International Railroad Discussion > More from India

As India weems all the rage at the moment here are a few more pictures from my recent holiday to Mumbai and Kerala

The obligatory Mumbai suburban pictures, on the Central Railway near Byculla a couple of stations out of CST

The interior of an EMU, the 5'6" gauge means they are huge inside.

One of the unique features of Mumbai are the Dabbawallahs, men who collect office workers hot lunches in insulated containers (tiffin boxes) from their homes, bring them into the city by train and then distribute around offices all over the city centre. Thousands of lunches are delivered and the empties collected and returned every day with a success rate which is almost 100%. It is an extraodinary feat of logistics which is done without the aid of computers, GPS or seemingly any other modern day aid. One of the busiest stations for the Dabbawallah is Marine Lines, on the Western Railway just before Churchgate Terminus. The Dabbawallahs travel in the luggage compartment of Western Railways MUs, which are reserved for them between 10:00 and 1200 and between 14:00 and 16:30.

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Out on the mainline, on our way south from Mumbai to Mangalore we passed a Vasco de Gama bound local at Madgaon in Goa early in the morning of New Years Eve. Like much on Indian Railways the signalling has a very familiar look to British eyes. The loco is an Alco-DLW WDG3a.

One of the most interesting trains trains we passed was a northbound piggyback service carrying whole trucks, with their drivers riding in the cab. This was on the Konkan Railway south of Goa taken at about 10:00. This is a more modern EMD-DLW WDG4.

Our train engine was a WDG3a, which made for authentic Alco sound effects and smoke as we tackled a hill out of Karwar in Karnataka



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/14 01:59 by 86235.

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We stayed in Nileshwar in Northern Kerala for a couple of nights, the railway was a 2km walk away from our resort through the paddy fields and banana plantations. This is a prosperous looking corner of India and, like everywere, people are incredibly friendly. After taking a few pictures on New Years Day (of which this is one) I walked back just as schools were turning out. I was constantly stopped or waved at by giggling groups of school children, all of whom wanted to try out their English. The train is 16348, the Trivandrum Express from Mangalore to Trivandrum (the capital of Kerala) behind a DLW-EMD WDP4 approaching Nileshwar station. The west coast line line south of Mangalore is in the process of being electrified.

At Kozhikode (Calicut) one of the oldest spice trading ports on the west coast of India (we're talking Roman times) a kit bashed Alco-DLW WDM2 pulls out on weekly train 12287 the Dehradun Express which connects the far south of India with the far north, a journey of 3500 kms which takes 56 hours inclusive of about two and a half hours of stops.

This is a Three Tier AC car, carrying 64 passengers in either two berth sections or six berth compartments.

I've a few more pictures if you are interested

http://nick86235.smugmug.com/Trains/2014/India-Mumbai-the-Konkan-Railwa/i-BVkrtQ2



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/14 01:09 by 86235.

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How crowded can that country be!

I find the piggyback "Indian way" highly interesting :)

in the piggyback train photo, it looks like the engineer is holding a green flag? out of the window. anybody know what that is about?

66

goneon66 Wrote:
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> in the piggyback train photo, it looks like the
> engineer is holding a green flag? out of the
> window. anybody know what that is about?
>
> 66

Happens when trains pass on single track. I've got another picture taken on that Mumbai to Mangalore journey when again we were put in the hole and passed by an Alco powered freight, the secondman of the freight did the same whilst one of our crew observed it through the station from the ground.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/14 08:17 by 86235.

Most interesting, thank you.

McKey Wrote:
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> How crowded can that country be!

The Mumbai suburban railway carries the entire population of Finland plus 50% in and out of the city every day.

Thanks for the post. India is always entertaining.

Cheers,
Jack

Yes, imagine that! Must be operators heaven by the numbers, but not otherwise...

86235 Wrote:
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> McKey Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > How crowded can that country be!
>
> The Mumbai suburban railway carries the entire
> population of Finland plus 50% in and out of the
> city every day.

McKey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, imagine that! Must be operators heaven by the
> numbers, but not otherwise...

It's true that during the Super Dense Crush period it is just a little bit crowded but most of the time, whilst busy it is not uncomfortably so. Lots of passengers travel near the doors simply to keep cool, invariably there are seats within the car to sit down if you don't mind the heat. At present an air conditioned train is being trialled on the Western Railway

Superb set of images, Nick. That truck train must be very colorful. Chris uk.

Thanks Chris, I can't wait to go back!

Great series! My wife loves Indian movies so we watch a lot of them. I knew about Dabbawallahs but it still is impressive when you think about it. I liked the piggyback train too.

Art Reid
Brunswick, MD
Art's Photo Squirrel Flickr pages

Having spent much of my life in Asia before turning west to Africa, my recent visit to Sri Lanka has opened my eyes to what has happened to South Asia in the past 20 years. If you read the financial newspapers the big news always seems to be China, yet South Asia as a whole is playing a very important role in the World economy and transportation is a key factor in the changes. What amazes me is the relative efficiency of the railways given their colonial legacy.

The fare structure in Sri Lanka is heavily subsidized - a first class ticket in a plush observation car from Colombo to Kandy costs only 400 Sri Lankan Rupees. That is about US$3.00! You can drive there more quickly but why would you want to?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/14 00:41 by Focalplane.

There is a hilarious episode of Top Gear (UK version) where Jeremy, Richard and James try to "reinvent" Daddawallahing by using cars instead of trains. The result is good for a laugh! Great photos, thanks for sharing.


86235 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> One of the unique features of Mumbai are the
> Dabbawallahs, men who collect office workers hot
> lunches in insulated containers (tiffin boxes)
> from their homes, bring them into the city by
> train and then distribute around offices all over
> the city centre. Thousands of lunches are
> delivered and the empties collected and returned
> every day with a success rate which is almost
> 100%. It is an extraodinary feat of logistics
> which is done without the aid of computers, GPS or
> seemingly any other modern day aid. One of the
> busiest stations for the Dabbawallah is Marine
> Lines, on the Western Railway just before
> Churchgate Terminus. The Dabbawallahs travel in
> the luggage compartment of Western Railways MUs,
> which are reserved for them between 10:00 and 1200
> and between 14:00 and 16:30.