Independence Weekend Trip to Vizag: 2024

 

Independence Day and its associated weekend has always been a favorite with Indians to travel out with their friends and families. My son and wife had already declared to me that they had 5 days off and I was the spoilsport by not committing on my leaves. We had started scouting for destinations pretty late and by then airfares and reservations in trains and buses had already filled up to the brim.

We are a family with a lot of individual permutations and combinations when it comes to travel. While I am not averse to anything, my wife resists any travels in AC Sleeper Buses over 9 hours. My son is a junior Aviation geek, loves everything electric and my mom is okay for anything when it comes to travel but with her elder sister who is well past 75 years also tagging along in this trip we had to ensure that the travel isn’t very strenuous to anyone.

It was 10^th of August and the holiday weekend was just around the corner. Like every other trip we scout for international destinations first, realize the spike in airfare, narrow down our search to something within the country and then look for beach destinations as we don’t really like trekking up the hills.

The planning party always includes only two people, me and my better half and we break the news to the rest only a few days before the journey to contain the excitement. Here we had less than a week to plan and execute the trip as well. My son had seen the Vlogs of Submarine and Tupolev Aircraft at Vishakhapatnam (Vizag) and had been longing to see them. Airfares had hit the roof. Trains to Vizag were few and running into Waitlist. With trains being my forte, I checked multiple options of multi-modal break journey and decided on the following since we had tickets available in them and also to keep everyone in the travelling party happy.

 

15^th August, 05:00 hrs.: South Bangalore Madiwala Bus Stand to Vellore Bypass by NueGo Electric Seater/Sleeper combo.

15^th August, 09:15 hrs.: Drop off at Vellore Bypass, take local transport to Sripuram Golden Temple and return back to Katpadi Railway Station.

15^th August, 13:55 hrs.: Board the Tirunelveli-Shalimar Special Express to Duvvada (Suburb of Vizag)

16^th August, 04:55 hrs.: Get off at Duvvada (expect the train to run a bit late to have daylight when we alight) and then check-in to a Beacon branded hotel. Explore City.

17^th August, Full Day: Explore City

18^th August, half day to explore the city and at 15:55 hrs. depart by VSKP-SMVT Bengaluru Special Train.

19^th August, 11:30 hrs.: Get off at KR Puram and reach home.

 

 

15^th August 2024:

With an alarm of 2:30 am set on both phones, I was ensuring that we don’t miss the bus. After the customary morning cup of tea with mom, we get to finishing our early morning chores. Nirvaan who normally creates ruckus to get up at 6:45 am for school, today had no qualms in waking up at 3 am. The Uber from our house in North Bengaluru to Madiwala in South is scheduled to take 37 minutes in the early morning. It arrives sharp at 4 am and we start out with 3 suitcases and my laptop bag.

The Uber car which turned up for the pickup was a CNG one and its boot space was substantially compromised by the cylinder. The two smaller suitcases could fit in the boot but the larger suitcase could only be accommodated in the passenger seating area next to the driver. Somehow, Bhavia sat in the front seat with her legs folded. She agreed to manage the strain for next 37 minutes till we reach Madiwala.

There are 2 routes to Madiwala from our house. One is a shorter route through the city and the longer and straight road was to take the Outer Ring Road (ORR). We decided on the latter, but little did we realize that BMRCL blocks all the flyovers on the ORR in the night to undertake Blue Line Metro work on the median of the ORR. This meant all the trucks and heavy vehicles on the road at that time of the night have to divert onto smaller adjacent service roads. This is a painful task for the huge trailers and of course all other vehicles which run behind it. There was a total of 8 diversions on our way and the 37 minutes to destination grew to 65 minutes. I was tracking our bus to Vellore and it had already reached Madiwala from Yeshwantpur at 4:50 am. The coordinator was calling me frantically and somehow, I managed to tell him that we were running late due to metro construction. Finally, we spotted the bus and stopped the Uber just in front of it and loaded our bags and off we start the 5-day trip in a touch and go situation.

NueGo Electric Buses venture to Chennai and a few other places from Bangalore and they are fully electric and have a range of 300-350 kms on full charge. We had booked 4 Seaters and 1 Lower Sleeper berth in case one of us wanted to lie down during the journey. Nirvaan was excited to get into the berth and excluded us from his sight by pulling in the curtains and we were seated on the other side. The good thing about a Sleeper/Seater Combo bus is the ample and luxurious seats it offers in the lower tier as they have to make it 2(seater) X 1(sleeper), unlike the conventional 2(seater) X 2(seater). The speeds on this bus are locked to 80 kmph so once it hits the Electronic City Flyover, you realize that other conventional buses over take it with utter disdain. With most of the riders on the bus having an early start the bus is silent and everyone tries to catch up on their lost sleep. The ride is eventless and we stop for a loo break for 10-15 minutes and then again stop at NeuGo Charging station somewhere near Krishnagiri for a 40 minute break to recharge. We spot many other NueGo Buses come and start the ritual. Thankfully, there is a restaurant attached to this space and we order our breakfast which consists of Dosa, vadas and idlis.

 

We restart our journey and within next 30 minutes we reach Vellore Bypass at 9:45 am, delayed by 30 minutes. Had it been a conventional bus those 40 minutes of charging could have been avoided. It won’t deter me from using NueGo bus though. We had sufficient buffer in our trip plan. At the deboarding point, we got an Ape Piaggio Auto which could load all our luggage with ease and drop us at Sripuram Temple Complex in 30 minutes for Rs 400. After depositing our suitcases, mobiles and footwear, we started up on a special queue at Rs 150 per person which promises a direct darshan.  The pathway meanders through a long queue across the temple complex in the shape of a 6-point Star with the sanctum sanctorum perched in the middle of the Star with an artificial moat styled pond around it. The walk stretches over a kilometer but as it a covered pathway with manicured landscape of flora and fauna around it, we don’t feel the distance. We did take short breaks along the walk, sip in some water and proceed further. At 11:55 am as we reached the Golden Temple structure, it was glittering in the bright day light. We had to wait for 10 minutes for the mid-afternoon rituals where the door is shut for pooja. Luckily for us we were the first in the queue to stand facing the doors and as soon as they opened we had the best and unhindered view of the Goddess. Satisfied and blessed from the visit, we returned to take back our luggage and head to Katpadi Railway Station in another Ape Piaggio Auto at Rs 450. We spotted the 16^th century Vellore Fort with the moat around it. If we had a few hours in hand, we could have covered it as well but with Vizag on the destination board, we couldn’t afford this break.

 

I had checked on the departure of our train from Tirunelveli at an unearthly hour of 01:50 am and it had departed on its maiden special run on time. It was losing its mojo mid-way and at one-point IRCTC messaged us that it was running late by 1 hour 20 minutes but with a caveat that it is likely to make-up. This disclaimer by IRCTC does not give you any scope of reaching the station late. So, we made it to Platform No 1 of Katpadi by 13:00 hrs. with almost 55 minutes for our train to arrive. A casual check at the enquiry counter indicated the train would arrive by 15:15 hrs. Without wasting any more time, I prepaid for 2 hours in the AC Waiting area for us at Rs 35 per adult and Rs 20 per child per hour. It saved us from the scorching heat, gave us access to cleaner toilets and also offered space to get food and eat at peace.

 

We ordered from Burger King on Swiggy with delivery point as the AC waiting room. Beauty of QSRs is their consistency of food quality wherever you go. After completing our lunch, while my family waited in the comfort of that space, I did make multiple rounds of the station premises and platforms with consistent traffic bound towards East coast, Chennai, Bangalore and Kerala. I was constantly tracking the 08067 TEN SHM SPL Express and it seemed to be stuck in time. At 15:30 hrs., I purchased one more hour of AC Waiting Room facility. The tracking app was indicating the train to be stuck for more than an hour and I was starting to doubt it. On checking with the enquiry counter the railway staff indicated that it will arrive anytime at Platform 4. Not to take any chance, we vacated the AC Waiting room and moved along with our luggage to Platform 4 at 16:10 hrs. The sun was shining at its brightest and this platform had only partial cover. Hence everyone was trying to converge in whatever space was available beneath the Platform Roofs. This special train arrives via the Vellore Cantonment line which is a single track and I could see a train bound to Villupuram and a MEMU to Vellore CanT depart from Katpadi. Hence, the delay was increasing and inevitable. At 17:35 hrs. with a delay of more than 3 hours 40 minutes the LHB rake made its way onto the platform. Everyone had to run 3 -4 coaches ahead as the announcements of the coach position had gone awry. We settled down in our LB, LB, SL and SU berths in M6 as the consist was made from 3E coaches. It was okay on the cleanliness front and was going to be our home for the next 18 hours.

 

While the delay of 3 hours 40 minutes was frustrating, in hindsight, it would have helped us get off at Duvvada at a reasonable day time around 9 am if the delay was not going to increase. The future had something else in store for us. By the time we reached Arakkonam Jn, the delay was increasing at a gradual pace. It was getting darker and entering Chennai Suburban section meant we were crawling through. After Perambur as we move towards Nellore, the delay stood at 5 hours.

 

 

16^th August 2024:

I had taken the side upper berth and most of the time, when I woke up in the middle of the night, I would find the train to be stationary as well.  At 7 am in the morning we were crossing Godavari to enter Rajamundhry. We were pegging to reach Duvvada only by late morning. The special was given a royal treatment by the controllers. We were put up at so many wayside stations that I lost count and one point even saw passenger trains overtake us. In the course of our journey, we saw Vande Bharat trains overtake and cross us at various junctures. Lack of food options and water in the stations along the route was adding to the irritation. I found some bananas at Rajamundhry and some biscuits/water at Samalkot. The only other option available from 9 am in the morning was Veg and Egg Biryani which we didn’t want to try. Finally, after a delay of 9 hours and 30 minutes we reached Duvvada at 13:30 hrs. 

Came out of the platform, booked an OLA Sedan for around Rs 750/- after travelling for 45 odd minutes we reached the hotel. Check-in was smooth and we loved the room. First task on hands was to freshen up and plan for an early dinner as we were exhausted from the train ride. Believe me and Bhavia for making some unconventional choices when on a trip. It was 5 pm by the time we were all ready and there wasn’t much left for the day to do. We checked on BookMyShow.com and found a newly released Malayalam movie, Nunakuzhi at an INOX next to the RK Beach at 8 pm. The plan was to reach the beach and give Nirvaan 45 minutes to play in the sand on the beach, while we relished the Bhutta(Corn roasted over charcoal). Then we headed to Eat@Varun, a fine dine restaurant below the INOX, had some spicy hot food which consisted of Prawns Biryani, Fish Tikka, and Chicken Biryani with some starters. The food was super spicy even though we had asked them to make it Medium Spicy, in true Andhra style. We had 30 minutes for the movie and decided to have some ice-creams and falooda. (Nothing can beat a falooda from Mumbai though). Movie was a one time watch Comedy, but we had to really stress ourselves from falling asleep as the cooling in the theatre was extremely chilly and the storyline had too many twists to remember. We finished the movie at 10:30 pm and took an Ape Piaggio to reach our hotel back in 20 minutes, ready to soak into the super comfy bed. Next day had to be the day with all the activities aligned in it.

 

 

17th August 2024

 

We slept like a bear and after finishing the morning chores, we headed for a fulfilling breakfast. Bhavia had negotiated with a Cab service for an 8-hour trip around Vizag at Rs 3000/- It was on time and waiting for us at the gates. First, we head to the famous Ropeway to test adventure bearing capacity of the travelling souls. It was 10:30 am and we still had 30 minutes before it could start operations. Fare was Rs 150 and Rs 80 for Adult and Kid respectively for a to and fro journey on the ropeway. You need to climb around 50 steps to reach the base station of the ropeway. While the climb is really not confidence boosting as the stairs are made of metal and you can hear the screeching sounds as you move up. We wait for the ropeway to spin and give us an exclusive gondola with Nirvaan and I facing the base station while mom, aunt and Bhavia sit facing the climb. Since my mom and Bhavia are prone to Vertigo, they are advised to not move their vision by turning their heads instantaneously.  The climb begins and the gondola is gaining altitude every second. Along with it, our heart beats increase in direct proportion to the height gained. As it passes the holding towers, there is a dangerous asynchronous movement of the gondola which increases the fear factor for all of us. The ordeal lasts for roughly around 3 minutes but the altitude we gain is stupendous. From the top, we can see the entire coastline and buildings of Vizag. The ride is worth the view. Atop the ropeway station we visit the manicured gardens of Kailasagiri which has huge white statues of Siva and Parvati. We decide to get on the larger than life toy train which does a parikrama of the mountain top providing its passengers with a 360-degree view of the Vizag City and its surroundings with beach on one side and tropical forests on the other side. The ride lasts 15 minute and then we get back to the ropeway station for our return journey. The ordeal repeats while returning as well via the ropeway. We thank our stars for safely returning back to the base station.

Next up on the agenda was a long ride to Thotlakonda, an ancient Buddhist site atop a mountain which again provides a breathtaking view of the city. All along the road we are accompanied by the beach shoreline. The drive is pleasing to the heart. At Thotlakonda, we trek a few meters to see the ancient brick structures which are claimed to be made in 300 BC. With sun beating down on our back and humidity in the air, we quickly bid goodbye to the site and start the return journey back to the city. We stop over for a few minutes at the Rushikonda Beach which is cleaner and sparely populated than the RK Beach. Our Chauffer showed us the proposed CM House near the Rushikonda beach which looked better than the mansions we see in a Karan Johar movie.

Our next pit-stop was the Vizag Zoo. The entire walkable zone is more than 4 kms in radius and we settled for the faster and easier way to see the zoo via the battery-operated car.  It was going to be a ride which lasts 45-60 minutes. While the zoo is green and has animals from the various strata of the forest, it is comparatively less populated if you compare it with Mysuru or Bengaluru’s own Bannerghatta Zoo. We were advised to stop and have a closer look at multiple enclosures by the driver cum guide of the battery-operated vehicle.

From Zoo we decided to travel back on the beach lined street to a location where a small ship had got stuck during the frequent cyclones that hit the east coast of India. While Bhavia, Mom and Aunt decided to stay put in the car, Nirvaan and I did a 500-meter sprint through the sandy beach to reach the ship. It seemed to be stuck in time and rusting at its edges. We decided against climbing up and just posed for some pictures and returned back to our car.

Next up was the Kursura INS Submarine museum. A real-life relic of the Indian Navy’s submarine plinth next to the beach is a must visit. You get access inside the narrow corridors of a yesteryear submarine. It enhances your pride in our defense forces for the strenuous hours and days they put in such constrained environments to protect us from enemies. Nirvaan was bombarding me with a barrage of questions. Some, I could answer, for the rest I simply looked away as if I was deaf.

Across the road from Kursura was the Russian made Tu-142 Aircraft plinthed as well. We didn’t waste any time on the road and this one as well allows guests to walk through its aisle. This is probably the only place in India where the Hunter and the hunted are plinthed next to each other. The Submarine and the Aircraft may have crossed their hay days but they do instill tremendous patriotism in the young minds visiting them. Up next was the more modern Sea Harrier Museum. Nirvaan was going crazy looking at the artefacts and the engines on display. By now the twilight had kicked in and so had our hunger pangs. Calling it a day we decided to retune back to our hotel and dine at their in-house restaurant. Food was less spicy this time and our legs were hurting. After a sumptuous dinner we hit the bed with more instore on our last day at Vizag.

 

 

18th August 2024

 

Our return train to Bengaluru was in the afternoon, with major attractions around Vizag covered, we planned to leave early in the morning to Simhachalam in the hills nearby.  After our breakfast, we kept our bags ready at the hotel for a checkout and left in a round trip Ola for a 32 km one way ride up the hills with an altitude gain of 300 metres from the coastline to the very famous Varaha Naramsimha Simhachalam Temple. The complex is spread across acres of land over the hilly plateau. We paid for the special entry as we didn’t want to risk our return ride within the stipulated time for our train. The darshan was peaceful and we enjoyed walking through the precinct.

 We returned back to the hotel in the same OLA and then after a quick wash and change, we checked out of the hotel to head to the Vizag station. There were no surprises with the train this time, it was an ICF rake. It was already berthed and after placing the luggage and comforting mom, aunt and Bhavia in their seats, Nirvaan and Papa started our long ride to check the loco. It was P7 and the return journey was pretty uneventful barring a challenge in the adjacent 2A coach which did not seem to have its AC working. The passengers were asked to move into other coaches while the train departed.

Over the next one hour, we saw the technicians work on fixing it and later we saw a huge thick cable running all the way from our 3A coach to the adjacent 2A coach through the vestibule. Eventually the affected passengers were accommodated back in their original coaches. It did flare up tempers for a few minutes with arguments ensuing between railway officials and affected passengers on why a terminal starting train was not checked before being stabled on platform for departure. What everyone forgets is that it was make shift Special train and these things come with a “chalta hai” attitude. Anyways, problem resolution meant, everyone was finally calm and prepared for the long ride back to SMVT Bengaluru. Next day, we reached KR Puram with a delay of an hour which was much better than our journey to Vizag. Thus, ending the independence weekend day sojourn for 2024.

 

The trip ended exactly a year back and this writeup has been sitting on my desktop since then in an incomplete state. The pace of life has been awfully busy. This year we head to our native place with my family for the independence weekend. But, I still remember when we used to live in Mumbai, independence weekend was for our annual monsoon railfanning trips with fellow railfans. Times have changed, many of us got married, many of our friendships grew apart as some moved out of the city for career and growth. I am still good friends with a close-knit group of railfans but priorities in life have changed overtime for each one of us. Today, as we hide behind comforts of Vande Bharat or AC sleeper with or without our families on trips we take more often than yesteryears, but the magic and romance of travelling in a  Non AC train in the peak of monsoon with rain droplets hitting your face hard through the windows as you yearn to see the distant mountains, waterfalls, paddy fields brimming with the harvest and small kids waving at you from their farmlands will never be seen again. My son doesn’t like slow locals or passenger trains. For him speed is king, for my spouse, hygiene and comfort take precedence and as a family member you give in to their genuine requests.

A Tale of 4 Indian Railways and Namma Metro Stations

 It was a Weekend Holiday and my son had been insisting on taking him on a Bus ride for quite some time. While he doesn’t necessarily love trains, he is still okay with riding the metros as they are clean, modern and efficient. I had been waiting to ride the new isolated Namma Metro line between KR Pura and Whitefield. Since, my spouse was busy with a virtual seminar of 3 hours, I thought, it was a perfect escapade for the father-son duo.

 

After a week of constant rains, we had seen some sunlight in Bengaluru. While it doesn’t take too much for the weather to get gloomy again, we placed our bets on a short ride without getting drenched in rains. I packed my bag with 2 bottles of water, one umbrella and some biscuits.

 

We took our TVS Wego to Baiyyapanahalli (Integrated station of Indian Railways (IR) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL)) and parked in the IR Parking lot. We used the lone FOB which connects the 2 stations to pass through both the stations at Concourse level and head to the other side of the station. You might think, why did we cross both the stations. Well, the metro trains are still a month away to get a direct connection to Whitefield (WFD) from Baiyyapanahalli (BYPL). The trial runs on this missing link of the Purple Line have just started. Once commissioned, many IT parks of Whitefield will get a direct and easy connection to core areas of Bengaluru. At BYPL, maintenance depot is getting more lines for the future Blue Lines. Work seems to be at a good pace.

 

As we come down the concourse level, we have the BMTC’s Vayu Vajra (Volvo 8400) buses waiting as Metro Feeder (MF1) for the interim connection. Nirvaan had a wide smile on his face. We quickly took the window seat as more and more commuters alighting at the current vertex of Purple Line were coming and boarding the bus for their onward journey to KR Pura. This meagre 3 km distance costs us Rs 20 in AC bus and after a 5 minute wait we head towards KR Pura.

 

After negotiating a narrow Old Madras Road RUB (One side of this RUB, has been taken up by K-Ride to add additional railway tracks for the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project which will connect the line coming from Salem to BYPL via a new Double line ramp and then move towards Yelahanka/KIA Airport over a Double decker transit system which includes K-ride on Level 1 and Namma Metro Blue Line on Level 2)

 

After our bus jostled for space under the narrow RUB, we reach under the Jyotipura Metro Station which is receiving the final touches and thus narrowing down the road and reducing our speed. We cross the dreaded Tin Factory Junction which is the start of the ramp of the KR Puram hanging ROB pretty easily. Nirvaan was having a field day counting the buses on the road. As we pass the IR’s KR Puram Railway Station, the feeder bus makes a U turn under the KR Puram ROB and deposits us very close to the KR Pura Metro station.

 

 

This will be the future interchange between Purple lines coming from Whitefield and Blue Lines coming from Silkboard (Phase 2A) while heading to the International Airport in Phase 2B. The connection between KR Pura and KR Puram still hasn’t been completed and if you plan to carry luggage across the busy street then Good Luck!

 

We take a Rs 35 Single journey ticket from KR Pura to Whitefield (WFD) from the Concourse level and head to Platform 2 which is currently being used for isolated runs. Soon enough a Green Line rake arrives from WFD and Nirvaan is quick to point out, why is it running on the Purple Line. BMRCL has been using the rakes interchangeably across the 2 lines. Soon we depart KR Pura and take a ramp and cross over the under construction Blue Line towards Silkboard with ease. The IR tracks run parallel to Purple Line for quite some distance on the left side. We cross some long and tongue twisting station names. I was having fun in asking Nirvaan to read them out. We had now crossed tracks and at the next station other platform had another metro towards KR Pura waiting for us to clear tracks. Phoenix Market City, VR Bengaluru and Decathlon all went past in a breeze. Ride quality was good, and being an isolated section, crowd was as good as nil. It will realize its full potential on completing the missing link. While IR tracks from KR Puram run straight to WFD with a Hoodi Halt in between, Namma Metro take a circuitous route to reach WFD, understandably so to cater to the local needs. We also had a station called “Hoodi” which is almost 800-1000mtrs from IR station. Don’t plan to interchange here though. We were now passing through the IT Parks, Warehouses and 5 Star Hotels which cater to the localities. We also crossed the Park Square Mall which is very close to where my cousin stays.

 

Then, we slowed down to see a mesh of elevated tracks heading to the Kadugodi Metro Depot which is yet to be operational. Once complete, Purple Line trains will be stationed here and BYPL will cater to only Blue Line. Again, crossing the tracks, we finally entered Whitefield Metro station which ends just like the Mumbai Metro station of Ghatkopar. (without crossing the IR tracks).

 

It was 13:20 and while we were in the metro, Nirvaan wanted to have biscuits. I had to deny it as eating and drinking is prohibited. I was planning something impromptu. A quick check on NTES App indicated that there was a Bangarpet-SBC MEMU with a scheduled departure of 13:26 from WFD and it was running late by 20 minutes. This was good enough time for us to exit WFD Metro station, buy IR Tickets and get to the platform.

 

Little did I know about the lack of co-ordination between BMRCL and IR. Metro station ends at the west end of the platform and its not connected to IR station like BYPL. So, you have to come down the metro station, take a zig zag ramp at west end of the station which seemed to have no connections to the platforms and just ended across the platforms on the other side. It had a narrow extension towards the other middle FOB (a good 150-200-meter walk) only to realize that this Middle FOB only connects the 2 island platforms. We took the risk of getting off on Platform without tickets and walk a further 100 meters on the platform to take the third FOB and reach outside the station and buy tickets. Nirvaan was cursing me by now as I was making him literally run as we were losing time. We took a ticket to SBC at Rs 10/- before taking another flight of stairs to return back to the platform. The poor boy was exhausted by now and to pacify him, I bought him Snickers from the lone shop on the island platform. The delay in the MEMU kept increasing and we spent almost 20 more minutes on this station before the MEMU with a CR rake arrived. By now, Nirvaan had finished the Snickers and drank water.

 

MEMU was sparsely crossed and I helped him to a window seat. We had taken a ticket to SBC as Nirvaan wanted to visit the underground Metro station of Majestic after alighting at SBC and take the Purple line back to BYPL. Well, I was in for the ride, but Nirvaan had lost his patience with the amount of walk, I had made him take in quick succession. MEMU picked up speed and reached Hoodi Halt in a breeze. After a brief stop we again picked up speed to catch up with the Purple line on viaducts running parallel to IR lines. As we entered KR Puram Station, Nirvaan said, “Can we stop now? “. It was time to put “Plan B” in place. I said we can get off at BYPL (next station), in 5 minutes. He agreed.

 

As we left KR Puram, I was able to show him Plasser Machines and Camping coaches on the sidelines, followed by the Channasandra Triangle which had a train on the BYPL to Yelahanka arm. Quadrupling work is in progress on the SBC-WFD section and without much effort, we reached BYPL. Another set of stairs had to be taken for the exit from the station to the parking lot. A 15-minute scooter ride deposited us back home. We were both hungry and tired. After a delicious lunch we head to the bedroom for an afternoon power nap.

 

I am sure once the missing link is ready, the travel will be a lot better for residents of Whitefield but BMRCL and IR need to seriously consider the plight of its commuters and look at better integration of its stations from commuter perspective. More so, as K-Ride which is making the Bengaluru Suburban Section, it will have more integrated stations. Success of any public sector infrastructure project finally depends on last mile connectivity and commuter friendliness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nirvaan’s Transport Centric Trip to Mumbai

 

While my hobby of railfanning is known to many, my son is slowly evolving into a transport enthusiast as well. He loves air and road transport. His love for trains is limited to “Cleaner and speedier ones”.  I am sure my wife has a strong influence on him to reject the other trains. 😊

We had a wedding to attend in Mumbai on 14^th Feb 2023 and we were also keen on visiting our family and friends after the long Covid induced separation. So, the plan was devised by my spouse to depart on the evening of 11^th Feb 2023 (Saturday) and return back to Bengaluru by an evening flight on 18^th Feb 2023. I was tasked with the planning for each day’s schedule. On the agenda was meeting relatives, attending the wedding and showing Nirvaan the life in Mumbai and the varied travel options on offer. He had been catching all the action on Youtube and his parents who have lived all their life in Mumbai wanted him to experience the fun and pain of commute for a normal Mumbaikar. In Bengaluru, we don’t even get onto public transport as all family and office trips are undertaken in the comfort of the car or bike.

 

11^th Feb 2023

I had to start the day as early as 4:30 am since I had planned to work from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm in Hilton Manyata Office to save one day off. Our flight was at 7:55 pm but with rehearsals for the Aero Show on, the Kempegowda International Airport had scheduled closures of its both runways during the day. News feeds from 9^th and 10^th Feb 2023 indicated that airport was getting extremely crowded and some people had even missed flights due to this. Hence, we didn’t want to take a chance and had planned for OLA ride from our house at 4:15pm itself. On an average busy day, we reach airport in 45-50 minutes from our house.

 

As per plan, I left office around 3:15 pm and while coming down the ramp of Kalyannagar flyover, I lost power on my bike. While it was still powered on, pushing the accelerator had no effect on the wheels. I switched off the bike and tried to kick start and push button start it multiple times, but it was futile. This location is about 2.5 kms from my house and traffic was unusually high on mid-Saturday afternoon. I was starting to panic as I had less than a hour to fix this and reach home. Called my wife and asked her to first cancel the OLA booking. I informed her about my current situation and she messaged me about some 2 Wheeler road side assistance guys while I had parked my bike and went asking around the service road for roadside garages. After walking for about 200 meters, came across a mechanic. Explained him the ordeal. He took me pillion on his bike and helped me tow my broken vehicle to his garage. He opened the entire bike up to try to identify the problem. 

I had my family waiting at home for a flight so I wasn’t looking for a permanent fix. Just needed the bike to start so that I can reach home and leave for the airport. He did his best to somehow start it after almost 45 minutes of toil. I promised him that once I am back from Mumbai, I would come back to his garage for a permanent fix.  I thanked him profusely for getting it to start. Rushed home and reached by 4:15 pm. I had been in constant chat with my spouse all this while and accordingly she had booked OLA for 4:50 pm. That gave me roughly ½ hour to freshen up as the stress of making it on time had made me all sweaty.

 

We left at 4:50 pm and the OLA driver decided to take an internal road to the airport instead of the normal Outer Ring Road-Hebbal-National High route. It was good in hindsight as the normal route was jam packed towards Yelahanka due to Aero Show preparations. The alternate road wasn’t in the best of its shape, yet we made it to the Terminal 1 of BLR by 6pm. Vistara had 6 check-in counters and queue managers indicated a wait of at least 30 minutes even for the baggage drop. With no other way to speed  this up, we waited patiently. Nirvaan was excited as usual and his barrage of questions was already making his mom lose patience. She directed him to pedal all his technical queries to his papa. I had missed my lunch in the afternoon and Bhavia had ordered Burger Meal for me from Swiggy. We had taken it with us to the airport and I was adamant on eating it only after the Security Checks.

Finally, around 6:40 pm, we dropped the baggage and headed one level up for Security Check which was uneventful. Our gate at 7 was swarming with people and there was hardly any place to walk, forget sitting. Incoming Vistara was fairly on time but we were delayed in departure by almost 30 minutes.  We were on seats C, D, E and F and while I settled on C, Mom on D, Bhavia on E and Nirvaan on F, the right-side wings and engine were right under his nose.  The taxi from Terminal 1 to the newer South Runway can easily take 10 minutes, especially, if the take-off is set towards east.

 

After take-off, I switched seats with Bhavia to eat the soggy burger and then enjoy the inflight meal from Vistara which included chicken curry, dal makhani, rice, bread, butter and a pudding. We arrived Mumbai T2 by 10 pm. Nirvaan had a jolly good time spotting the International Carriers at the Airport. By the time we had our luggage it was 10:45 pm and we used the elevators to the OLA Zone and got into the Maruti Suzuki Dzire on our way to Borivali (My in-laws house). I was looking out of the windshield for the BEML Manufactured Mumbai Metro 7 rakes on the elevated tracks alongside the perennially busy Western Express Highway, while Nirvaan was busy spotting the Audi, Mercs and others on the street. I spotted 2 rakes standing side by side at southern end of Gundavli Metro station. We reached home around midnight and slept around 1:30 am exhausted.

 

 12^th Feb 2023

We had initially planned for a Self-Drive Car from Zoom but at the last moment, the car was unavailable, dashing the hopes of my eager spouse to drive on the roads of Mumbai. In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise. So, we banked on OLA for the trip. We had to visit 3 relatives' houses in Thane, 1 family friend in Dombivli East, meet train friends of my mom, meet my dear railfans and then head to Kalamboli for the night stay at another family friend's house.

 

We left around 9:30 am for Thane from Borivali in an Hyundai Xcent and while I was tracking the metro work from Dahisar towards Mira Bhayander, Nirvaan was fast asleep, still smarting from the travel last evening. Ghodbunder Road was gleaming with more and more high-rises and the road median now had metro work in full swing. We entered Manpada road to go towards Pokhran Road 2. I must say, Thane had developed by leaps and bounds. The landscaping, road infra and beautification of the walls alongside the roads were so welcoming.  We misjudged a turn and it was a pleasant surprise as we landed at the gates of Little Flower English High School, my alma mater. I was so happy to see the place after almost 25 years. Bhavia was the one who noticed that we were approaching my school and alerted me. We woke up Nirvaan to show him his Papa’s school. Then we returned back to the correct road and dropped off the cab. After visiting 2 relatives who stayed close by, we took the Auto (Bajaj Re) to the third house and Nirvaan who has a special liking for the three wheelers said, “These have 2 headlights, I want to travel in the one with one small headlight”.

Actually, that is the first time I realized that older autos had only one headlight. Promising him to take him on a ride later, we reached my cousin’s house and had a sumptuous lunch. We bid good bye to them around 3:30 pm to head to Dombivli in another OLA. We took the Eastern Expressway and headed to Kalyan West and then travelling towards Dombivli, we caught our first glance of Central Railway near the Metro Junction Mall before reaching the destination. Nirvaan was taking another bout of sleep during this journey. I had to meet Shantanu, one of my oldest railfan friend and my mom had to meet her train friends and hence we had decided on a common place, “ Dwarka Veg” , right outside Dombivli Station West.

 

Nirvaan got his promise fulfilled and we travelled in the small single headlight driven auto. The roads were still full of craters and autos were ruling the roads with complete disdain for traffic laws. Met Shantanu and we stood for a few minutes near the ticketing counter discussing, while showing Nirvaan a few express trains and constant pulling in and out of the local trains. He had never seen such a high frequency of train movements in Bengaluru. By 6:30pm, Bhavia joined us at the station after meeting her friend and then we booked another OLA to Kalamboli. It was our time to revisit our old house in Dombivli East on the way to Kalamboli. The ride was disappointing as unlike Thane which had shown signs of great improvement over the last 5 years, Dombivli seemed to have taken a turn for the worst. Unabashed driving by autos and people spilling over to the streets for the lack of footpaths were all the same. We caught a glimpse of our apartment near the D-Mart which was the only saving grace for the vast population in that area. I thanked the almighty for giving me the career option to move to Bengaluru from Dombivli. After getting on the Kalyan Shilphata road again, the signs of infrastructure improvement was evident as hoardings after hoardings publicized the new residential projects coming up near this road which will soon become another Ghodbunder Road of Thane.

 

OLA guy decided to take the village road to Taloja and we caught a glimpse of the Navi Mumbai Metro construction.  This project has been in the making for more than a decade now. We reached Kalamboli by 8 pm right in time for the dinner.  While we didn’t take any public transport through the day, we did cover the peripheral region of Mumbai in OLA and my son had enjoyed the cozy sleep all the way to the varied destinations. He is habituated to sleeping in our car as well, when we venture out in Bengaluru, so I won’t blame him.

 

13^th Feb 2023

 We had to return to Borivali and after looking at multiple options of NMMT AC bus, MEMU from Kalamboli to Vasai and EMU to Borivali, we finally settled for a long ride of OLA end to end as my mom was prone to Vertigo offlate and next day was important.

The OLA ride was through the familiar Panvel-Sion Highway, veering to Thane Belapur Road at Turbhe and then taking the Saket exit onto the Eastern Express Highway and then Ghodbunder Road to Borivali. This meant, Nirvaan enjoyed spotting the Private Non-AC Sleeper, AC Sleeper, NMMT, BEST, TMT, MBMT Buses enroute while his Papa was happy seeing the Harbour Line, Trans harbour Line, Navi Mumbai Metro construction, etc. We had short races with CR MRVC rakes as well, which was mostly won by the trains.

 

14^th Feb 2023

The wedding was at the Kohinoor Institue of Hotel Management in  Dadar West at 11:00am, so we left from Borivali in an OLA, this time in a Wagon R with the hopes to dodge the morning Western Express Highway’s congestion. Nirvaan and I had a good time spotting Metro trains snaking out of the stations, private cars, BEST AC/Non AC buses, autos and hordes of other vehicles. We also caught a glimpse of the Shivaji Park. The wedding venue overlooks the Bandra Worli Sealink in the horizon and this was his first glimpse of the sea-bridge. He had made up his mind to see it closely.  

After the reception, I told Bhavia that we were only 500 meters away from Siddhivinayak Temple. It was a Tuesday and Mumbaikars are known to throng this Ganesha temple for divine support to their lives. We knew it would be crowded but didn’t want to miss the opportunity. In comes the Kaali Peeli Taxi ride for Nirvaan and we take the Santro to the temple. We decided to skip the regular queue and went straight for the “Mukh Darshan”. Not only did we get a clear darshan, we got ample time to stand and pray to our favorite deity without being pushed around. It was the fastest and the best darshan we had in all these years of visiting the temple.  

Within 30 minutes we were out and Nirvaan had caught a glimpse of the Maruti Eeco Share Taxis outside the temple. We crossed the road and queued up to get into one of them for a short 10-minute ride to Dadar Western. He was gleaming with joy. Bhavia took II Class tickets to Borivali from Dadar and we boarded a relatively empty train from platform number 1. This was Nirvaan’s first ride on a local train, while my mom got a seat at Dadar, a fellow Samaritan offered the elusive window seat to Nirvaan. He was a bit apprehensive to go and sit alone but with a trackside facing window, it didn’t take too much time for him to get drawn towards it. While we were in a slow train, the continuous zipping past of the local trains on the adjacent tracks had him excited. While Bhavia kept getting angry at him for touching the unkempt window grills, I was feeling contended in making my son love the trains which are so close to my heart. 

By Andheri, I was sitting next to him and explaining him a few nuances which he could understand at his age about the trains, tracks, etc. We also showed him his Mom’s old office near Goregaon. Finally, we reached Borivali on Platform 4 thankfully reducing the need to walk the distance to the exit of the station towards east.

While our first choice was to take the BEST AC298 bus, the queue was recently moved and had no shelter. So, we ditched the idea and took the auto (Bajaj RE) to our home. Rest of the evening was spent in eating Vadapav, Veg Pakoda and Samosa which my Father-in-Law had fetched for our longing taste buds.

 

15^th Feb 2023

Today was the rest day, I had planned for my spouse and mom after the frantic travel over the last 4 days. I had to go to Hilton Mumbai near the International Airport to collect a laptop from my colleague. Nirvaan was insisting on accompanying me. After repeated instructions from all the members in the house on safeguarding the travel with Nirvaan, we left. The plan was to walk to the nearest metro station, Ovaripada on Red line (MM7). We bought tickets to Gundavli to cross over to WEH on Blue Line (MM1) to proceed further till Marol Naka. MM7 was empty and Nirvaan was comparing it to the Namma Metro rides in Bengaluru that I had taken him on a few weeks back. The best part of this journey for him was being able to see the road traffic on the Western Express highway down below. He was calling out the AC Buses, much to the amusement of the fellow commuters. 

Thankfully, the interchange is designed at Concourse level and it was a breeze to switch lines to MM1. The metro on this line were the biggest beneficiary of the new MM2A and MM7 lines as the usual crowd towards Central Railways have now started switching at Metro interchanges to hop onto MM1. This meant the incoming metro was crowded.  We got off at Marol Naka and took an Auto to the Hotel. He was quick to spot the Airport canopy from the distance. After collecting the laptop, eating pizza and a small show-around of the hotel by my colleague, we headed back home.

 I took an auto straight to Gundavli via Sahar Airport road to catch a glimpse of the under-construction work of MM3.

 

After reaching Gundavli while we were crossing the JOG Flyover, the boy holding my hand suddenly started jumping with joy. He had spotted the Non-AC Double Decker bus bound to Agarkar Chowk. We stood for a few seconds on the pavement till the bus disappeared. Then, we took the metro back to Ovaripada to end the day’s journey. Tonight, we were munching on Sev puri, Ragada puri, and the likes. Again, part of our To-Do List in Mumbai.

 

16^th Feb 2023

Today, was the day of Mumbai exploration for Nirvaan. We had open plans and only thing we had to fit into our itinerary was a visit to Family Friend's house in Sewri-Wadala-Bhoiwada area. We left home around 9:30 am with a plan to catch Western Railways Slow AC Local from Borivali to Churchgate at around 10:36 am. We had boarded the BEST AC298 from AshokVan to the station. I bought AC Local train tickets via the UTS app which was still on my phone even after leaving Mumbai 5 years back. The process was smooth and while we were early at the station for the AC Local, we noticed a Borivali starting fast being scheduled on Pf 8. Not missing the opportunity, we hopped into the Fast train’s First Class which had stoppages only at Andheri, Bandra, Dadar, Mumbai Central, Grant Road, Charni Road and Marine Lines before terminating at Churchgate. The ride was smooth and comfortable. All the way, Nirvaan was enjoying the overtakes and crossing of local trains.

We got off on Pf 4 of Churchgate and walked to the nearest bus stop to take the AC Bus bound to CSTM. Ride was a short one. Then we enquired about the Double Decker Bus but the Controller said those have been stopped, so we took a share EECO Taxi to Gateway of India. We showed him the RBI, Asiatic Library, the Naval Gates, Mumbai Police HQ before alighting at the destination. After a few pictures, we returned to S P Mukerjee Chowk. 

We spotted a Double Decker bus again and so we rushed to a bus stop but it vanished. The humidity of Mumbai was getting to us and while buying water bottles, I enquired with the shop keepers but no one had a clue of the bus schedule. After a frustrating wait of 30 minutes at the bus stop we ditched the plan and decided to eat at McDonalds at Colaba Causeway.  Then, we took the Blue AC Taxi from Colaba Causeway to Bhoiwada. Some of the sightings included the BMC HQ, CST Heritage Building, the JJ Flyover and Byculla Flyover, meandering Mono-rail structures and even the elusive mono-rail running above us for quite a few meters.

The apartment we went to was on the 21^st floor overlooking the eastern front of Mumbai with clear view of Sewri Wadala harbor line, Eastern Freeway, the under construction Mumbai Trans Harbour Link to connect to Navi Mumbai and the Oil Refineries of BPCL, HPCL. It was breathtaking and Nirvaan simply refused to leave the Balcony.

After a heavy evening snack which consisted of Poha, Vada and Dhokla we decide to fulfil the promise to Nirvaan. We took a circuitous route to Juhu Beach in a Hyundai i10 OLA with Bandra Worli SeaLink enroute. As the evening was slowly getting darker, the traffic on Mumbai streets ensured that we crossed the BWSL around 7 pm in all its glory. The sight was amazing and Nirvaan was spell bound with the height of the structure and knowing that we were above the Arabian Sea. I showed him Taj Lands End in the distance and then we took the SV Road, Link Road and Juhu Tara Road to reach Juhu Beach at 8 pm. The humongous LED wall in the dark sea was very vivid and innovative piece of advertisement. Nirvaan ran around, dipped his feet in the cold waters of the sea, bought some drone shot flyers from the vendors before planning our way back home.

 

My brother-in-law works close to DN Nagar Metro of MM1, so we asked him to reach Andheri West Metro Station of MM2A. This leads to a confusion. They should have named both the stations with one name. We reached MM2A’s Andheri West station by Auto. We had planned to take the MM2A all the way to Ovaripada on MM7. Currently the trains on MM2A and MM7 run a full curve from Andheri West to Gundavli. This also meant that Nirvaan and I would have completed the new Metro Circuit of Mumbai. Again, the BEML manufactured rakes ran above the SV Road all the way to Dahisar and crossed the WR line to enter East side and then drop us at Ovaripada. While there are no faults to be found in the rakes, the drivers still seem to miss the precision stopping of the rakes aligned to the Platform Screen Doors. The trains also need to run faster to attract more crowd as currently these rakes seem to be running at sedate speeds. Probably, they would increase it after a few months of initial drives.

 

Nirvaan had quite a bit of adventure with the AFC gates with him refusing to cross after scanning the QR code. This meant, when he actually crossed later behind someone, the tailgating was detected and we had to call the Customer Service Representative to validate the QR codes again. Just to ensure that Nirvaan had learnt his lesson we asked the Representative to warn him. The personnel were quick to tell him that he would be fined and also put in jail for 3 months. This statement petrified him while we were laughing and pricking him all the way to our home. Poor boy had never been warned by strangers in this fashion and was sulking all the way home. After alighting at Ovaripada, we decided to call my in-laws to Gokul Anand restaurant across the street for dinner.  We went to sleep well past midnight.

 

17^th Feb 2023

This was going to a be special day. After a lot of convincing and pestering, I had got permission to take Nirvaan on a short maiden railfanning trip. Before leaving from Bengaluru, I had booked in the Vande Bharat Express from Borivali to Vapi and a return trip in Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central AC Double Decker Express. I woke up at 4:45 am and woke up Nirvaan at 5:15 am. He was reluctant to get up as we had hardly slept for 5 hours. I just whispered in his ears that I am cancelling the Vande Bharat Tickets as he is not waking up. That did the trick. I had packed biscuits for him and I had 2 bananas before leaving for the station. The usual instructions to keep him safe and hold his hands at all times was read out to me by mom, spouse and in-laws. We took an AC 298 BEST bus to reach the station by 6:00am. We reached Pf 6 which was packed with a lot of commuters waiting for 22953 Gujarat Express. It is using the Conventional ICF rake and was hauled by WAP4. Our Vande Bharat arrived with a delay of 8-10 minutes. We were in the 6^th coach. We had aisle seats, but that didn’t stop us from uninterrupted views, thanks to the wide windows. We crawled through Vasai Road. I showed Nirvaan the EMUs running on the adjacent tracks in parallel and in crossings. His queries finally came to end and he had a brief 20-minute nap while I was enjoying the speed after Virar.

The train was 95% full and we crawled at Vaitarna. We were served tea and biscuits, earlier than the rest of the passengers, as we had to get off at Vapi. This was followed by breakfast which was enjoyable. We clocked 130 kmph and Nirvaan was watching the Ulysse App as well as the onboard display for validations. He thoroughly enjoyed the classy interiors, the speed and said that he felt it was better than an aero plane. Now, that’s a big comment from an eternal Airfan.

 

As we alighted at Vapi at 8:05 and August Kranti Rajdhani hauled by WAP7 391983 arrived on the adjacent platform. 60165 with flat beds carrying Steel from SAIL plant next to our house in Bengaluru sped past towards Vadodara. Nirvaan was quick to spot the SAIL logo. The Shatabdi followed up at 8:26 am. We had overtaken the Gujarat Express which reached Vapi at 8:51 am, a full 45 minutes behind us. Bhuj Bandra Express came in on Vapi Pf 3 and was overtaken by Jodhpur Bandra hauled by 30114 on Pf 2. 37279 brought in the Bandra Valsad Intercity Express. 301175 hauled Gandhidham Bandra with Madhya Pradesh tourism advertisements arrived Vapi at 9:30 am.

 I walked out of Pf1 with Nirvaan for a few minutes to explore the station promenade which looked rusty and dusty. We returned back to the cozy First Class Waiting room with wide windows. While Nirvaan had my phone to watch Youtube, I enjoyed my spottings for the next one hour that we were at Vapi. Karnavati with 37583 arrived at 9:44am and 19418 from Ahmedabad to Borivali hauled by 22702 arrived after that, which was duly overtaken by 22921 hauled Bhagat ki Kothi Dadar Express from Pf 2. This railfanning trip was very different taking into consideration of the kid travelling alongside. His comfort took precedence. Vadodara-Dahanu Road arrived on Pf2 and Borivali Valsad MEMU gave Nirvaan his first glimpse of an Old MEMU. He had seen the BEML made MEMUs in Bengaluru at the siding lines near the BEML factory, but this one was different for him.

 

Next up was our return ride in the AC Double Decker, so we crossed over to the pf 2 and waited with baited breath for the train which arrived behind the 39018. We had a decent run till Boisar where emergency brakes seem to be applied. As far as the occupancy was concerned, it was choc-a-bloc with not a single seat empty. We were on the lower deck and Nirvaan at a Window Seat just next to the stairs which meant it was a solo window seat. I had to contend with the other aisle seat. He was simply ecstatic to see our train zip past the platforms which were very close to his window. The coach looks a bit tired, yet a decent ride back home. He wanted to see the entire coach and so, we went around the coach from Lower Deck to the Doors and then up the stairs to the Upper Deck and then back down the stairs to the middle and then back to our seats. That’s when Nirvaan proclaimed that the train is not Double Decker and it should be called Triple Decker as the seats are available on three separate Decks. I couldn’t agree more.  At Borivali, more than 50% of the crowd alighted and after customary click with the train we headed home by another BEST AC 698 bus.

 

In the evening, we had a few friends visiting us and Nirvaan continued to collect gifts from each of our well-wishers. So much so that we had to add another bag in our return trip to Bengaluru. Most of them know his craze for vehicles and the gifts were definitely including Monster trucks, Helicopters, Aeroplanes, Yacht, Motorbikes and many others.

 

18^th Feb 2023

Our flight was at 4pm and that meant we had to leave our house around 1:15 pm. Since the bags had increased and Nirvaan had been insisting on booking an SUV for Drop Off as he know the car options in the OLA App and the Google Maps that they use. I gave in to the request and we got an Ertiga to drop us off to the Terminal 2. The ride was smooth and we reached the wonderful T2 by 2 pm. After a smooth check-in and security check we headed to our gate 87A and needed quite a bit of walk.  Bhavia was complaining that we don’t see any celebrities while we travel and as luck would have it, we saw a brisk walking old man along with another man who seemed to be his personal assistant. They came and sat right opposite to Bhavia. He was Mr Narayan Murthy of Infosys and was no less than a celebrity in his own right. While, he seemed to be pretty silent and kept to himself, we decided to not disturb him for a selfie and just feel contended for a wish granted. Nirvaan did stand besides the glass walls of the terminal to see the different carriers like Ethopian, Rwand Air, Emirates, Indigo, Go Air, Air-India, Akasa and so on.

 

Mr Murthy took a window seat in premium economy even though Vistara had business seats on board. We were in our usual D, E, F config seats with Nirvaan besides the window. We saw 777s, 350s, 747,737,320, 321 and host of carriers before take-off. BOM is a paradise for plane spotters. Nirvaan insisted to recording the entire journey as he had seen vlogs on YouTube. I suggested that we can take the take-off and landing videos, which he finally agreed.

Arriving at Bengaluru on North Runway, we got the Aerobridge which helped ditch the bus and led us straight to the baggage claim area, not before spotting the newest carrier to BLR, the Spirit of Australia, Qantas which was on the taxiway. Thrilled to spot the kangaroo, we took OLA PrimeSedan which was a Hyundai Xcent back home. He slept through the 45-minute ride, thus bringing to an end to a week full of travel in Mumbai. The only thing we missed out was the Double Decker Bus.

I read in news that the AC DD bus was inaugurated in the third week of Feb between CSTM and NCPA, but there is no reason to worry as the same manufacturer, Switch Mobility, the electric arm of Ashok Leyland is deploying 5 AC DD Buses in Bengaluru on the Outer Ring Road between Hebbal and Silkboard from 15^th March. So, the wait isn’t too long. We hope to hop on it soon.