IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 381 - 400
From: aravind <aravind@vax135.email
Subject: Bangalore City
Date: 07 Dec 1990 14:08:00 -0500
The NG line into Bangalore City fell into disuse nearly 20 years ago.
In fact, the entire NG line from Yelahanka to Bangarapet was in danger
of being ripped out some years ago, until someone came up with the
bright idea of running diesel railcars, sort of like trams. I'm not
100% sure that they still run today.
No trace of the NG line into Bangalore exists today. The portion to
Yeshvanthpur has been converted to MG, doubling that MG line.
Between Yeshvanthpur and Yelahanka, the NG was "embedded" in the
MG line. I believe that this third rail has been ripped out so that
NG "trams" have to terminate at Yelahanka....
Some answers to Vijay's Q#2 are Jolarpettai and Erode.
(Excuse my provincialism, but I can''t think of any others right
now ..)
aravind
From: Mukunda Kantamneni <kmukunda@umaxc.email
Subject: Re: Coaches.
Date: 07 Dec 1990 17:41:00 -0500
> From aravind@vax135.email Fri Dec 7 09:15:56 1990
>
>
> How many facilities are there in IR where coaches are manufactured?
> (besides the one at Perambur in Madras) Where are they? Just
> curious ....
>
> aravind
>
Bharat Earthmovers Ltd, Bangalore.
-mukunda
From: Ajai Banerji <A.AJAI@Macbeth.Email
Subject: BG, MG,NG
Date: 07 Dec 1990 17:56:00 -0500
Hi folks,
The only stations with all three gauges are New Jalpaiguri and Miraj.
New Jalpaiguri is on the main BG line to Assam, and the starting point of the
Darjeeling NG line. It also has a MG line to Siliguri for local trains.
Miraj is the junction between the Pune-Kolhapur BG line and the MG line to
Hubli and Bangalore, and is also the terminus of an NG line to Kurduwadi and
Latur.
Some have mentioned Yelahanka. As far as I know it soesn't have any passenger
service on MG now; possibly it is used for goods only.
The stations which earlier had all 3 gauges are Bangalore(maybe Yelahanka)
and Ujjain. The latter is on the Nagda-Bhopal main line and also lies on a
branch line from Fatehabad Chandrawatiganj(runner up in long name contest) on
the Ratlam-Khandwa MG line. It had until recently a NG branch line to Agar
which is now closed. this was one of the few 2'0" lines in India.
Come on Vijay! You're beginning to slip up.
-------
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbs@silly.email
Subject: Yelahanka, etc.
Date: 08 Dec 1990 12:49:00 -0500
Hi Folks,
The Yelahanka-Bangalore City MG line does have passenger services. Two
passenger trains operate in either direction (one in the morning and the other
in the evening) on all days the week except Sundays. Hence, Yelahanka
qualifies as a station with BG, MG and NG passanger services.
The workshop that I had mentioned at Jagadhari is a Carriage and Wagon
Repair Workshop (and NOT a Wheel-n-Axle-Plant). While browsing thru' the
article on this worskhop, I learnt that 12 old Rajdhani coaches have been
upgraded (fitted with pantry service, water coolers, etc.) for the Kalka
Shatabdi Exp., which runs at a max. speed of 120 kmph. This probabaly
indicates that the Kalka Shatabdi Exp. has 12 coaches, three more than the
other two Shatabdis. Also, it is surprising that a single WDM-2 is able
to haul 12 coaches at 120 kmph. Unless, there are two locos. to do the job.
Does somenone know more about the Kalka Shatabdi?
Another electrified route that I discovered recently is the Gomoh-Bhojudih
-Adra section of the S.E. Railway. This is presumebly to cater to heavy
goods traffic from Bihar going towards the South via Rukmi-Anara (bypassing
Adra) to Kandra, and then either follow the Sini-Raurkela route or the
Gomharria-Tatanagar route.
Regards,
Vijay
From: Ajai Banerji <A.AJAI@Macbeth.Email
Subject: More on junctions
Date: 11 Dec 1990 20:13:00 -0500
Hi folks,
There was a query sometime back about junctions which have through trains
running on all pairs of lines intersecting there. Apart from Vadodara, Erode
and Jo;larpettai mentioned earlier, there are quite a few. Here is a partial
list:Wardha, Nagpur, Pune, Bilaspur,Laksar, Vizianagram,Jalgaon.
All of these are pure BG junctions. Cant think of any MG junctions
-------
From: aravind <aravind@vax135.email
Subject: more on junctions
Date: 12 Dec 1990 08:47:00 -0500
Nagpur has is a "terminus" for the SER NG network. So it can't
qualify on our junction list. Does Khurda Road qualify by
any chance? I vaguely remember a Tirupati-puri express...
aravind
From: Ajai Banerji <A.AJAI@Macbeth.Email
Subject: Many stops
Date: 15 Dec 1990 17:47:00 -0500
Hi folks,
Some time back Vijay gave us a list of long-distance trains with many
stops. The winner was the Howrah-Amritsar express with 112 stops, followed
by the Howrah-Delhi Janata with 107 and Jammu-Sealdah with 103.
However, this survey was restricted to trains classified as expresses.
There are a few passenger trains which cover long distances. The longest
runs are tabulated below:
Name Km Approx time Stops
Ajmer-Kacheguda 1336 54 hours 124
Tatanagar-Nagpur 881 30 94
Ahmedabad-Agra Fort 874 33 90
Vadodara-Mathura 851 29 91
Chakradharpur-Nagpur 818 24 74
Mahesana-Delhi via Reengus 801 35 110
So we see that the Ajmer-Kacheguda passenger is the real winner with
124 stops. It is also by far the longest run of any passenger train,
though the mileage is probably inflated a bit by the 'chargeable
distance' on the Akola-Khandwa section.
Some years ago there used to be a Secunderabad-Puri passenger, which
would have had a run of over 1000 km. I think there also used to be a
Howrah-Nagpur passenger(at least during the B.N.R. days)
-------
From: anand <anand@top.email
Subject: Re: Many stops
Date: 16 Dec 1990 13:43:00 -0500
You seem to have missed what I think would be a good contender, the
Madras Jammu Janata Express. 3 nights and 4 days in the train. That
should certainly count for something.
R. Anand
anand@top.email
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbs@plumpy.email
Subject: Dr. IRFCAite!
Date: 17 Dec 1990 14:14:00 -0500
Hi Folks,
I made it! I passed by Ph.D. final today. You may now address me as
Dr.:-). I should be done with my thesis in about two weeks. Then I proceed
to IBM, Poughkeepsie.
Moving to the infinitely more interesting topic of trains:
The Jammu Tawi - Kanyakumari Exp. has a total of 89 halts. It is relatively
slow in the Jammu Tawi - New Delhi and Balharshah -Madras stretches.
However, it has less no. of halts than even the GT Exp. in the New Delhi -
Balharshah section.
Ajai has done a great job in listing the passanger trains with most no. of
halts.
Here are some of the junctions with all the convergent lines as electrified.
Vadodara - from Surat, Ahmedabad and Ratlam
Asansol - from Dhanbad, Bardhhaman and Burnpur
Rajkharsawan - from Chakradharpur, Tatanagar and Gua
The triad of Gamharia, Sini and Kandra (near Tatanagar)
The triad of Rukni, Joychandipahar, and Anara (near Adra)
Arakkonam - from Madras, Renigunta and Katpadi
Gudur - from Nellore, Madras and Renigunta
Of course, there are lost of such junctions in and around the four
Metropolitan cities:
Bombay:- Masjid, Dadar, Kalyan, Kurla, Vadala Rd., Mahim, Vasai Rd.
Madras:- Basin Bridge
Calcutta:-Dankuni, Dum Dum, Ballygunje
Regards,
Vijay
From: Vicraj T. Thomas <vic@cs.email
Subject: Re: your mail
Date: 17 Dec 1990 12:55:00 -0500
Vijay Balasubramanian writes:
>
> I made it! I passed by Ph.D. final today. You may now address me as
> Dr.:-). I should be done with my thesis in about two weeks. Then I proceed
> to IBM, Poughkeepsie.
>
Congratulations and good luck with your new job! I hope IBM is on the net so
you can continue to contribute to this group.
> Moving to the infinitely more interesting topic of trains:
>
> The Jammu Tawi - Kanyakumari Exp. has a total of 89 halts.
The name of this train escapes me now. Can somebody refresh my memory. Thanks.
< Vicraj
From: aravind <aravind@vax135.email
Subject:
Date: 18 Dec 1990 08:41:00 -0500
The Jammu-Kanyakumari express used to be called the Himsagar
express once upon a time.
Vijay deserves a hearty round of congratulations from all of us ...
Aravind
From: Dheeraj Sanghi <>
Subject: Re: Many stops
Date: 18 Dec 1990 21:53:00 -0500
Ajay mentions that Mehsana-Delhi passenger via Ringus has 110 stops,
which makes it third after Ajmer-Kacheguda and Howrah-Amritsar Exp.
That brought back to my mind lots of fond memories of that train.
I have travelled in that passenger scores of times. Every few months,
whenever we have a week's vacation (Summer, Dussehra, Chrismas), I
would go to my grandparents' place, either in Narnaul (which is in
Haryana, place of my paternal grandparents) or Neem-ka-thana (which
is in Rajasthan, (place of my maternal grandparents).
I would catch the train at Delhi-Sarai-Rohella which is its first
stop on its journey towards Mehsana. It will stop at every stop,
Patel Nagar, Delhi Cantt, Palam, Bijwasan. At Bijwasan, it leaves
behind the Union territory, with all the smoke and pollution, and
enters the Gurgaon District of Haryana. The double line is only
upto Garhi Harsaru Jn. After that and until Rewari, because of
extremely high traffic density, it will often happen that it has
to wait at a particular station for 15-20 minutes, while one or
two trains cross us in the opposite direction. It crosses Pataudi,
the erstwhile kingdom of Nawab Pataudi during its journey. Suddenly,
another line comes from the right. That signals that Rewari is not
far off. At Rewari, it will stop for 30 minutes. This is when we will
open our lunch packet, and eat. The train becomes almost empty here,
but before it starts again, it is full again, this time a new set
of co-passengers. Now, the train picks up some speed. It is still
single line, but there are hardly any trains on the Rewari-Ringus
chord (three pairs of train in a day). It does not have to wait
for the train to cross in the opposite direction. There are fields
on both sides. The highway is running parallel to the tracks. The
bus driver is trying to speed, and is gaining on us. Why does the driver
of our train not go a little faster. But then the highway suddenly
turns, the bus has to stop at the crossing. I am happy that we defeated
the bus, though in an unfair fashion. So what, everything is fair
in a competition. Now Narnaul is nearing. Is it Kunj before Ateli
or is it vice-versa. I could never remember. At Ateli, it is taking
a very long time. Is it waiting for some train? But, the other train
is not due for another 3 hours. Oh, the engine needs more water.
Finally, Narnaul is here. O Tangewale, Bazaar jaoge, do sawari.
[O Tonga-man, will you go the market place, we are two people.]
Actually, we need not get up at 5:00 AM to catch the train. We could
have woken up at 7:00, and caught an express bus, which will
reach us at about the same time, but then where is the fun?
-dheeraj
From: J Mukerji <jis@mtgzy.email
Subject: Re:
Date: 19 Dec 1990 09:10:00 -0500
Excerpts from personal.IRFCA: 17-Dec-90 V. Balasubramanian@plump (1278)
> Here are some of the junctions with all the convergent lines as electrified.
> Vadodara - from Surat, Ahmedabad and Ratlam
> Asansol - from Dhanbad, Bardhhaman and Burnpur
> Rajkharsawan - from Chakradharpur, Tatanagar and Gua
> The triad of Gamharia, Sini and Kandra (near Tatanagar)
> The triad of Rukni, Joychandipahar, and Anara (near Adra)
> Arakkonam - from Madras, Renigunta and Katpadi
> Gudur - from Nellore, Madras and Renigunta
> Of course, there are lost of such junctions in and around the four
> Metropolitan cities:
> Bombay:- Masjid, Dadar, Kalyan, Kurla, Vadala Rd., Mahim, Vasai Rd.
> Madras:- Basin Bridge
> Calcutta:-Dankuni, Dum Dum, Ballygunje
Here are some more:
Bandel - Howrah, Burdhhaman, Naihati
Naihati - Sealdah, Ranaghat, Bandel
Andul - Howrah, Kharagpur, Dankuni Chord (Goods only)
Shantragachhi - Howrah, Kharagpur, Shalimar (Goods only)
There are some more in the Sealdah South section which I don't remember
off the top of my head.
Jishnu Mukerji,
jis@mtgzy.email
+1 908 957 5986,
AT&T Bell Laboratories,
MT 3K-423, 200 Laurel Ave.,
Middletown NJ 07748
From: Ajai Banerji <A.AJAI@Macbeth.Email
Subject: Trains in the US
Date: 21 Dec 1990 15:13:00 -0500
Hi folks,
Just wondered if any of you have travelled by any long distance train in
the US. I may have to relocate on the East coast sometime in the
next few months, so I was contemplating Amtrak's Zephyr which runs between
Oakland(near San Francisco) and Chicago. It appears that
the coach class fares plus meals work out to be a little less than the regular
air fares. Of course, with some effort one can always find cheaper air
fares. It should be an interesting experience, especially as
this train is supposed to have the best scenery of any long-distance
train in the US.
I would like to hear from any of you who have travelled on the Zephyr or
any other long-distance Amtrak train.
-------
From: Ajai Banerji <A.AJAI@Macbeth.Email
Subject: North, South, East, West
Date: 22 Dec 1990 17:46:00 -0500
NORTH, SOUTH, EAST,WEST
The northernmost railway station in India is Jammu Tawi. However,
a new line is being built from here to Udhampur, which will make
it the northernmost.
The northernmost station on the Indian subcontinent is Dargai in
NWFP, on a branch line from Nowshera.
The westernmost station in India is Dwarka, on a line which
terminates at Okha. However, a new line is being built from Bhuj
to Naliya, which would become the westernmost station. As this will
be a metre gauge line, Dwarka will remain the westernmost broad
gauge station.
The westernmost station on the subcontinent is Mirjawa on the
Iran-Pakistan border, on the Quetta-Zahidan line. However this
does not seem to have a passenger service now, as trains terminate
at Kuhi Taftan, the next station towards Quetta. This is the only
rail link between the subcontinent and neighbouring countries.
The southernmost station is of course Kanyakumari. However, this
is NOT the southernmost point of India since several of the Nicobar
islands are at a lower latitude.
The easternmost station is Ledo, on a branch line from Tinsukia.
Some years ago, the terminus was Lekhapani, a few km to the east.
Ledo is also the terminus of the famous Burma Road.
We have a train(Himsagar Express) between the northernmost and
southernmost tips(Jammu and Kanyakumari). A similar route
between east and west would be more difficult to design, as the
western terminus is on broad gauge and the eastern one metre
gauge. Soon, Naliya on metre gauge will become the westernmost
point, so can we look forward to a Purab Paschim Express between
Naliya and Ledo?
-------
From: Ajai Banerji <ajax@portia.email
Subject: Reflections on the Himsagar express
Date: 31 Dec 1990 13:28:00 -0500
The Himsagar express runs between Jammu Tawi and Kanyakumari, which
are the northernmost and southernmost stations in the country. It started
running in 1984 as a symbol of national integration.
It passes through 4 zonal railways(SR,SC,CR and NR) and the following
states/territories:TN,Kerala,AP,Maharashtra,MP,UP,Rajasthan,Haryana,
Punjab and Kashmir.
When it started running it had a slightly different pattern compared
to today. It was then classified as super-fast and followed the same
timetable as the Kerala Express between NDLS and Trivandrum. There were
some minor differences:it stopped at Agra and Gwalior, while the Kerala
Express didn't. It also didn't have a kitchen car or AC, though it
did have I class.
At that time it ran via Renigunta-Gudur, bypassing Madras. This
train was cancelled in 1987 and then reappeared a few months later
with a rather different timetable as it now followed the same timings
as the Madras-Jammu Express(which was then horribly slow, though it
seems to have speeded up now).
I travelled on it in 1985 from Ernakulam to Ambala Cantt, when it
was still superfast. Nowadays it is not too popular because of the
frequent halts(including about 4 hours at Madras, probably a record
for any halt of a train in India).
It is supposed to have the longest run of any train in India, though
some say this honor goes to the Trivandrum-Guwahati Express.
There are a few other trains which pass through more than 4 zones,
such as the Cochin-Gorakhpur, Trivandrum-Guwahati with 5 zones.
If national integration can be helped by a North-South train, how
about an East-West counterpart. If this was on broad gauge, it could
run from Guwahati to Okha. If it was on metre gauge, it could run
from Bhuj to Ledo(Yes, there is still a metre-gauge route between
east and west using many obscure branch lines of the NER).
Here is a suggested route for the Guwahati-Okha "Purab Paschim
Express"(can anyone think of a better name?)
Guwahati-Katihar-Barauni-Patna-Mughalsarai-Kanpur-Tundla-Agra-
Bayana-Vadodara-Ahmedabad-Okha.
This may not be the shortest route as the crow flies, but it would
probably be the fastest. Once the Tundla-Bayana electrification is
over, it could have an electric loco all the way from Mughalsarai
to Ahmedabad.
I now leave it to Vijay to work out the timetable
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbs@plumpy.email
Subject: Himsagar Exp!
Date: 01 Jan 1991 14:01:00 -0500
Hi Folks,
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!
When introduced, the superfast weekly Himsagar Exp. had only eleven
coaches. It also ignored Agra Cant and Balharshah. Agra was added to its
halt list about six months later. It used to take about 1 1/2 hrs. more
than the Kerala Exp. between New Delhi and Gudur.
The current Himsagar Exp. has more halts and follows a slightly different
route as pointed out by Ajai. It reverses direction at Madras. It goes via
the New Delhi-Jakhal-Ludhiana route instead of the more 'popular' route thru'
Panipat-Ambala.
> Here is a suggested route for the Guwahati-Okha "Purab Paschim
> Express"(can anyone think of a better name?)
> Guwahati-Katihar-Barauni-Patna-Mughalsarai-Kanpur-Tundla-Agra-
> Bayana-Vadodara-Ahmedabad-Okha.
A shorter route would be via Mughal Sarai - Allahabad bypass -Manikpur-
Jhansi-Bina-Ujjain-Ratlam-Vadodara. This might not be the fastest though,
because of the single line Jhansi-Manikpur-Allahabad, and Bina-Ujjain-Ratlam
sectons. An alterate route could be via Manikpur-Katni (soon to be doubled
completely) and Katni-Sagar-Bina.
Regards,
Vijay
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbs@plumpy.email
Subject: More ramblings!
Date: 01 Jan 1991 15:26:00 -0500
Hi Folks,
Couldn't resist posting some of the changes that I have noticed in the
time-tables (over the past 15 years or so) with regard to the time and halt
schedules of various trains. Let me start with the long distance superfast
trains.
1. Bombay N.Delhi Rajdhani Exp.
- Ratlam converted from a techincal to a passenger halt
- Kota introduced as a passenger halt and Gangapur City removed.
- Duration of halts at Vadodara and Ratlam increased
Vadodara (from 7/10 to 10 mts.), Ratlam (from 10/12 to 20 mts.)
- Frequency increased from bi-weekly to six days a week
- No. of coaches doubled from 9 to 18 (double heading between Bombay and
Ratlam)
- Hauled by electric loco. between Ratlam and N. Delhi
- AC 2-tier sleeper service introduced
- Air-braking introduced in coaches
2. Howrah N.Delhi Rajdhani Exp.
- Mughal Sarai and Dhanbad converted from techincal to passenger halts
- Frequency increased from bi-weekly to five days a week
- No. of coaches increased from 8 to 18
- Hauled by elec. loco. during the entire run
3. Tamilnadu Exp. (N.Delhi-Madras)
- increased halts at H.Nizamuddin (only towards N.Delhi), Gwalior, and
Warangal
- Itarsi added as a technical halt for loco. changeover
- frequency increased to daily
- no. of coaches increased to 21
- electrically hauled in N.Delhi-Itarsi and Nagpur-Madras sections
- Uniformity of color destroyed
- converted from a one-night train to two-nights-and-a-day train
4. Andhra Pradesh Exp. (N.Delhi-Secunderabad)
- increased halts at H.Nizamuddin (towards N.Delhi), Gwalior, and Manchiryal
- Itarsi added as a technical halt for loco. changeover
- frequency increased to daily
- no. of coaches increased to 21
- electrically hauled in N.Delhi-Itarsi section
- Blue-with-white-strip color destroyed
5. Karnataka Exp. (compared to the earlier K.K. exp.)
- route changed to via Itarsi-Bhusaval-Daund-Wadi-Guntakal-Bangalore City
- increased halts at H.Nizamuddin(towards N.Delhi), Agra, Gwalior and Itarsi
- frequency increased to daily
- no. of coaches increased to 21
- electrically hauled in N.Delhi-Itarsi section
- Green-and-yellow color replaced by (more generic) Red-and-white color
- Uniformity of color destroyed
6. Kerala Exp. (compared to the earlier K.K. exp.)
- increased halts at H.Nizamuddin(towards N.Delhi), Mathura, Agra, Gwalior,
Itarsi, Wardha East, Ramagundam, Warangal, Gudur, Katpadi, Alwaye and
Tiruvalla (because of the cancellation of the J.J. Exp.)
- frequency increased to daily
- no. of coaches increased to 21
- electrically hauled in N.Delhi-Itarsi and Nagpur-Jollarpetai sections
- Green-and-yellow color replaced by (more generic) Red-and-white color
- Uniformity of color destroyed
7. Grand Trunk Exp. (compared to version during early seventees)
- increased halts at Vidisha, Pandhurna, Hingaghat, Manchiryal, Warangal,
Khammam, and Chirala
- Dhaulpur, Kazipet and Dornakal removed from halt list
- Ghoradongri converted from catering to passenger halt
- no. of coaches increased to 21
- electrically hauled in N.Delhi-Itarsi and Nagpur-Madras sections
- Green-and-yellow color replaced by (more generic) Red-and-white color
- Uniformity of color destroyed
8. Gitanjali Exp. (Bombay-Howrah)
- increased halts at Dadar, Kalyan, Badnera, Gondia, Raipur, Bilaspur,
Jharsuguda, and Kharagpur
- Igatpuri converted from technical to passenger halt (only towards Howrah)
- frequency increased to daily
- vermillion red-and-yellow color removed
- two AC sleeper coaches in present rakes
- slowed down by nearly four hours
9. Coromandel Exp. (Howrah-Madras)
- increased halts at Kharagpur, Khurda Rd., Berhampur, Rajahmundry,
and Bitragunta (towards Howrah)
- vermillion red-and-yellow color removed
- slowed down by nearly three hours
10. Himgiri Exp. (Howrah-Jammu Tawi)
- increased halts at Chittaranjan, Jasidih (experimental), Jha Jha,
Jaunpur City, Sultanpur, Bareilly, and Saharanpur
- converted from a one-night to a two-nights train
- slowed down by more than six hours
- red and cream color removed
- AC sleeper service introduced
11. Jammu Tawi - Bombay superfast Exp.
- increased halts at Borivali (towards Bombay Central), Godhra, Nagda,
and Subzi Mandi (towards N.Delhi)
- Mathura converted from technical to passenger halt
- blue, green, and yellow color removed
- slowed down by nearly three hours
- AC I class, AC Chair Car, and I class services removed
- electrically hauled between Bombay Central and N.Delhi
12. Madras - Varanasi Exp.
- superfast status erased
- made to terminate at Madras Central instead of Madras Beach and
connection with Madras-Rameswaram Exp. removed
- name changed from Ganga Kaveri Exp. to above
- increased halts at Katni, Pipariya, Betul and Sirpur Kagaz Nagar
- converted from one-night to two-nights train
- slowed down by more than 3 hours
- green-n-yellow color removed
- AC sleeper service introduced
...........................................................................
And, thus, ends another of my long (boring, monotonous?) ramblings.
Vijay
From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbs@plumpy.email
Subject: This and That!
Date: 10 Jan 1991 22:27:00 -0500
Hi,
PBS aired a 1-hr. show on traveling across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver,
last Sunday. The narrator was aboard The Canadian for a major portion of
his journey. He had breaks at Toronto and Montreal (+ some others). One
of his comments was about 'how the railways bought Canada together', and
that 'many nations build railways, but the railways built Canada'. He
talked about the conquest of the treachorous Canadian Shield (supposed to have
one of the hardest rock formations); the scenes depicting the train winding
thru' thick forest and mountains were quite good.
Getting back to Indian Railways, here are my comments about Pushkar's remarks
about superfast trains in an earlier mail. Pushkar wonders why the Paschim Exp.
and the Frontier Mail are judged as superfast altough they take about 6 hrs.
more than the Rajdhani Exp.:-
Well! The classification of trains as superfast not only depends on their
commercial speed, but also on the nature of the facilities provided (IMHO).
The Frontier Mail and the Pashcim Exp. have a much better commercial speed
than other Bombay-Delhi trains such as the Dehra Dun Exp., the Bombay-Firozpur
Janata Exp., the Punjab Mail and the Dadar-Amritsar Exp. Moreover, both of them
are vestibuled and have Pantry Car facilities.
Granted that the classification of some trains as superfast is puzzling
(such as the Varanasi Bombay Ratnagiri Exp.), but one must remember that the
Railways is still the cheapest means of transport in India.
It is also true that the budget allocated for Indian Railways
has always been below its financial needs, thus, constraining the operation
further. Moreover, there are cases where the reverse holds true i.e., a
train qualified enough to be on the superfast list (less no. of halts, avg.
speed comparable to superfast trains in its route) is not judged so.
Some examples are the Varanasi-Madras Ganga Kaveri Exp., the Madras Trivandrum
Mail, etc.
Maybe, this classification is somtimes governed by the extra revenue that
would be generated, thus, for the associated zonal railways.
Regards,
Vijay
From: anand <anand@top.email
Subject: Super fast
Date: 11 Jan 1991 08:44:00 -0500
A few years ago I did a careful study of all the superfast
trains and discovered that their average speeds were above 60 km/h.
Actually I suppose that should be commercial speed: Calculate by
dividing the distance of the route by the time shown in the timetable.
I wonder if this classification has been changed.
Anand
anand@top.email