Our first leg of the journey started at Lumding and ended at Badarpur junction, traversing through the fascinating Barail mountains, crossing 37 tunnels and 586 bridges, including the amazing Diyung bridge. Come let's explore!
We begin our trip from Lumding, where a YDM-4 class loco emerges out of the freight yard to take a new assignment (Harish)
The meter gauge section of Lumding bustling with activities. (Harish)
The TTE of Hill Queen keeps an eye to prevent unauthorized passengers entering the reserved coaches. (Naveen)
First crossing of the day, with Cachar Express. (Naveen)
In the hill section, stations are at lower levels. Passengers had to climb up to reach the main roads. (Harish)
At Manderdisa, as the hill queen express waited, a classic liveried YDM-4 sneaked in with a freight train. (Harish)
BG line construction in full swing. The BG alignment, after crossing the river, enters a tunnel. (Naveen)
Interiors of MG AC Chair Coach of Hill Queen Express. Hill Queen Express used to get top-priority and mostly punctual, even when other trains in the hill section used to run hours late. (Naveen)
(Harish)
Poor road infrastructure, lesser road transport means trains are reliable connectivity for the people of this region (Harish)
But poor frequency and inordinate delay of passenger trains result in the commuters making use of all the possible connections, like freight trains or light locos (Harish)
With the regular alignment washed way by the raging river, the line was slightly realigned to take a small detour. (Harish)
The new BG station coming up at Phiding (Naveen)
Lower Haflong bound Hill Queen Express passes through one of the century old bridges. (Naveen)