IRFCA Mailing List Archive
Messages 5061 - 5080
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: I'm back!
Date: 15 Jan 1999 08:33:12 -0500
> > The Hussain Sagar Exp. is a pathetic version of the classy
> Minar Exp. that
> > used to be superfast till the early 90s. The Minar Exp.
> was the ONLY train
> > in the single line Daund-Gangapur Rd. section that would
> not halt for any
> > crossings. In fact, the working TT indicates that the
> Karnataka Exp. has a
> > halt for the Minar Exp. crossing.
>
> Why is this section so pathetic? Single lines and Max speed of 90KMPH
> (Vijay can you check on this). If I had to guess it would be lack of
> freight traffic (which brings in the $$) and perhaps lack of
> political clout (these districts appear to be backward areas of AP and
> Karnataka).
>
The max. speed on this section for all exp./mail trains is 100 kmph. and
the
booked speed is 90 kmph. Politics must have its dirty hands in the
gross
neglect of this section. However, in the July-Aug. issue of IR it was
mentioned that Daund-Bhigwan doubling would be completed in the next few
months and doubling of Bhigwan-Gangapur Rd. would be completed by March
2000. This would imply that the entire Mumbai-Wadi stretch would be a
double line by March of next year - seems too good to be true!
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: Rail tracks at Kalyan
Date: 15 Jan 1999 08:35:15 -0500
>
> Thanks for the reply.
> However, I need to get one thing clear, I'm getting confused
> with what
> exactly is the up direction and what the down.
>
> Thanks for bearing with me!
>
All trains leaving Mumbai, bound for Pune and beyond are Down trains and
all
Mumbai-bound trains are Up. So the PF4 line would be the main Dn line.
Vijay
From: Sankaran Kumar <>
Subject: Arakkonam-Kanchipuram conversion
Date: 15 Jan 1999 08:35:34 -0500
The Arakkonam-Kanchipuram MG section on the Southern Railway was
recently converted to BG. Being India, there was, of course, a dose of
politics. The Railways had invited the Kanchipuram Sankaracharya to
inaugurate the line. The "rationalist" DMK govt. objected and the
railways hurriedly also invited one christian and one muslim cleric for
the inauguration. The Sankaracharya stayed away from the ceremony.
Maybe now we'll have a NDLS-Kanchipuram Rajdhani Express.
Kumar
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From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: I'm back!
Date: 15 Jan 1999 08:39:17 -0500
> -----Original Message-----
> From: poras p.saklatwalla [mailto:pps@godrej.email
> Sent: Thursday, January 14, 1999 10:12 PM
> To: Balasubramanian, Vijay
> Subject: RE: I'm back!
>
>
> BOTH PUNJAB AND PUSHPAK ARE SUPERFASTS AMD FULLY VESTIBULED TRAINS.
>
It's heartening to note that. The last time I traveled on the Punjab
Mail
(summer of '95) only the I class coaches had a vestibuled connection.
A train without vestibules looks bare and a vestibuled train looks more
classy. Of course, one step ahead would be to give it a distintive
color
scheme.
Vijay
From: Harsh Vardhan <>
Subject: Notes on diesels
Date: 15 Jan 1999 09:15:08 -0500
The WDG4 will have flexible pipings rather that the usual welded
system in WDM2. Again it will have two radiator fans of improved
designs and an ac motor driven compressor. It will have
electronically controlled air brake systems which will also evaluate
the braking performances by the driver. The on board
microprocessor based diagnostic system will help for early
detection of faults and will guard against unnecessary engine
shutdown which is quiet common in Indian made diesels. Moreover
it will be highly fuel efficient.
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: SUPER TRUNK ROUTES
Date: 15 Jan 1999 09:29:32 -0500
> While we are on the subject of SUPER superfast trains, I dont
> think that
> Rajdhani type trains should be the preserve of the lot that
> is DELHI bound.
> As
> we enter the next century, we have to realise that all metros
> need to be
> connected with a good network of superfast deluxe trains. A
> good example is
> the Kurla Howrah and Kurla Nagpur Deluxe trains which are
> being introduced.
> More such trains between metros are a must.
The superdeluxe trains are a start in the right direction but why make
their
run-times so pathetic? The Dn. trains can easily cover the
Kurla-Bhusaval
stretch in 6 hrs. 50 mts. (a whopping 35 mts. less than the present
time)
giving them a Kurla-Nagpur running time of about 13 hrs. Igatpuri as a
passenger halt is another nail in the coffin :-(
>
> We should have certain trunk routes identified and developed
> as highspeed
> lines for pax and goods traffic. Superdeluxe highspeed trains
> can be run on
> these sectors interconnecting places (trasin/frequency as
> traffic demands).
>
> I suggest the following routes as the total set of lines in
> the programme.
>
> The following cities will thus be well interconnected
> CSTM/MCT, NDLS, MAS, HWH, SC, SBC, ADI, LKO, PNBE,
> GHY/Dimapur, MAO, Kerala,
> ASR, JAT
> (I mention Kerala as a whole rather than any one city since
> originatiing
> passengers are spread throught the state.)
.
.
.
All this makes sense logically but sadly is an exercise in fantasy. IR
services are politically motivated for the major part and one would have
wait for Rly. ministers to spring up from all these regions before
decent
trains are introduced, let alone high-speed connections. Excuse my
sarcasm
but a drastic solution is to periodically change the capital city of
India
so that other cities have some semblance of a chance to receive the kind
of
services that Delhi has!!
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: I'm back!
Date: 15 Jan 1999 09:43:01 -0500
>
> > I seem to recall a Londa-Hubli Exp. from the SCR timetable.
> Is this nothing
> > but a portion of the Goa Exp. that gets detached/attached at Londa?
>
> It is Castle Rock and not Londa that is the transfer
> point.The full rake used to
> go to Hubli as the CLR - UBL passenger within minutes of the
> arrival of the
> 'Super'. But I believe that the train is now officially the
> NZM -UBL Goa
> Express. The rake is marked as NZM - UBL and junta from Pune
> use this train to
> get to and from Hubli regularly. Much better (and safer) than
> a rough 10 hour
> bus ride !
Let me get this straight. The Goa express rake now goes all the way to
Hubli, right? Has it been officially named the Nizamuddin-Hubli Goa
Exp. or
is the name being changed in between? Moreover, what the present
transfer
point? If it is Londa, then the Londa-Hubli Exp. must be the renamed
train
- does this mean that Castle Rock is no longer served by this train
(temporary as it may be)? If it is Castle Rock, then the rake would
have to
traverse the Londa-Castle Rock section twice - the rake must be getting
renamed at Castle Rock and run till Hubli as another train. Please
clarify.
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: new Rajdhani.
Date: 15 Jan 1999 09:50:53 -0500
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sankaran Kumar [mailto:sankaran_kumar@hotmail.email
> Sent: Friday, January 15, 1999 11:06 AM
> To: irfca@cs.email
> Subject: RE: new Rajdhani.
>
>
>
> Does the new NDLS-Guwahati Rajdhani take the Hajipur-Bachwara chord?
> Dheeraj has mentioned no halts between Hajipur and Barauni.
>
> Kumar
>
>
I wondered about that as well. The Hajipur-Bachchwara line has been
converted to BG so the Rajdhani must be taking this route bypassing
Muzaffarpur and Samastipur. The Hajipur-Barauni running time of 2 hrs.
8
mts. also suggests that the chord is being employed - this is an hour
less
than Hajipur-Barauni via Muzaffarpur.
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: (no subject)
Date: 15 Jan 1999 10:02:36 -0500
> Hello,
> Oh, so thats where you got the pic!
> It was one of my better pics. Actually, I' d sent it to Sunder at his
> request several of my better pics. He had uploaded some of them on the
> net. We exchanged one lot of pics in fact.
A while back Sundar had sent me the location for his 200+ pictures, many
of
which are now at his Indian Train Gallery site. It is
<A HREF="http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/pics/">http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/pics/</A>
I found many of your pictures as well - shankar1-34. They are great.
Check
out mypic1-78 which are not on Sundar's official site.
Vijay
From: Shell Prosser <>
Subject: Re: Rail tracks at Kalyan
Date: 15 Jan 1999 10:10:52 -0500
>From: "Balasubramanian, Vijay" <vbalasubramanian@noblestar.email
>To: Shell Prosser <shellprosser@hotmail.email
>Cc: irfca@cs.email
>Subject: RE: Rail tracks at Kalyan
>Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 11:11:47 -0500
>
>
>
>I am assuming you are refering to a train arriving from Karjat on PF 5.
>Platforms 6 and 7 are mostly used by Up trains, so this conflict should
be a
>rare occurence.
I was actually referring to a down train coming to PF5. What I have
noticed is this. On some monday mornings, the Bhusaval Pass. occupies
PF4, so the Indrayani Exp. to Pune is taken to PF5. Now, if there is any
up train starting from PF 6 or 7, the Indrayani has to wait till it
passes by to turn to PF5. That could have been avoided by conecting the
tracks from PF 6 and 7 to the main up line at a point after the
branch-out from the PF 4 line to the PF 5 line. (sorry, i got confused
with the 'up's and 'down's earlier!)
Jai
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From: Shanku Niyogi <>
Subject: Re: (no subject)
Date: 15 Jan 1999 10:43:14 -0500
Great pictures!
I like the picture title "upliftedpants.jpg". It's not what I expected
though. :-)
Shanku
-----Original Message-----
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay [mailto:vbalasubramanian@noblestar.email
Sent: Friday, January 15, 1999 10:03 AM
To: shankie@emirates.email irfca@cs.email
Cc: pushkar_apte@hotmail.email
Subject: RE: (no subject)
> Hello,
> Oh, so thats where you got the pic!
> It was one of my better pics. Actually, I' d sent it to Sunder at his
> request several of my better pics. He had uploaded some of them on the
> net. We exchanged one lot of pics in fact.
A while back Sundar had sent me the location for his 200+ pictures, many
of
which are now at his Indian Train Gallery site. It is
<A HREF="http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/pics/">http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/pics/</A>
I found many of your pictures as well - shankar1-34. They are great.
Check
out mypic1-78 which are not on Sundar's official site.
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: I'm back!
Date: 15 Jan 1999 10:55:52 -0500
> Minar was also the first train to run non stop 263 Kms.
> between Pune and
> Solapur. One interesting driver link is the NDLS - SBC KK
Interestingly, this was achieved by removing Daund from the halt list.
> work the train from Manmad to Solapur via Daund without
> change. This is the
> longest continuos run of 425 Kms on a mostly single line
> track. On the SBC -
> NDLS journey, one set of drivers work the SUR - DD section
> while another set of
> drivers work the DD - MMR section. What is the longest run on
> the IR for one
> set of drivers - NDLS - BPL for Shatabdi ?
NDLS-BPL is worked by the same set of drivers as I observed during my
NDLS-Jhansi footplating trip.
Vijay
From: Balasubramanian, Vijay <>
Subject: Re: Rail tracks at Kalyan
Date: 15 Jan 1999 11:01:15 -0500
> >I am assuming you are refering to a train arriving from
> Karjat on PF 5.
> >Platforms 6 and 7 are mostly used by Up trains, so this
> conflict should
> be a
> >rare occurence.
>
> I was actually referring to a down train coming to PF5. What I have
> noticed is this. On some monday mornings, the Bhusaval Pass. occupies
> PF4, so the Indrayani Exp. to Pune is taken to PF5. Now, if
> there is any
> up train starting from PF 6 or 7, the Indrayani has to wait till it
> passes by to turn to PF5. That could have been avoided by
> conecting the
> tracks from PF 6 and 7 to the main up line at a point after the
> branch-out from the PF 4 line to the PF 5 line. (sorry, i got
> confused
> with the 'up's and 'down's earlier!)
This makes sense. Why don't they provide such a connection? Maybe, the
time spent in waiting is not significant enough to warrant such a
connection
or such occurences are infrequent.
Vijay
From: Shell Prosser <>
Subject: Re: Rail tracks at Kalyan
Date: 15 Jan 1999 11:22:12 -0500
>This makes sense. Why don't they provide such a connection? Maybe,
the
>time spent in waiting is not significant enough to warrant such a
connection
>or such occurences are infrequent.
>
>Vijay
>
It has happend frequently to me last year when I used to be a regular
weekend traveler between Bombay & Pune. As you say, maybe they think the
time spent waiting (2-5 min approx) is not significant! Thank you very
much for your responses!
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From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: (no subject)
Date: 15 Jan 1999 13:28:35 -0500
Hello Vijay,
Thanx a lot, pal.
As I'd written to Apurva earlier, I'd not paid much attention to this
site due to the jaundiced yellow tinge to some of the pics, thanks to a
lousy lab. Would you believe it, the originals are perfect. I got the
whole lot reprinted TWICE, once at the lab's expense, and once at mine.
He could never get the original color. He said this is due to bad
storage of the negs. I get reprints done all the time, with even older
negs. No problems there.
Anyway the pics are all thre, for whatever they are worth.
Best regards.
Shankar
Balasubramanian, Vijay wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> > Oh, so thats where you got the pic!
> > It was one of my better pics. Actually, I' d sent it to Sunder at
his
> > request several of my better pics. He had uploaded some of them on
the
> > net. We exchanged one lot of pics in fact.
>
> A while back Sundar had sent me the location for his 200+ pictures,
many of
> which are now at his Indian Train Gallery site. It is
> <A HREF="http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/pics/">http://members.xoom.com/sundar/itg/pics/</A>
> I found many of your pictures as well - shankar1-34. They are great.
Check
> out mypic1-78 which are not on Sundar's official site.
>
> Vijay
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: Arakkonam-Kanchipuram conversion
Date: 15 Jan 1999 13:35:59 -0500
Hello,
Kanchipuram-NDLS Rajdhani?
Ho ho, that was rich! Brilliant!
But with the Central Govt's enviable track record of neglecting the
South, a super slow stop-at-every-third-station Tirupati-Howrah Express
type of train is more likely!
Shankar
Sankaran Kumar wrote:
>
> The Arakkonam-Kanchipuram MG section on the Southern Railway was
> recently converted to BG. Being India, there was, of course, a dose
of
> politics. The Railways had invited the Kanchipuram Sankaracharya to
> inaugurate the line. The "rationalist" DMK govt. objected and the
> railways hurriedly also invited one christian and one muslim cleric
for
> the inauguration. The Sankaracharya stayed away from the ceremony.
> Maybe now we'll have a NDLS-Kanchipuram Rajdhani Express.
>
> Kumar
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
From: Siddhartha Joshi <>
Subject: Re: Query: WAP 5
Date: 15 Jan 1999 16:56:04 -0500
Harsh.
You seem to be eminently well placed to capture locos on film. I'm sure
one of us would be willing to scan and load them onto one of our
web-pages.
Siddhartha.
From: Prakash Tendulkar <>
Subject: Restored, working trolleys (trams)
Date: 15 Jan 1999 19:54:19 -0500
Folks,
San Jose, California has six restored and working
trolleys. They operate in downtown San Jose on a
limited track, due to limitation in overhead wiring.
(The track is a part of light rail track).
They came from various different parts of the world.
For more info and pictures, please visit URL
<A HREF="http://www.vta.org/Historic_Trolleys.html">http://www.vta.org/Historic_Trolleys.html</A>
Prakash
From: SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI <>
Subject: KR Freights!!
Date: 15 Jan 1999 21:18:11 -0500
Hi!
KR is moving really in great direction. Yesterday's Times of India, KR
has
published one advt. regarding it will carry 60 trucks on a train of 30
carriages from Kolad, near Roha upto Mangalore. So, it will not only
help
in reducing the time the trucks normally take on the road but save fuel
as
well.
This they call it Roll On - Roll Off. service. Must be the same is in
practice in other countries. But KR , here in India takes the lead.
Hats off to KR!!
Shrinivas
From: Shankar <>
Subject: Re: KR Freights!!
Date: 16 Jan 1999 06:09:29 -0500
Hello.
I'll second that. It should increase the speed of transit too, as the
road on the coastal belt is continuously through steep hills.
Only, roll on roll off is for ferries.
Truck transportation by rail is commonly known as 'piggyback' operation.
Its most common in the US and Australia.
In the UK and Australia, there is also an interesting variation. There
is an express train which comprises half of sleeper cars and half of
flat freight cars. You drive up to the station, book your car, which is
loaded onto one of the flats, and then travel in the sleeper car as a
normal passenger. At your destination, you get off, collect your car and
drive off. This is called the Motorail service.
In Australia, it operates near Alice Springs, where the roads are
particularly bad.
Beat regards.
Shankar
SHRINIVAS V. JOSHI wrote:
>
> Hi!
>
> KR is moving really in great direction. Yesterday's Times of India, KR
has
> published one advt. regarding it will carry 60 trucks on a train of 30
> carriages from Kolad, near Roha upto Mangalore. So, it will not only
help
> in reducing the time the trucks normally take on the road but save
fuel as
> well.
>
> This they call it Roll On - Roll Off. service. Must be the same is in
> practice in other countries. But KR , here in India takes the lead.
> Hats off to KR!!
>
> Shrinivas