Have u ever missed the last local? I have….

On 26th October 2009, when the motorman were protesting to have their demands heard, I was one of those who managed to travel by my favorite window seat albeit a little late. That day I was doing afternoon shift (14:00-22:30 HRS) at office. I left home at 11:40 am and took a share auto to Dombivali. I reached the station at 11:55, just in time for the 11:59 CST local from Dombivali. As I was making my way to the Platform no 2, I observed that all the local train timings on the indicators were of the trains I normally don’t see. Actually, the trains were late by 30-45 minutes. There was unusual rush on the Kalyan End FOB for this time of the day. Soon, it was announced that the next local expected on Platform no 3 would go only until Thane. I decided to peek across the FOB to platform no 2 and as expected there was no 11:59 CST local, neither was it scheduled on the indicators.
I decided to try my luck as there were 2 CST locals starting from Dombivali platform no 2 within a gap of 16 minutes, the 11:59 and 12:15 locals. I expected at least one of them to be scheduled in some time as the trains that were arriving on platform no 1 indicated that the Down local from CST should be on its way as most of the trains that used to run before it were slowing making their way in and out of Platform no 1.I was hopeful and was paid handsomely. At 12:10 the PAS blared about the 11:59 CST local. I was relieved. As soon as the train entered the platform no 2, the number of commuters wanting to enter the EMU had swelled exponentially. With a well timed jump into the CST End first class I managed the coveted Window seat facing the fast tracks. This is mostly the second choice for many who jump into the train in hope of the Window seat as this side bears the brunt of the sun for most of the journey. I have no qualms in taking this seat as it
gives me a view of the fast tracks.
The 11:59 CST local actually left at 12:17. The journey was a real drag. The accident site was covered at less than 20 kmph. Some curious commuters were still trying to smarten themselves from the recent tragedy at this spot. We managed to reach CST by 13:45. I took a bus and reached office by 14:10.
I was planning to leave office when some urgent work held me back at 22:30 and had to stay back till 23:10. By the time I reached CST, it was 23:25 and the last fast local on CR the 23:18 Ambarnath Fast had already left and I had to catch a slow local. I normally get down at the Times of India entrance of CST and take the FOB at the Kalyan End to get down at the platforms. One sight at all the indicators clearly defined the day for me, the trains were still running late. (23:18 being an exception) The 22:55 T, 23:05 A, 23:10 T, 23:20 N were all scheduled for departure from various platforms. I decided to get down on platform no 3 and take the 23:05 Ambarnath local. It left at 23:30. The First Class travel at late nights in Kalyan End of the slow locals is enjoyable and sometimes scary too. Many a times you are the lone commuter in the coach and the next person who boards your coach would be as far as Byculla and sometimes Dadar too. My coach was fairly
populated by the time Byculla arrived. I was feeling sleepy as the nights are increasingly becoming colder nowadays. (Yes, it’s an irony that 24 deg Celsius in the night is considered cold by we Mumbaikars). I often lean by the window and take a good nap before my alarm wakes me up in time for Dombivali. I normally set and alarm of 1 hour and 10 minutes with respect to the departure time at CST. I forgot to set the alarm. As the stations went by, I did wake up at some stations en-route like, Sion , Bhandup and Diva.
I should have readied myself to get down at Dombivali, instead went back to sleep. The stretch between Diva and Kopar has vast open landscapes. During the chilling winter months the winds blown in through the window at this location are extremely cold and most of the commuters down the Glass Shutters. I should have known this fact. My eyes opened again as we were leaving Dombivali. By the time, I managed to gather my conscience and rush to the door, the EMU had gathered speed and I dared not to jump and hurt myself. I decided to alight at Thakurli station, which is very close to Dombivali. I was praying that the last train in the UP direction shouldn’t have left Thakurli before I reach it. As the luck would have it. By the time, my EMU entered Thakurli’s island platform 1, the last CST bound local from Badlapur was making its way out of the platform no 2 side of the island platform. I rued my timing. It was already 00:50 and the train I missed had a
scheduled departure of 00:15 from Thakurli. But knowing the fact that the day was full of delays I thought I had a last chance of a 00:25 EMU which runs till Thane.
I wasn’t lucky enough. The indicators went blank, and in all probability the train I missed was the last train in the UP direction. Thakurli is a very small station on the curve. It has a lone island platform and a manned LC gate at its’ south end. Even though an FOB exists, most of the commuters take the dangerous way out of the station to the east or to the west. Every 10-15 minutes the EMUs to places north of Kalyan were making their way in and out of Thakurli’s Platform no 1. I was the lone warrior waiting for the miracle facing the Kalyan end. Frustrated at myself, I decided to venture out and scot for an auto. I was ready to pay anything for the ride. Alas, there were no autos on either side of the LC. All I could see were angry and barking dogs. I am one of those guys who is very scared of dogs. Even though the distance between Thakurli and Dombivali was fairly walk able in 20 minutes, the fear of dogs chasing me prevented me from taking
such a risk in the night.

As I was walking the stretch of this lone platform I noticed a drunkard who was begging at this time of the night. I shooed him away. Later, it dawned upon me that he was at home at the station, but I wasn’t. It was increasingly becoming scarier. I approached the guard at the LC gate and asked him if there is going to be anymore locals in the UP direction, do my dismay, he answered in the negative. I tried to ask him if he knew anybody who drove auto in the night, so that I could approach the guy and make my way home. But, the guard knew nobody. I could see that the Signal was green in the Up direction. There was a train approaching from Kalyan side. I rejoiced for a moment, but to my utter disbelief it was a WDS6D Shunter making it way to Kurla.
In the meanwhile, my mom called up to ask where I was. I explained her the situation and she suggested that I make my way to Kalyan as it was a bigger station and I could manage to get some sort of transportation as the trains in the Down direction were still running. I decided against it as it would mean moving further away from home. Yes, it would have been fun to railfan all night at Kalyan, but if you got to go to work the next day then this option goes out of the window. I took out the CR Local timetable sheet from my bag and found that there is a 02:30 Emu from Karjat in the UP direction reaching Thakurli at 03:36. It was 01:30 by now. I decided to spend the next 2 hours at the deserted station. I tried calling up the MERU Cabs service and the reply was they could arrange for a cab only by 2:30 am. I told the agent to not book the cab as it did not serve my purpose.
There is a road which runs parallel to the eastern side of the railway tracks between Thakurli and Dombivali. I was constantly monitoring it to catch a glimpse of any vehicle which could help me. I saw two young men walking across the LC onto the platform. One of them walked straight to me and asked for my cell phone saying, “Brother, I have no balance in my phone, would you lend me your cellphone to make a call, its urgent”. With a hidden agenda in mind, I allowed him to make a call from my cell even though both these guys were drenched in liquor. The pungent smell was all over, I barely managed to stand beside them. After he returned the phone, I asked him if he could do me a return favour my telling me if there is any mode of transportation (Auto/Taxi/Private cabs) available. He mocked at me for asking such a silly question.

I decided to ignore them as they were conversing amongst themselves in a very abusive and abrasive manner. Suddenly, I could notice a small dim light on the parallel road slowly and steadily approaching the LC. I shouted at the top of my voice to alert the driver of my presence, but as the bad luck would have it, he could not hear me because of a WCAM3 passing with an unknown express, most probably it was the late running Mahanagari Express. Finally, after five more minutes another auto seemed to be approaching the LC gate. I didn’t want to take any more chances hence, crossed the tracks and managed to haul the auto to a stop. Frantically, I asked him,” Shankheshwar Nagar, Manpada, Dombivli”. He looked at me and finally nodded his head in the affirmative. With a huge sigh of relief, I relaxed and within 15-20 minutes managed to reach home. I paid the guy Rs. 50 only. He was happy to return back with a heavy price for the last haul (by his
standards). I had to give a silent ear to all the bashing for being irresponsible and sleeping without an alarm at home. But the end result was I was finally home by 02:15. I dare not sleeping in the train without setting an alarm…hehehehe…