With a lot of deliberation, had I
convinced my wife to return home to Dombivli (DI) from Borivali (BVI) via Vasai
Road (BSR). She has a First Class (FC) pass from BVI-DDR-DR-KYN, yet decided to
accompany me on this route via BSR after I promised her a faster commute of 45
min from BSR to Kopar.
Accordingly we left her house at
15:45, took an auto to BVI East and then fetched a Second Class ticket worth 15
and boarded a VR train to alight at BSR at 16.25.We were put on Down Fast and in
spite of a clear run, we were made to wait for a minute at BSR outer before
entering Pf 4. The run was good and there was no reason to complain. It was
drizzling all the way and the one thing that I miss from the yesteryears over
the BSR Creek bridge is the complete loss of the metal girder bridge sound. As
the new bridge is Concrete Girder, unless you look out, you fail to notice the
creek.
Pf 5 had NZM -ERS Duranto waiting
on its technical halt with an SR Alco. I could spot the MEMU waiting on Pf 6
through the open windows of the SL coaches of Duranto. We took the FOB to
change platforms and then walk ahead towards Diva (DW) end as suggested by fellow
railfan, Aamod Nerurkar to finally find an empty window facing trackside. I
knew Duranto would leave before us and we still had 15 minutes for departure.
Soon, 14117 entered the last and the adjacent PF 7 with CBE-BKN AC express with
the NWR rake in the crisp ICF Raj livery. The charm of ICF livery still gives
me goose bumps. It was 16:35 and there was no movement from Duranto.
I was getting sceptical that
Duranto might hamper our ON time departure and run. Besides me and my wife were
3 old ladies and a man in late 50s by the window. From their conversations it
was amply clear that they have been travelling on this line in the past too. Finally,
with a hoot, NZM-ERS Duranto made its slow progress to cross onto the CR lines
beyond BSR at 16:40. With the section ahead being devoid of Automatic Block Section,
the MEMU was destined for a late departure. As Duranto moved out, I could see a
speeding WAP hauled BCT-NDLS Premium making a dash through BSR. Then CBE -BKN AC which was patiently waiting
on the adjacent platform departed. We were now well past our MEMU dep time of
16:45. My wife was increasingly getting restless and though men can't claim to
read what women want as per research, I could see tell tale signs of," why
did you have to come here, we could have gone by locals to DDR and then DI and
reached faster" was written on her face. I was better off not daring to
disturb her thought process and just kept peering out of the window
deliberately. What was adding insult to injury were the constant jigs by the
ladies besides us about the trains on this section getting delayed.
It was 16:55 and we were already
delayed by 10 minutes for scheduled departure. Initially, I thought that
Duranto must have cleared the line and we should be departing any moment. But
soon, JP-YPR Premium AC Express made its way onto the last platform. I prayed
that we depart before it. It was 17:05 by now and Bandra-Ajmer Express behind a
WAP4 had already crossed us and every horn that we heard created a momentary
anxiety of our departure, only to find
that it sounded from the innumerable MRVC locals arriving and departing from
BSR.
The anti-RF wife was getting
angrier by the second and though I was enjoying the sight of so many trains I
normally don’t see (being from CR), the lava inside her was waiting to erupt. Thankfully,
when she gets angry, she goes silent. The controller had mind of his own, he
allowed the JP-YPR AC Express to depart ahead of us and that meant there was uproar
in the coach and commuters were getting restless. It was followed by a humming
sound approaching my window on the non platform side and it was GMO WAG9 with
Container rake entering the loop line and another WAG9 entered the last Pf at
BSR with Oil tanker rake. My prayer was getting louder now for our MEMU's
departure. The sequence of both freights with WAG9 crossing each other on both
sides of our MEMU will be etched in my memory for a long time. I did not want
to see the Oil tanker rake moving ahead as that would mean another damn overtake,
even before departure. Thankfully, the jerks which are so customary of freights
before coming to a halt could be heard and it indeed came to a dead halt.
MEMU departed at 17:18, a whole
33 minutes behind schedule. As we entered CR territory, freight with WAG7
crossed us at sedate speed. Enroute scenery was the only soothing thing for my
better half and as we whizzed past many freights, WDG4, BHEL WAG7 and correctly
MUed WDG4s were some of the locos on display. We halted before the LC gate and
then trudged slowly to Kopar by 18:00 in 42 minutes. DMU arrived simultaneously
on Pf 3. MEMU’s run was good clocking 90kmph on many stretches. Nature was at its
best and all one could see was green carpet and water bodies (submerged farms).
As we came down the FOB to Pf 1 at Kopar, Pune-Jaipur Express was slowly
diverging from mainline to climb up the circular ramp.
To suppress the anger in the
anti-RF, a packet of Ferrero Rocher was must and I stopped our auto at the
BigBazaar Outlet on our way back home. That finally brought her back into her
jovial mood.
