’ll also recall my team outings to Hills and Valley resort, which lies right beside the railway line.


I’ll wait for Vikarabad, and I’ll stay on the left side door, and before we approach Vikarabad, I’ll peep out and see the tail lamp of Rayalaseema Express, which probably will be running with electric loco by then, and probably with more stops added to its list, it’ll still be awaiting to get overtaken by the Rajdhani. After overtaking Rayalaseema Express, we’ll rush and skip Ravulapalli Kalan, which will take me back to the trainspotting outings to capture the golden ICF days of Secunderabad Pune Shatabdi, which used to run with old Butter Scotch- Navy blue Shatabdi livery before getting shiny and monotonous LHB cars.


In all probability, we would still be competing with MMTS (local service in Hyderabad) as soon as we enter Lingampally, and as usual, I’ll be hoping that we are in front of a local train, instead of trailing one, which will screw up the run, but eventually end up trailing one. I’ll recall my engineering days when I used to bunk the college and take some rides in MMTS locals between Falaknuma and Lingampally. I’ll recall my 2014 days, where occasionally I used to miss the cab at work, hop into my colleague’s two wheeler; who would drop me at Hi Tech City station and I used to return home by catching MMTS local. We’ll skip Begumpet and by this time, passengers who are to alight at Secunderabad will come out and stand by the corridors, and for once, I’ll be the guy without any luggage, and will be standing at the door as the train would block all the westbound lines of headquarters of South Central Railway, Secunderabad and majestically enter the platform 10. I’ll definitely recall the Sundays when I used to stand by the platform and see Rajdhani depart with my fellow railfans.


I’ll make a quick dash to the locomotive, and witness the locomotive change. The best locomotive class from Lallaguda electric loco shed will be handed the responsibilities of taking the Rajdhani forward, and the crew will continue to perform their checks, during which time I’ll rush back to my coach.


We’ll depart Secunderabad, hopefully on time, and then we’ll have a crazy run at one twenty Kilometers per hour.

Rajdhani at Aushapur with Lallaguda beast!

I’ll definitely recall the memories of my trainspotting days along this route; places from where I spotted trains- Secunderabad Outer, Lalaguda fly over, Moula Ali, Moula Ali C Cabin, Charlapalli, Infosys, Yamnampet flyover, Ghatkesar, Aushapur, Bibinagar, Pagidipalli, Bhongir- Raigir and more; by which time the train will have gone ahead of Konark Express to Bhubaneshwar, which would have got looped in one of the stations mentioned above. I’ll recall my journey in Konark Express and why I’ll need to do it again. By this time I would finish my breakfast, we’ll be rushing past Pindial, and the intercity to Guntur will be looped at Pindial, waiting for us to overtake.


We’ll reach Kazipet and hour and half, against the scheduled 1 hour 40 minutes, which calls for an extended halt. NIT Warangal students from Bengaluru will alight with their luggage and the few students travelling to New Delhi will probably join us. We’ll depart Kazipet, and enter the Grand Trunk route. Lakes on either side of tracks will give Rajdhani a warm welcome into the Grand Trunk route, and then we’ll ignore some hamlets like Bisugir Sharief and Odela. We’ll skip Ramagundam; the nearest Railhead to National Thermal Power Station, Ramagundam, at full 120 KMPH and people waiting on platform will stare at the train speeding through the station, most of them envious ones.

We’ll then cross the mighty bridge across river Godavari, and probably by then, the third bridge would be commissioned. Soon after we cross the mighty Godavari, we’ll skip Mancheryal at the same speed and this time, we’ll be overtaking the Gorakhpur express. Soon after we skip Mancheryal, we’ll cross the longest running daily superfast train, Kerala Express to Trivandrum Central.

Rajdhani amidst Yadadri Range.

We’ll overtake one more weekly service just before bidding adieu to Telangana, and we’ll enter Maharashtra, cross the bridge over river Wardha, and finally enter Balharshah, a good 5-10 minutes ahead of our schedule. We’ll be greeted by our counterpart and the Telangana Express bound for Hyderabad. I’ll take the tea at the station vendor, which is probably one of the best of the kind I’ve ever had. I’ll probably take an extra cup of tea and have it as well. We’ll depart Balharshah, and start chasing the Telangana Express bound for New Delhi. In our chase, we’ll overtake the Nandigram Express to Nagpur, but the target remains - Telangana Express. We’ll cross trains like Grand Trunk Express to Chennai Central, Howrah Mumbai Mail to Chhatrapathi Shivaji Terminus Mumbai, Tamil Nadu Express bound for Chennai Central etc. In the meantime, the prestigious Telangana Express will be looped at Majri or Hinganghat or Sonegaon, to make way for the Primo Supremo Rajdhani, and the railfans in Telangana (if any) will definitely not miss out to capture the moment.


By then, we’ll be nearing the city of Oranges- Nagpur. We’ll cross the Vidharba Cricket Association Stadium, and I’ll definitely recall the Indian World Cup losses to the Proteas (in 2011 Cricket World Cup) and to the Kiwis (in 2016 T20 Cricket World Cup), and definitely I’ll recall those days, the way India won the 2011 World Cup, and lost to West Indies in 2016 T20 World Cup.

We’ll depart Nagpur and the catering staff will serve us with the evening snacks- the delicious samosas, Haldirams namkeen, vegetable sandwich, and a Frooty.


I’ll watch the Rajdhani skip a remote station, Kohli, and then we’ll enter the Satpura Range. I’ll be at the door to witness the red snake amidst these ranges, and will participate in the hide and seek which both the up and down lines play. We’ll cross the Dakshin to Hyderabad and Sanghamitra to KSR Bengaluru here, and I’ll hope that I get a glimpse of those trains, considering the two lines are laid in different alignments, which meet occasionally.


We’ll have yet another bout of speedy run on the plains and we’ll skip some stations like Amla, Betul, before we enter another range of mountains, called Mahadeo Hills, between Maramjhiri and Darakhoh. This one, I’ll stand by door, considering that it’ll probably be the last stretch crossed in daylight in the journey to New Delhi, and after we skip Darakhoh, I’ll keep waiting for the next station on the line- Ghoradongari, the place from which there are numerous videos on YouTube.

Once we skip Ghoradongari, it would be dark, I’ll have my dinner, and I’ll retire for the day, recalling all the events that happened on the day, the way we were given top priority by holding up prestegious trains like Telangana Express. I’ll keep a track of where the Tamil Nadu Express bound for New Delhi is and Goa Super to Nizamuddin is. We’ll have crossed Itarsi, Bhopal and I’ll wake up for the alarm I would have set for at 01.00 hours, disturbing my co passengers. I’ll hit the door, and watch the train depart Jhansi. I’ll watch the Bengaluru Rajdhani cross the Mighty Karnataka Express, and I’ll wait until Banmor, where the Big Boss, Tamil Nadu Express will be looped, and will be waiting for the Rajdhani to go ahead.


I’ll count the number of coaches we overtake, and I’ll witness the mighty Big Boss being overtaken by the Primo Supremo, once again. I’ll recall how I happened to capture the moment last time around, and I’ll call up my friend who was tracking the train last time around while I was sleeping and helped me in recording the overtake by waking me up right before the overtake.


The next day morning, I’ll wake up at around Palwal, and I’ll be obviously sad. The journey is coming to an end, and the romance with Rajdhani is all set to end. I’ll still see the Goa Express overtake, if at all it managed to escape until we reach Palwal, and then will go in, take my luggage, and stand at the door. As we skip Asaoti, I’ll imagine how the Bengaluru bound Rajdhani would be skipping the Makali Ranges at the same time. We’ll be clocking 130 KMPH flat though.

Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, Tughlakabad, and gradually we’ll slow down, and within blink of an eye, Rajdhani will find itself in concrete jungle and eventually I’ll find myself on the platform of Hazrat Nizamuddin.

******************

While I imagine all this, the announcement for 22692 Hazrat Nizamuddin - Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Rajdhani Express repeats continually in three languages- English, Hindi and Telugu. We head to Rajdhani loco point, the trains pulls in with Lallaguda WAP 7 class loco road no. 30238. After doing a tedious job; the crew head out for some much needed rest, as the locomotive is detached. Rajdhani atmosphere, as I said, is the pristine atmosphere, and I totally sink into it. Diesel locomotive from Krishnarajapuram shed, WDP4D class locomotive, finds itself the charge of the mighty Rajdhani, Road no. 40240.


Secunderabad,
August 6, 2016.

Flag Exchange

After a confused start to a day, I find myself, well within my train departure time, at Nellore railway station. The confusion and the special mention of "well within my train departure time," I'll leave it for some other time.

I have visited Nellore earlier, and my friend, who now stays in the US of A, had accompanied me back then. I'm well acquainted with the station given that I had visited the same place sometime ago. This time, I had come alone on some other purpose, and there was a flurry of déjà vu while I was walking in the station or around the town.

I give a thought of placing my luggage on the platform, but later conclude that its a bad idea. I instead go to the place my coach is supposed to halt, and I hear a honk from the other side of the line. I take few steps towards the other platform, and hearing the honk and at the pace at which it was coming, I speculate that the train coming is some freight.

File Picture of a Flag Exchange.

I observe the station master and khalasi come out with their green flags, to manually confirm the green signal ahead and reassure that everything was fine to continue their journey and this process is referred as "Flag Exchange" or "Signal Exchange".

Clearing the bridge over river Pennar which is right before the station, the locomotive curves into the platform.

Erode WAG 7 with a Prancing Deer printed on its face- freight, as expected.

The loco pilot and his assistant proudly put their green flags on the either side of the locomotive, a good 200 meters from where the station master and Khalasi were standing. No sooner than the cabin crew put their flags out, than the Station Master and Khalasi raise their right arms with green flag held.

This is a special moment for a railfan, witnessing the exchange of the signals (or flags) of a particular train with the station master of some station the train is passing by or the crew of some other train, and it was after long time I was watching this. In fact, it was the first time I was witnessing the flag exchange from a close quarter.

As the loco was approaching the point of flag exchange, I get more and more edgy, and as soon as I see both the pairs lift the flag in the air while they meet, I tell myself "these are the moments you live for."

[WATCH] What it Feels like to be Inside the Mighty Gatimaan Express.

The way I see train is entirely different. I'm not from the bunch of people who will write it down telling "Indian Railways has poor food," or "Indian Trains are unhygienic," instead I'm a kind of soul who will find for the trains which are maintained well and has good food to travel.

I'm a railfan. You can find more about what it is like to be a railfan by checking the link on the word railfan. As soon as I heard Gatimaan was going to be inaugurated, my feeling was nothing lesser than a fan's heart moments before his favorite hero's movie releases.

I had already traveled in Bhopal Shatabdi Express, which clocks 150 KMPH in the same section, however Gatimaan was something I had to do!

Myself and a friend had a plan to travel in it June, but due to certain changes in my personal life, I know I was going to be busy at that point of time with some other work. So, I roughly made a plan, on Tuesday, and somehow got it materialized.

Thursday: Dakshin Express
Friday: Journey.
Saturday: Arrival at 04:05 hours at Nizamuddin.
Saturday: NZM-AGC Gatimaan.

My mind had only this plan until the time I had booked the tickets.

With some hustle and bustle in office, I managed to book a Tatkal Ticket in Dakshin Express.

After I got it, I reached home, and then I made the return itinerary. It was soon evident that I had to fly back, given the time constrain I was given at home. So I chose 12625 Trivandrum Central-New Delhi Kerala Express between Agra and New Delhi, followed by 18:35 IndiGo to Hyderabad.

Everything got materialized, and at 04.20 hours on April 9, I found myself on Hazrat Nizamuddin Platform 4.

I got ready in the train itself, and I was looking for the option of fast forwarding those 200 odd minutes.

I was roaming around, and trains from destinations across India- Malwa Express, Chattisgarh Express, Bengaluru Rajdhani Express, Goa Express, Pune Duronto Express, Goa Sampark Kranthi Express, Tamil Nadu Express, Thirukkural Express, Karnataka Sampark Kranthi Express, Taj Express were busy.

In the meanwhile, I had some okay-ish Kachoris, washed down with a cup of tea.

The time had finally passed, as Gatimaan was announced on Platform 5. Taj Express was scheduled to depart on Platform 5 by 07:05, so it meant that Gatimaan will follow Taj Express.

I was in dilemma, hoping for no last moment platform changes, but then, the train hostess had already assembled on platform 5 with their heavy kits, which made it evident that there won't be any platform change.

Taj Express departed, and I was surprised to see the platform fully crowded. I asked my friends to check the availability, and Gatimaan was in Waiting list! This wasn't something I was looking for, considering a railfan has certain favorite seats in the coach, which will give the experience of a train ride to the maximum.

Looking at the coach layout, it was evident that I was either going to get the best one (facing the locomotive and the side which has down line) or the worst one (non track side, reverse pulling). I was hoping for the best to happen.

Honk of a train interrupted my thoughts, and BOOM! Gatimaan is here.

GZB WAP 5 #30007 Pulls the Gatimaan on the Platform!

As soon as rake was berthed, I found that my fate was bad and I got the worst possible seat in the coach. I was happy that I was able to get a window, considering there were huge number of people who didn't get even that!

Beautiful rail hostess welcomed us with a water bottle and welcome drink.

There were some selfies taken with the board and I had taken one such too :) .

People settled down with few seat exchanges, and the clock stuck 08.10 and the train departed. Loco pilots made their intention clear- "SMASH!!!"

As soon as the train cleared points- it was like a EMU/Local Train acceleration and we were already cruising at 120 KMPH within 2 KMs. Then there were few speed restrictions imposed near Faridabad, and the mighty Gatimaan was doing what everyone was waiting for- 160 KMPH.

Being a Railfan is always handy. You have all the tools you need!

Before I realized I was living my dream, we overtook a train between Chandigarh-Madgaon, "Goa Sampark Kranthi Express" at a remote station, "Asaoti," which is famous for high speed trains among railfans. I was awestuck at the sight- the way we overtook.

And in the very next station, a train from Shri Ganganagar to Howrah- "Udyan Abha Toofan Express" was brutally overtaken by Gatimaan!

While I was happy that we were given at most priority on the section, I was envious that I was missing out the fun from other side of the world. I videograph trains and Gatimaan is one such which I would definitely do it one day!

The beautiful hostess interrupted my romance with the Gatimaan, as she asked for my breakfast preference. "Vegetarian- South" I immediately respond. She hands over a tray and the food was not so impressive.

It wasn't so tasty, but the way it was served was decent.

I finish this at jet speed to make sure I get maximum out of this trip, and while eating this, we overtook some unknown train at some unknown location.

The next one to be gulped down by Gatimaan was Taj Express. It departed 65 minutes before Gatimaan, only to bow down to the mighty Gatimaan 113 Kilometers after Hazrat Nizamuddin.

And there was one more, awaiting Gatimaan to go ahead!

Train bound to the southern most tip of country- Thirukkural Express, was waiting for our train at Kosi Kalan.

It was unfortunate from the part of Thirukkural's passengers, as they could witness Gatimaan overtaking their train at just 90 KMPH, due to the speed restriction at the station.

We slowed down, and Gatimaan skipped Mathura Junction at the reduced speed, and as soon as we skipped Mathura, it was an EMU acceleration again! Within no time, Gatimaan accelerated to 160 KMPH and we were given the best preference in the biggest Rail Network on this planet!

Gatimaan ignored few remote Uttar Pradesh stations, and we decelerate at Billochpura, to meet the speed restriction at Raja ki Mandi, which is the penultimate station! After having observed the speed restriction, loco pilot gave one final acceleration, and BOOM, Gatimaan was taken into Agra Cantonment Platform 6 at 09.43 hours, 7 minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival.

If you get goosebumps when you see a train- make sure you have a ride in this wonderful train! Also, you may watch my collection of videos in my YouTube channel.