The Baroda Broadway IV

Part 3- 110 KmPH baby

Travelling by the Mumbai Suburban Railway is an art. The place where you understand the meaning of rush hour.
There are Mumbai Locals, then you have the Virar Fast. The Virar Fast is as much as an icon in IR Folklore as the Deccan Queen or Gatimaan. She may not be as glamorous as the latter but without her, life in Mumbai wouldn't be imaginable.

After meeting Khurshed and saying goodbye to Raghu and Akshay, Deepak and I made our way to the platform. We had decided to take a Fast Local and what better train than the Virar Fast!!!

Like the stereotypical movie hero who downs a bottle of Old Monk or VAT 69 before embarking on an adventure, Deepak and I downed a glass of rose milk and headed off to board the Virar Local. We were in two Minds whether to board the local that was already in the platform or to board the next one. After a lot of deliberations, we boarded the local which was made to halt for 5 minutes, as though waiting for us to decide. The moment we boarded the local, we were off and the suburban stations were cleared off. Andheri, Bandra, Khar, Kandivili-home to Mahindra and Mahindra, Vile Parle-the place where the G mane Genius biscuits are made... 

A call was made to Rakesh Anna who was already at Borivali with Kailash sir, waiting to board Bandra Chandigarh SF. Sham sir, Raja Iyer sir and Karthik were to board the same train at Bandra. At Khar, a multitude of locos, of all classes were waiting for their next duty and Rakesh Anna and I were praying earnestly for a P5 to haul our train. 

We met up at Borivali, said Hi and decided to pack lunch at the IRCTC stall on PF 10. We went over to PF 8, where our train was expected, but before that, a red monster from Ghaziabad sneaked in with the Paschim Express, a train that was scheduled to be overtaken by our 22451. 

Paschim departed and 22451 was right on its tail. Within minutes, she also pulled in and though Karthik had confirmed it was 30077 a BRC WAP 5 hauling us, it was a joy to see it pulling in at a decent speed, giving a fair idea of its prowess.

I for one, was looking forward to this trip as it was the first time I was traveling by a P5 hauled train. Boarded in, settled down in S5, Said Hi to Karthik who was in our coach and we were off, only to be trolled by Paschim ahead. The stations were again skipped with utter disdain, and at a station before Dahanu, we saw another train on the loop line. Praying it to be the Paschim, the red beast at the head made me scream in delight and the passengers looked at me with suspicion. The OT was something I shall never forget. Slowly crawling up, the LP was at MPS by the time the train reached the loco. The partial flat wheel of our coach simply added to the OT orchestra. 

With the OT done, we decided to settle down for lunch, and the lunch was simply amazing. 3 Rotis, Paneer Curry with visible sizes of Paneer, a mix veg Curry, kadi, jeera rice and pickle, the meal was an absolute steal for a mere 70 rupees. 

And after the OT, the LP was in full aggression mode, with MPS hit promptly and maintained MPS of 110 all the way till Surat!!!

And the run was so scary for me that I sat put in my seat for the entire run!! And for once , I was grateful that I had a non trackside window!

Surat done and dusted, we crossed the Tapi river and once again, the captain was in MPS mode, promptly hitting the speed and then treating all stations with impunity , till Vishwamitri, where we crossed the Maharajas Express. A royal welcome indeed to Vadodara

 As we pulled into Vadodara, we realised that we were a couple of minutes BT and after a quick selfish, we made our way to NAIR, where two days of RF mania awaited us.

..to be continued