Trans Mumbai Metropolitan Region On A Lazy Sunday

MAP COURTESY: MMRDA WEBSITE

It was the Sunday of 22nd November 2009 and I had got an off from office after a gap of 14 days. The last 14 days included many a shifts of more than 11 hrs and a marathon 38 hr shift after a server crash. I was in no mood to go anywhere on this much desired and anticipated off-day. On Saturday morning, I had a special request from a friend of mine to join him to go to Virar for checking out a few housing options. I tried to dissuade him from taking me on this long trip from my home, Dombivli. I tried to make him understand that I desperately needed rest. But he was in no mood to relent. Finally, I decided to give in to his demands. After all, I wanted to maintain the dignity of the proverb,” A friend in need is a friend indeed”.

So the plan was to go to Virar and visit a few properties, before heading back home to Dombivli. My friend, Babu was doing the night shift at office located at Cuffe Parade(Churchgate), Mumbai and he was to take a train to Vasai from Churchgate. Detrain at Vasai, and wait for me to join him at 11:05 at Vasai platform no 5, north end. Accordingly, he woke me up at 8:00 am in the morning and told me that he would be taking the Virar 9:35 Fast. I told him that I will take the 10:08 am MEMU service from Kopar. This was the first time I was travelling by a MEMU. The rakes are not as broad as the mainline EMU in the Mumbai suburban section, but are comfortable enough. I left home at 9:25 am, took a share auto and reached Dombivli station (East) at 9:40 am. I normally avoid travelling between 10:00 and 16:00 hrs on Sundays by CR as megablocks on the varied sections of CR tend to slow down the few services that operate during this period. There are a number of locals which stay cancelled or get delayed during this period. Most importantly, the crowd on Sunday is very little knowledgeable about travelling by EMUs as often we see the entire families travelling on an outing. On weekdays everyone knows where to stand, what a T,ST,C,K,A,AN,TL,N,S,KP,BL on the indicator stands for, how fast to alight or which side the next station comes, on Sundays all these trivial things are handled haphazardly as not all are habituated to the travails of the Mumbai EMUs.
As I carry a First Class season ticket pass from Kalyan to CST Mumbai, I take the CSTM end first class to go to office, but today I was planning to get down at Kopar, hence decided to take the Kalyan End First Class. After alighting on Platform no 3 from the skywalk connecting the Kalyan End FOB to Dombivli east, I headed straight to the Yellow/Red stripe markers on the iron pillars (which indicate First Class compartments). The station was choc-a bloc with families waiting for the next local in CSTM direction. The Indicator mentioned the next EMU,9:45 Semifast to CSTM. It was delayed by more than 5 minutes now. One can see the EMU departing from Thakurli as it is downhill from Dombivli. I was getting nervous, since I had to also buy tickets to Vasai at Kopar for the MEMU train. The EMU that pulled in was a Taxi-face MRVC local and after a brief halt of 30 seconds we left. The distance between Kopar and Dombivli is very small. The EMU did accelerate well even though it had to cover a very small distance. Reached Kopar (lower level) at 9:53 and I rushed to the ticket counter situated on the Kopar(Upper level) to stand in the queue. The MEMU service arrives on the Upper level on platform no 3. I do have a Suburban Smart Card, but it is not valid for the Kopar-Vasai section as the CR is still maintaining it as a Non-suburban section. There were many people wanting to buy tickets from the lone ticket counter that was open. I did see many commuters using the CVM machines to validate the coupons, I doubt if these can be used in this section. I waited patiently in the queue. There were a few restless commuters who were jumping the queue as after the MEMU service, there is no train till 14:35. They were greeted with the choicest of abuses by a few in the queue. The lady at the counter was very good at dispensing tickets. She managed to issue tickets at lightning speed. Finally after a nervous 10 minutes in the queue, got the tickets to Vasai Road. The expected time of arrival for the MEMU at Kopar is 10:08 hrs, it was 10:10 by the time I managed to touch down on the platform no 3. Soon the announcement of the MEMU departing from Dativli( a station on the Kopar-Panvel line ) was blared by the PAS. I decided to walk the entire length of the platform. There was a sizeable crowd waiting for this service. It was heartening to see the commuters lapsing up this MEMU service as the only other way to reach Vasai by train earlier was to take the long entourage from Dombivli to Dadar(CR) and then Dadar(WR) to Vasai Road. Below the bridge on the Lower level one could frequently see the EMUs making their way in an out of the Kopar platforms 1 and 2 on the mainlines. The MEMU finally arrived with its horns blaring at 10:16 am. Not knowing exactly the position of the coaches I waited patiently till it slowed down to a complete halt. I was happy to notice that there were a few empty seats.
Most often the difference between a window seat and a standing accommodation is a fraction of a second. A seasoned commuter always times his jump into the train to perfection, has eyes wide open to quickly locate the empty seats around, a micro-second decision to weigh the pros and cons of various seats pertaining to wind direction and sun rays and finally, brisk and athletic legs to plunge into the seat. I too timed by jump to perfection and managed to jump in to the most coveted seat in the compartment, a Window Seat. I was very happy to have achieved this feat. Soon the compartment was filled and there were 4 persons occupying the 3 seaters. Sitting beside me was a family of 9 individuals which included 2 kids (a 9 year old boy and a 7 year old girl).The kids were a restless lot, which I soon learned as soon as the MEMU left after a 2 minute halt.
I was experiencing the MEMU for the first time, and it did not disappoint me at that. The coach had seating of 3 X 2 facing each other. Luckily the seats were cushioned and the best thing was that the windows weren’t grilled and were very wide as compared to the normal EMUs that we commute on in Mumbai. I have this habit of resting one elbow on the Window pane and leaning out of the window to see the world outside and as usual followed the ritual. Today, I had compete with 2 young kids who were sitting beside me. I knew that they were jealous of me, for the coveted window seat which I had made mine. The girl, Ankita decided to forego here seat and rather stand next to the window. She should in the middle and blocked my uninterrupted view of the world outside. I was a bit irritated but was helpless. More annoying fact was that her hair was flying straight into my face. I had no options but to back-out and remove my elbow from the window pane. The MEMU had by now slowed down near the LC gate and the place where the infamous Gandhidham-Bangalore Express had derailed a few days back. It picked up speed and crossed the Ulhas river bridge and soon the Godown capital of Maharashtra, Bhiwandi Road (Station Code: BIRD) was visible. The MEMU halted for a brief 2 minutes. Many people got down here. Again we left with good acceleration. The way this little girl was clinging onto the window, I hoped she will soon join the IRFCA group. Her elder brother, Ankit was increasingly getting jealous of her. He was constantly pulling Ankita back to her seat so that he could take her position. She was adamant. Finally, Ankit complained to the other family members and managed to pull her back. The problem with this guy was that he was taller than the height of the window so even though he managed to get the window, he could not see outside unless he bend down, inconveniencing me. Finally, I suggested that he kneel down and he would get the best view. I had a hidden agenda in punishing him as; it would invariably make my view wider and clearer. We did stop enroute at Khaman Road and Karbhau. The entire Ghodbunder road with its tall buildings can be seen in the far south from Kharbhau. We did cross the Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway enroute. After the stop at Juchandra, the entire Western Railway mainlines can be seen fast approaching us from the distance. I did spot 2 MRVC locals making their way to Vasai Road while we were slowly but surely reaching Vasai. The entry to Vasai was painfully slow as there is a speed restriction. We reached Vasai by 11:05 am. After Juchandra halt, I was constantly ringing up my friend to know his status on the MRVC local that he had boarded from Churchgate. Soon, I was convinced that I would be the first person to reach Vasai as he had only crossed Mira road, when I had left Juchandra. I decided to quickly take the FOB at the north end and get down on the east side of the station. The FOB is very narrow and was choc-a bloc with commuters who had detrained from my train. On the east side, there is a ATVM amchine, I soon took out my Smartcard and collected the printed tickets till Virar. Again took the same FOB and got down on Platform no 2.By now, it was clear that the next EMU expected to Virar was the one in which my friend was travelling. I advised him to stay back in the train and I will catch him at Virar. An MRVC local with the yellow taxi face made its way into the station and it was relatively empty (by Mumbai standards). I deliberately decided to stand in the corridor as I wanted to spot the upcoming Virar Car shed on the West side. The ride was good and direction indicator in the Emu also mentioned it to be a W.R. We don’t see such a thing in CR, which only indicates the next station and the destination station. After Nallasopara, on the west side, I could see for the first time, what could soon become a busy Virar Car-Shed. I guess 50-70 % work is over.
My EMU slowly entered, platform no 1 at Virar. The exit from the Virar station was as chaotic as I had seen a few years back. I noticed that MMRDA was in the process of laying and connecting the FOB to the new skywalk, which was under construction. Met my friend at the station entrance and spend the next few hours scouting for new / resale properties in the vicinity of Virar West. By the time I managed to reach Virar back, it was 14:00. Both the local platforms 1 and 2 had trains scheduled for departure.14:10 Churchgate Fast and 14:16 Dadar Fast. Since, my friend had to go back to Churchgate, we boarded the 14:10 fast local after vending out my tickets to Borivali from an ATVM Machine.
I could have gone to Vasai and taken the DMU back to Kopar at 15:35, but since I had already wasted ½ a day in commuting, I decided to explore some new avenues. The BEST undertaking had introduced the AC 700 Service from Borivali to Thane, a few months back and I wanted to try it out personally. When, I used to stay at Thane, I was a frequent traveler by the BEST AS 4 Service to Backbay Depot. It used to drop me in front of my office at World Trade Centre in 1.5 hrs-2 hrs. The ride in the 7:30 am bus ensured that I touched down in office before 9:30 am. The best thing about this service is that it has very few stops and AC for comfort along with TV/radio service. The seating arrangement too is far more comfortable and has wide windows to view the outside world. Before BEST Service 700 LTD came into being the long Borivali-Thane commute was only possible by a crackling State Transport Bus. Mind you, these buses were so bad in terms of interiors and exteriors, we used to call it “khatara bus”, but the only 2 things that I liked about these ST buses were their rash drivers and their engine upkeep. The ST bus drivers need to be saluted for the way they drive the buses in spite of all the problems. One look into the driver’s steering and the gear handle will make you understand what I am really talking about.
Anyways, our Churchgate fast, a DC local left at 14:10 and managed to reach Borivali by 14:43. I bid goodbye to my friend and took the North End FOB to find the Bus-stop for AC-700 service. Large scale construction work could be seen at the eastern entrance of the station, with regards the remodeling of platform no 6 and the new platform 6A.As I was getting down from the FOB, I noticed the AC-700 standing in the middle of the road. I could see that the bus was fairly filled with commuters and there was only space for standees now. I decided to wait for another bus as it made no sense in travelling the complete route standing after paying for the AC fare. It was 14:50 by now and the Bus-Stop Flag mentioned the service to be running at a frequency of 15-30-15.in the worst case scenario, I expected the next bus by 15:15. All the bus stops were without a roof and there was just a Bus-stop-Flag to indicate the particular BEST service. I understand it could be because of the railway remodeling work, adjacent to this road.
I was the first one in the line and next to me were a family of 3, a father, mother and their teenage daughter. The line of commuters was becoming longer by the minute. It was 15:05 and there were no signs of the AC bus approaching. The service actually starts from Magothane Depot and reaches Borivali East station enroute, though 99 % commuters get in here. So all of us were looking in the south direction for the Bus to appear on the horizon. I noticed that the teenage girl was very restless and was moving back and forth in the line. Her mother was continuously giving here menacing stares for doing so. Her father, though was unperturbed by all this. The girl and her mother were discussing something in Malayalam and the anxiety to give in an ear to their conversation was growing. Finally, I could understand that the girl wanted to visit the loo and her mother was scolding her for not anticipating the same before leaving their house. They did not know that I too was a malayalee and was getting the gist of their conversation. Her mother was adamant on waiting for the bus as the line had become too long by now and if they forego it to visit the loo, they would not be able to join back. But, the girl was understandably under tremendous pressure. After a lot of deliberation, the girl managed to persuade her mother to break the line and they told me that they will be back in a minute. I agreed, but told them in no uncertain terms that if the bus arrives before them then, I would not be able to vouch for them. I could see that they were heading back to the station. They returned back after 10 minutes and I somehow managed to convince people around that they were indeed in the line. They were happy with the vocal support. Finally at 15:30, I was the first one to catch a glimpse of the bus at the south end of the station. For a tongue-in-cheek remark, I shouted, “ ohhh… bus vannu…”( ohh… finally the bus has come… in malayalam). The expression on the face of the mother and daughter was worth seeing. They must have realized that I had understood all the quarrelling they had before visiting the loo. I had deliberately shouted in Malayalam to get that expression out of them. Cruel me…….
I decided to take the 3rd last window seat, as the suspensions of the Kinglong buses used for the AC services are indeed good. They are run on CNG, the only grouse is the initial acceleration. The bus struggles to pick up speed instantaneously as opposed to the other buses purchased by BEST under MUTP Phase –I. but, once the Kinglong hits the highway, it shows its true potential. By the time, the bus was ready to leave it was filled to the brim. The latest modification in these buses being a large central pneumatic door, under instructions from the state government, after a school bus fire in the recent past. This has reduced the number of seats in the buses by at least 4. There were more than 25 people standing in the bus. The middle class in Indian metropolises has certainly boomed. So many people were ready to shell out that extra for a comfortable ride. The bus fare was a flat Rs. 50 /-. There was a traffic jam at the entrance of the MSRDC(ST) stand and by the time we reached the Western express highway(WEH), we had lost 15 minutes. The real ordeal started after that. We took an agonizing 50 minutes to commute the distance till the entrance of Ghodbunder road. There were large scale traffic jams on the WEH as the flyover construction work was in progress in the middle of the road. To add to the agony were some haphazard parking by private vehicles and Private Tour Operators. Dahisar Check naka was chaotic as ever and the junction at the entrance to Mira-Road continues to be the problem area. The traffic was bumper to bumper at these locations and the bus was crawling. By the time our bus took a right turn to Ghodbunder Road, it was 16:40 hrs. If I had waited at Vasai for the 15:35 DMU, I must have surely reached Kopar by then. No point in thinking about the bygones.
Ghodbunder Road is an important road as it connects Thane to Borivali in the shortest possible way; the other alternatives are really dreadful, the less frequented Mulund-Goregaon Link road, the new Vikhroli-Jogeshwari link road, or the painful entourage via Sakinaka-Chakala and Andheri. MSRDC has done a splendid job in maintaining the road pothole free. At certain places we traverse through the Sanjay Gandhi National park. The road has been cut through the rocks on south side and we have the Thane creek as a faithful companion on the north side. It’s a nature lovers delight, but equally scary in the night. At certain places we do see the Road signs of “Beware of the leopard”. As soon as the Bus enters the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) limits it becomes the widest road in Maharashtra. All thanks to the erstwhile commissioner of Thane, T. Chandrasekhar. The residents of Thane have a lot of respect for this person. He was instrumental in the makeover of the once sleepy town of Thane into the present day modern urban conglomerate. My bus was speeding through the highway, like there was no tomorrow as we were very late. Soon the forest and creek side gave way to huge complexes, malls, service centers and skyscrapers as we neared Kaburbawdi. I learn that TMC is building a flyover at this junction to ease the commute for citizens as long distance plying trucks can then take the flyover, to avoid the city traffic.AC 700 service uses the unconventional way of reaching Thane station as it does not terminate on the West side of the station. It takes the Eastern Express highway(EEH), right up to the gates of Mumbai traversing over the Kopri Rail Bridge and reaches Thane’s Anand Dighe Praveshdwar and make a U turn to reach the Thane Station East. When the bus was running parallel to the railway tracks, I spotted a late scheduled Sinhagad Express due to girder work at Karjat between 10:00 and 15:30 hrs.It was 17:30 and by the time I alighted from the Mulund End FOB to platform no 5, the WCG2 driven Sinhagad had come to a halt. After an unusual 10 minute halt, it left and I was waiting to see the next scheduled fast train as the timetable goes for a toss on Sunday at CR. Fortunately, the 17:10 Badlapur fast was scheduled next. I boarded the Kalyan End First class and stood by the side of the door. Instead of the customary 13 minutes the EMU took 23 minutes before reaching Dombivali. We halted twice before Parsik tunnel and once before Diva LC gate. Alighted from the EMU at 18:05, took a share auto and reached home at 18:20. Thus bringing to an end a long and tiring journey through a small section of Mumbai Metropolitan region. I am a maverick when it comes to discovering the alternative routes. Whenever I have time on hand, I make it a point to travel by the unconventional and alternate routes just to discover them.
-Nikhil Padinjaroot Karunakaran
Dombivali(+91-9819250516)