MY TRIP TO MADURAI IN THE 2637 PANDIAN SUPERFAST EXPRESS

MY TRIP TO MADURAI IN THE 2637 PANDIAN SUPERFAST EXPRESS



We started from our home in chromepet at 19:00hrs to the chromepet station on a rainy day where the entire traffic on the chennai roads were ground to a halt due to human chain formation for srilanka tamils and flooding of the roads, we were worried how we are going to make it to the Egmore station.

The date was 24-10-08 all were returning due to the deepavali so all roads were bustling with travellers.

Just as my father came out of the ticket counter our emu (electric multiple unit) came into the chromepet station. We boarded it all the way to Chennai Egmore (MS). Due to the traffic jam the level crossing at chromepet was filled with vehicles which made our EMU to wait at the l/c for a good 25 minutes, finally the gatekeeper closed the gates and waved the signal to enable the EMU move, we were relieved, finally reached Egmore around 20:15 hours, the FOB was
filled with people we slowly walked through the FOB to reach our platform, the Egmore station was filled with anxious travellers waiting to board the unreserved coaches queues were formed and they were waiting,

Nellai express was at platform, Dadar egmore express reached around 20:30 and was ready to start as Egmore salem express.Our train 2637 ms-mdu pandian superfast express was in platform no 5. after we boarded it we ate our dinner , the coach was side middle berth attached and the floors were filled with water due to the continuous rain.

Father brought some magazine from higginbothams, SZ timetable and trains at a glance were available at the shop. Our berth numbers were changed once the chart was pasted we got SLB, SUB and UB. Gue to last minute planning we had our tatkal tickets.

After some time 6107 ms - maq mangalore express was shunted in. our train's power was wdp-4 20023 short hood front from KJM (krishnarajapuram). our train departed ms 15 min late. We blasted well through all wayside stations like kodambakkam, saidapet,mambalam,we were not able to read the name boards also, it was all blurred, chromepet,pallavaram,etc at 90 kmph we stopped after mount station with out any reason.

We reached tambaram on time despite a late start of 15 min. we thought the journey is going to be a memorable one as I was travelling first time on the Pandiyan express, and WDP4 was showing its true colours, After tbm the section controller thought that emu bound for cgl to
get preference first, probably the controller was from cgl i thought. (Both CGl EMU and Pandiyan were waiting at Tambaram, we would have let in first being an express train) He put an emu bound for cgl we crawled behind that emu till paranur after paranur our loco pilot did not notch up on a line cleared for 110 kmph we went slowly and reached cgl late by half an hour and 7 min.

We started from cgl and reached vpm one hour late around 12.30 am.
After vpm we slept. In the morning we were at ambathurai halted indefinitely.Next to us 2689 Chennai Central Nagercoil train pulled in it had chair car also we talked to the lp of that train he said that it had left by 07:45hrsMAS and the halt is due to a rail fracture ahead. After ambathurai (abi) our chief again did not notch.

We reached kqn and halted there because there was a rail fracture at sholavandan. The halt was extending the time was already 8.30, still no sign of movement, ,many passengers alighted and took a bus from Kodaikanal road (KQN) to madurai, I was getting impatient and nagging my father when the train will leave for madurai. the canteen persons started selling the breakfast. Manaparai muruku, chiku and Cofee gave us company at Kodai road.

Track doubling was in progress from Madurai to Dindugal and all catenary pole foundation work is complete up to Kodaikanal road. To add to the agony there were no announcement were made and passengers came with wild guesses. We enquired with the gangmen over there, they told us that the pandiyan is halted as the incoming Vaigai has not crossed and our train will not leave unless vaigai crosses.

So we waited impatiently after 8.45 vaigai blasted kodai road and pandiyan moved slowly, the entire stretch from kodai road to madurai is on high embankement and the rail was running closer to highway, many lorries also over took us, the highway was badly damaged due to the rains and at many locations near the bridge approaches there was heavy earth / embankment settlement.

After kqn our chief did not notch. We reached mdu late by 3hrs by 9:30 hours.

At madurai we went to Alagar koil, gandhi museum and met my father's friend.
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Return Journey was on 25-10-08 by Tirunelveli Chennai egmore 18:10 special train, we entered the station at around 17:30
hours my father asked me to enquire at the enquiry counter which platform special will arrive and is it on time, the enquiry person told the train will come at PF 1 and is on time we entered the PF 1 and found sengottai passenger waiting at PF 1, and Madurai LTT Kurla express was ready to depart from PF 5, announcement was made at station for the sengottai passenger to depart but there were no signs of start.

I went to the touch screen at the PF 1 and checked the train status for 0610 it mentioned that the train was at thirumangalam and running late by 25 minutes, meanwhile the announcement were made that Guruvayur express will arrive on PF 2 and the Nagercoil chennai special will come at Platform 1 around 18:10 hours, we were confused whether our train is the same or something else.

Father brought dinner from Madurai Station nonveg restaurant.
Then WDP4 Guruvayur arrived around 17:50 hours and Kurla express departed, guruvayur was halted for a long time and madurai compartments were removed. Then around 18:15 hours Sengottai passenger left from PF 1 and shortly around 18:30 hours Nagercoil Chennai express arrived, we had tickets as tirunelveli chennai express, there were no charts and coach numbers were written with chalk we entered S13 coach it was a new coach with SMB, we left Madurai by 18:50 hours,
WDM2 Tondiarpet was the power, we were experiencing severe jerks then my father told that the Rake is not having buffers and it is a CBC rake, soon afterwards i had the dinner it was ok, then the TTE came around 20:00 hrs and checked the tickets as it was an e ticket he asked for the Driving licence i got it from my father and showed to the TTE he ticked it and we were relieved that we are infact in the right train.

Soon it became dark and i moved to the upper berth, at dindigul we were searching for the hot milk there was not a single vendor at the platform, a freight was waiting with wdm2 was mued with wdg3a. A wm3d from erode was hauling the some exp.

Night around 01:15hrs we reached villupuram and made to wait for more than 30 minutes for the rockfort to cross as told by my father. Then we reached tambaram around 04:15 hours instead of 03.10 hours just then a beach emu left tambaram and we crossed the mg tracks took the FOB and took beach emu from tambaram which left around 04:25 reached chromepet home by 04:40 hours and took a good sleep

With input from my father this trip report was written by me Nishanth II standard