Short and fast trip to Ahmedabad

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 3^rd 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.