With a Shatabdi ride to Ahmedabad (ADI) on mind,
a few hours of sound sleep was just a formality. We woke up at 2:30 am and
finished the morning chores and with a neighbourhood Autowalla uncle intimated
to pick us up, we hit the road at 4:00am. We were the only souls on the road.
He dropped us at the middle FOB ticket counter and after using my ATVM card to
purchase 4 Second Class tickets to Mumbai central (BCT).We climbed up the FOB
at 4:15am when Vishakhapatnam-LTT express was passing at a sedate speed through
Pf 5 behind Alco twins. I wanted to capture the empty FOB and urged my wife for
a picture and then we got off on Pf 3. A LHF EMD Hauled HYB- CSTM Express gave
us a nice parallel run till Diva as we had boarded a second class coach from Dombivli
(DI) on a CST Mumbai bound local with DI timings of 4:25am.
The head code was 2225 and surprisingly all the
seats were occupied. But we did find solace in seats at different locations
within the coach. Commuters kept increasing as each station passed by till
Thane where a lot of them alighted. I was denied a window seat by my mom who
decided to catch up on some sleep by the window. In the dark of the night, I
could spot a WCAM2 and WCAM3 hauled express chasing and beating us before
Kurla. After Matunga, I offloaded both the trolley bags from the luggage racks
and walked up to the doors along with my family to catch a glimpse of the
familiar EMD with Dadar (DR) - Karmali Jan Shatabdi waiting on Pf 7 for
departure. We got down at DR Pf 3 and my wife suggested that we should take the
North end FOB as it has fewer stairs as compared to the other FOBs. Commuting
daily to Goregaon (GMN) had actually made her a veteran of local train commute.
I couldn’t disagree and as we crossed over from DR to DDR, a fast local for Churchgate
(CCG) was scheduled on Pf 4 of DDR so we quickly alighted and caught it. Ride
to BCT was brisk and we got down just at the base of FOB and then without any
inconvenience walked straight onto the BCT Terminus Pf 3 where 12009 BCT-ADI
Shatabdi was berthed. We couldn’t get luckier than this. Our coach, C10 was
next to FOB landing.
The first look of 12009 was not convincing with
the so called Nano technology paint. I knew the rake looks shabby from outside
but inside it’s an all new world. The seats were all clean and to the standards
of Shatabdi. Some of the trays were dirty at the corners but you can blame the
passengers or the LHB jerks for the spills. With seats numbers 31, 32, 33 and
34 we had one window as trackside which was taken this time by my wife. I told
her that you can enjoy the ride till Borivali and after that I am not going to
give her the window. Understanding my passion for the trains, she agreed. It
was 5:45 am and we still had 40 minutes for departure. It was time for a customary walk to the north
end to know the power of our train. Pf 4 was empty and soon Amul WAP5 #30057
brought in ICF ADI-BCT Duranto. By the time, I reached the first coach; I was
sandwiched on the narrow island platform with both the EOGs of Duranto and
Shatabdi standing side by side in a vocal competition to decide who can make
the loudest noise. It was deafening as well as hot as generators were
dissipating a lot of hot air through the vents. Amul WAP5 # 30058 was getting
ready to couple to our rake.
The loco was coupled and tested by moving the
rake by a metre in forward as well as reverse direction and then the front
pantograph was lower with the characteristic clinging noise and the backend cab
was closed and locked. The Loco Pilots moved to the front cab and rear
pantograph was raised. In the past few days there were reports of the Maximum
Permissible Speed (MPS) of
Shatabdi being raised to 130kmph in certain section for trials so that journey
time could be reduced in the next timetable. I didn’t want to miss the
opportunity of asking our loco pilots if we’re going to experience a run of
130kmph. The LP was very friendly; he said it will do only 120 kmph, which was
later verified by me using a GPS App on my phone during the entire run.
I updated my fellow railfans via Whatsapp and trudged
back to my coach. Small mineral water bottle was already placed on my seat
along with newspapers. At 6:25, we moved out slowly from the platform and
joined the mainline. It was painfully slow considering the yard and turnout
lines, but I had no reason to complain as ADI Shatabdi has been known to have
slack as well as reach ADI on time regularly. As the morning sun was waking up
the city, we were leaving it for a few days in pursuit of happiness and break
from its hassle. At Mahim, we crossed Saurashtra Mail, at Goregaon; it was
Jaipur- Bandra express and then slowed down to make a sedate entry to Borivali
on time while Bhavnagar- Bandra Weekly Express was making its way out.
Whatever seats were empty got filled up at
Borivali and as promised, got my window seat back for the rest of the journey.
I quickly turned on the GPS App called “Sports Tracker”. In the meanwhile, tea
was served in the typical flask, creamer and sugar combo. My wife got Omelette
and green peas along with bread, butter and jam, whereas for me it was oily yet
tasty Veg cutlets as a substitute for omelette. Fruit juice was served at the
end. Nizamuddin Bandra Garib rath whizzed past us somewhere near Vasai and next
big thing expected was the Mumbai Rajdhani. We didn’t cross each other at high
speed as crossing was done at Vaitarna which has a speed restriction, I believe.
I could notice that we were going above 100kmph after Virar but there were
Caution orders on the way at some places.
I told my wife to look out for a red liveried
DEMU which we see at Diva and she was quick to spot it being overtaken by us at
Saphale as we also crossed the Valsad BCT Passenger. Next station saw us cross
the Ranakpur express. The best thing about early morning departure from Mumbai is
that we get to see a host of express trains queuing up to enter Mumbai.
Approaching Palghar, we slowed down a bit and we crossed a Virar bound shuttle
from Dahanu. Somewhere before Umroli, Chandigarh-Bandra Express went past us.
Next up to cross us were the Flying Ranee and August Kranti Rajdhani. The App
had a flat graph of speed set at 120kmph. I was thrilled to inform my wife that
the Gujarat Express which had left ahead of us was getting overtaken at
Umergaon.
With every
passing train and its corresponding noting on the phones, my wife was
increasingly getting annoyed at my railfaning attempts on a family leisure
trip. I decided to sleep for some time as major crossings that I wished to see
were over by now. When I woke up, we were arriving Vapi ontime with Kutch
express arriving on adjacent line. The lack of sleep was getting to me and I
was going back and forth into short naps. We crossed BCT bound AC Double Decker
after Gandhismriti. I didn’t want to miss the Udhna Junction Exit towards
Bhusaval and then Surat arrived in a matter of few minutes. The huge textile
mall which stands out in the night on the west side was shown to my wife and
she was quick to ask me, “When are we coming to Surat for shopping?” to which, I
had no answers.
A few more express trains crossed us and one of
them was Navjeevan Express, which I intend to take one day to ride the Surat-Bhusaval
route. So the combo of Shatabdi and Navjeevan could work for me and it has been
noted for future railfaning trips. Somewhere in between Gujarat Express crossed
us and then we crossed the mighty Narmada River and reached Bharuch ontime. My
mom was amazed at the size of the bridge and the river. Another speed dash
followed right up till the outer limits of Vadodara. In the meanwhile the super
crawler Firozpur-BCT Janta crossed us somewhere in between. We were berthed on
platform 2 and with a 5 minute, halt I decided to check the heat outside the
cosy confines of our coach. It was like getting into a furnace and I
immediately returned back to my seat. Gujarat was piping hot at 11:15 am in the
morning. Our coach was half empty by now and departure was delayed by 5
minutes. As we bid farewell to the Delhi bound lines, I noticed that our train
was overtaking a parallel running BCT –ADI passenger before the D cabin. Later,
I found that it was actually a loop line.
The run from Vadodara to Anand, involved us
crossing the Rajkot-Secundrabad Express and showing my wife the triangle shaped
platform at Anand Junction. In the meanwhile Tomato soup with Bread sticks had
arrived. In my personal opinion these sticks should be replaced with some bread
crumps to go with the soup. Next up was the main course which consisted of 2 chapatti/roti,
rice, dal, curd and chicken curry, topped up with an ice-cream. Food was as per
the Shatabdi norms and there was no reason to complain. At Nadiad Junction, we
were well before time and we managed to see a few old coaches of the Narrow
Gauge in the sidings. Our train was eating up miles faster and we reached Vatva
on the outskirts of Ahmedabad 25 minutes before time and then crawled all the
way to Ahmedabad Pf 1. In between, the DEMU shed was seen with almost all
shades of DEMU available for comparison. We alighted on the platform 1 of ADI
and the heat wave hit us right in the face. Thankfully exit from the station
did not require us to take any FOB. We walked out straight to see the plinthed loco
and then to the hordes of Auto Rickshaw drivers who were approaching us for a
ride. Our destination was a hotel near the Sardar Patel Stadium near Navrangpura
and they were charging us Rs. 200 for 2 autos. After a few seconds of bargain,
we managed to take a single auto for Rs 150.
The railways part of the journey comes to an end here.
The ride to the hotel was nothing less than
adventurous with so many autos and 2 wheelers plying on the road. We got our
first glimpse of the BRTS in ADI and it looked impressive. The roads were clean
but the heat was threatening. We had planned our itinerary to ensure that we used
our early morning hours and late evenings for leisure. The immediate task at
hand was to check-in to the hotel and rest for a few hours. We crossed the Ellis
Bridge over the Sabarmati River and took a turn to the Ashram road finally
reached our hotel, Armoise. It’s a relatively new hotel with check-in done
without any hiccups; we rushed to our 3rd floor rooms. Mom and Dad
were allotted 301 and I and my wife were put up in 306. They couldn’t offer us
adjacent rooms but the rooms were pretty close.
Furnishing and the interiors were very well done.
The room had a nice upscale look though smaller by size. Tea coffee maker,
minibar, large Led TV, Serta mattress type bed, wardrobe, writing table and rain
shower cubicle with all the toiletries. We decide to freshen up and eat something
before sleeping for a few hours. We ordered for some nice Paneer Dry Crispy and
Potato fingers simmered in Schewan sauce. Both the dishes were spicy but very
yummy. With Pet Pooja done, we slept for some time in the cool environs of the
room and then got ready to visit the Sabarmati River Front. We didn’t have to
ask for too many directions as behind our hotel was an MG line from Botad to
ADI via Gandhigram and Google maps did the rest for us. We walked and reached a
vast expanse of land a part of which was being used for fair with merry go round
and other joy rides. There was ample space for parking and my dad even joked
that we could teach Bhavia to ride a vehicle here as there were no
obstructions. We walked and got a first glimpse of the futuristic and well
planned riverfront development. The riverfront was smartly built with enough
trees, lighting, and place to sit, jog and do every kind of recreational activity.
It was indeed an oasis in the city. We took dozens of snaps and enjoyed
watching the motorboats zoom through the subtle moving river. After spending
around 2 hours, we head back to our hotel but decided to have dinner at Havmor
Eatery opposite our hotel. The Roomali roti, naan and paneer curries were
indeed top notch and I would strongly recommend them. We rounded off with scoops
of American Nuts and Almond ice-cream to satiate our palates. We walked back to
our hotel and booked an AC Indigo for sightseeing the next morning.
We had decided to take the car at 7:30 am so that
we could cover the places much before Sun rays become daunting. Accordingly, we
woke up at 6am and after finishing morning chores, we head to “Äutograph” , the
in-house coffee shop for our complimentary breakfast. We found the restaurant
to be empty at 7:00 am and wondered whether Gujarat wakes up late as even the
adjoining street had no traffic or people on streets. Breakfast spread wasn’t lavish
but was functional with choice of fresh-cut fruits, juices, tea coffee, Eggs to
order, Bread toast, Indian items like Poha, dosa, puri and bhajji. Croissant
and muffins were also available. We stuck to the veg items and finally took the
Sightseeing car at 07:30. The driver confirmed that most things start up late
in ADI and we were too early for anything. He took us to the Adalaj Step Well
built in 1511. It was a marvellous piece of engineering, way ahead of its
times. We spent some time there enjoying the beauty and admiring the ancient
dwellers. Next on the agenda was Akshardham temple. The road to Akshardham is
also the road to the now, state capital, Gandhinagar. The ride was one of the
most refreshing rides I have ever come across. Not a single pot hole, tree
aligned dividers and destination markers every few metres. We were happy to note
the size of the roads and the way the settlements were few metres inside to
even withstand further increase in the infrastructure usage even after a
century. A lot of planning has gone into
the way the city has been built. We reached the temple complex at 9:10 and it
was scheduled to open at 9:30am. After completing the security check which
included depositing our mobiles, cameras, and bags we ventured in at sharp
9:30. The sun was going up the horizon but the place was so airy that we hardly
felt the heat. We went around the complex and had Khaman and lot of fluids from
the cafeteria. I had seen the Akshardham
in Delhi and though it’s much bigger and better in size and grandeur. The
original Akshardham in Gujarat is well worth a visit.
We were supposed to return to our hotel to rest
in the afternoon so we headed back. Driver suggested that we see the Iskcon
Mall and Alpha one Mall in the city. Malls are not a new thing for us as in
Mumbai, we come across dozens of them but with the agenda to eat out we decided
to give it a visit. Iskcon Mall didn’t seems to be doing great with many shops
closed but the Alpha One Mall was indeed
hip and happening. We shopped for a dress, my mom wanted to gift someone. We
found almost all the big brands inside and there was a lavish food court with
multiple joints to order from. We ordered Chole Bhature, a Combo thalli and
Cheese garlic breads. Everything ordered was delicious. While we were having
lunch a received a call from one of my office vendors who told me that one of
my colleagues from the previous organisation has recently joined the Hyatt ADI.
I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of meeting him and with a few calls
finally got him on line. We decided to drop in at the Hyatt and meet him. He
was very happy. We had met after 5 years and cherished the long lost days. Later
we returned to our hotel by 2:30pm. It was very hot outside but I didn’t want
to miss the Kankaria Lake in the evening. I managed to convince my parents and
wife for an outing in the late evening.
Accordingly, we left our hotel at 6:30pm by an
auto who took just 100 for the ride with 4 of us on board. We purchased entry
tickets to the lake and garden at Rs.10 each and then took a Rs. 25 ticket for
the Toy train. As the sun had set, the lake was lit up in varied colours and it
looked mesmerizing. We were getting eager to hitch a ride on the train. We
noticed that there were 2 Toy trains running on Narrow Gauge tracks, one was
named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the other was for the Golden Jubilee
Celebrations. Each had a capacity of 150 passengers and took around 15 minutes
for a cyclic run around the lack at sedate pace.
After a wait of 15 minutes, we boarded the Atal Express
and with a long hoot, we departed. It’s like an amusement park around you. We
saw a large number of eateries lines up within the park around the train
tracks. This was followed by a huge garden, football ground, Butterfly Park,
zoo, temple, amusement park, an artificial tunnel and a stabling line with
turnouts. The joy ride of 15 minutes was well worth the money spent. The lake
was glittering and we took panorama shots and relaxed the rest of the evening
on the shores of this wonderful lake. We return to the hotel and with dinner
included in the package we decided to munch in. It was a through 3 course meal
with Appetizers and soups to start with, followed by main course which
consisted of choice of Indian breads and 2 curries and accompaniments. We ended
with a dash of butterscotch ice-cream.
We retired back to our room and watched a movie
before falling asleep. Next morning was going to be special for my parents.
They had never boarded a flight and my wife wanted them to experience the joy
and hence she planned the return trip by Vistara, the only domestic flight to
land at the grandeur T2 terminal of Mumbai International Airport. We had our complimentary
breakfast at 9:30am and the free airport drop was by one of my current favourite
car”, “Honda Mobilio”. After completing the check-out procedure from this wonderfully
kept hotel, we headed to the Sardar Patel International Airport’s Domestic
Terminal which was around 11 kms from our hotel. Since our hotel offered free Wi-Fi,
I had already made a web check-in and as we collected our boarding pass and
went through the security checks; we had to constantly guide our parents. They seemed
excited like kids were going through all the procedure and finally we entered the
boarding concourse and made ourselves comfortable facing the tarmac.
Ahmedabad Airport is fairly open to public view
from the concourse and we could see how Jet connect was getting ready to fly to
some other destination. At 11:45, our boarding started and we entered the
flight. I had deliberately booked 2 window seats and Dad won the race to beat
mom to take the window seat. With seat belts on, parents looked very happy and
Bhavia clicked a picture of them. At 12:10, we started moving on the taxiway
while the Airhostess’s explained the safety instructions. With a 360 degree
turn onto the runway, (Taxiway is extended part of runway at Ahmedabad) the
vroom of the twin engines was audible and the moment my parents were waiting for,
finally arrived. In a matter of seconds we were airborne and I could see the
excitement on their faces. They were looking down to see the objects become
small and finally vanish below the clouds. Being, a full service airline, we
were served refreshments along with Chicken Peperoni, Kabuli Chana Chat and
Choc chip mousse. I had the GPS APP running through the flight and captured
some interesting statistics of acceleration, speed and altitude. The flight
path indicated that we went over Kalyan/Dombivli, Ambarnath and returned back
over Navi Mumbai to descend over the Mumbai Metro lines at Ghatkopar. We
reached late by 15 minutes and entered T2 terminal level 3. Check-out and
baggage pickup was a breeze. The lavishness in the CSIA T2 is clearly visible.
It stands out from the other airports that I have visited. We went to the level
10 to see the peacock theme on all the pillars and then took a prepaid Tab-cab
to reach home in an hour.
No doubt the timing to visit ADI was not
appropriate but the way we planned the itinerary ensured that we escaped the
extreme hot afternoons. The last word on the trip came from my mom. She now
wants to ride a plane every time we go out vacationing. I mellowed her down by
saying that we will go by train and come by plane as vacations are more
interesting in the journeys we take to reach there. She couldn’t agree more. It
also takes care of my railfaning one way.
