The Sahyadri Tunnel Trek

Prologue:

A skipped year of outing did definitely add more pressure on the ‘Jaunters’ this year. After two successful editions of ‘GT-Jaunts’ – Kodagu 2010 (22 pax) and Chikmagalur 2011 (36 pax), we decided to move further North-West and kiss the Goa state border this year. The trip report of Ben, Raghu and Harish (Monsoon Magic) kindled the energy batteries inside the Jaunters and helped in arriving at a unanimous decision of agreeing to ‘Dudhsagar Trek’ as the location for GT Jaunt 2013. Yes, the Sahyadri Hills with its misty magic was really inviting!

The Preparation:

As always, our preparatory works begin around the ARP – this time, it was around March / April when the extended weekend of Aug. 9 seemed to be a promising one. The pitch was done during one of the Team Connect sessions with a trivia on what connects these three stations: Peralam Jn, Chinnababusamudram and Castle Rock. The answer is all these three were Customs Borders prior to Independence – PEM and CBU were the Britain/France borders and CLR was the Britain/Portugal border. These three stations had Land Customs & Immigration Offices where all passengers would have to go through their passport stamping routine! Ofcourse, today – the scene is different, there is a direct train from Madras to Goa, with no Customs and Immigration checks!!

Detailed checklists were prepared – including travel essentials and food plans (no food will be available in the ghats). This included a travel bag, good footwear, anti-leech creams, energy bars, snacks, biscuits, raincoats, plastic covers, zip lock bags and caps. Basic rules on safety, security and encountering trains were shared in one of the prep meetings. As the D-day was coming nearer, the excitement levels shot up.

MAS to CLR:

After accommodating all drop-outs and cancellations, we ended up having 11 from the Office team and 5 from the Railfans gang boarding the 7311 Vasco Exp on Friday – Aug. 9, 2013 at 1350h from Pf 1 at Central. We got WAP-1 #22071 from RPM as our power till YPR. A sedate run from Madras received a rude shock as we pulled into the loop at TO, only to be tomorrowed by a late running 2296 Sangamitra Exp. It was high speed action thence to the extent that we caught the tomorrower Sangamitra at JTJ. That one was standing in Pf 3 as we pulled into Pf 2 BT. I had a darshan of my most favourite train, Brindavan Exp standing in Pf 4. Soon, CBE Intercity pulled into Pf 1 with a white horse at the lead, giving us a heavy competition as we pulled out of JTJ at the same time – the parallel action ended up at the fork-point with our train duly taken over by SBC Division / SWR. A BT arrival at BWT sounded death knells for any suspicion of another tomorrow by TPTY-YPR S/F Exp on that day. We somehow pushed ourselves to BYPL to witness a static drama for an hour and a half. As we occupied the Dn loop, the-now-CR-rake Udyan Exp pushed itself gently towards the CSDR triangle. Shortly followed by YPR-HWH Exp. We successfully managed to keep TPTY at bay. Finally, we got the starter to go through the Goods yard to BAND and then on to Hebbal. We were held at Hebbal for a long time to allow the useless-GR-of-IR, the YPR-PDY Garib rath Exp to pass. YPR was touched at 2100-ish followed by a rake reversal and change in power. The ‘R’ bond of SWR, 14007R KJM was the power. Starter was given after KSK and YPR-MAS were given the clearance first. I went to my ‘sleep mode’ just as we crossed Chikkabanavar and got up only as we were pulling into Kundgol. I saw the train stopping and starting from Haveri, so when Siva & Co gave a trivia for me on what station were we entering, I was able to instantaneously fire that it should be Kundgol. The time of our halt reminded me that it is a crossing halt for Siddhaganga Exp – and it turned out to be so! 20035 HEF was the power.

Slight drizzle with a bedsheet of mist welcomed us to the Headquarters of SWR, Hubli Jn at 645h. The aroma of piping hot Idly, Vada and Dosa with the standard ‘Kofffeee, Chaaaai’ made all the half-awake zombies get down, walk unconsciously towards the vendor and finish the breakfast. We soon pulled out of Hubli and true to what I said to the gang, it happened to be a preferential treatment only for freight trains in that region that is ruled by the mighty WDG-4 locos. We had the famous Dharwad Peda at Dharwad station and continued our journey. The sight of mighty peaks of the Sahyadri hills announced that we were nearing Londa Jn. The brief halt at Londa Jn was utilized to issue standard safety instructions, back-up plans and a reminding Dos and Don’ts. We took the branch line to Vasco thence, with a halt at Tinai Ghat to allow an uphill BOX-N rake to clear Home. Finally, we reached Castle Rock station at 10 AM. A quick round of photographs while scanning through compartments to get the most needed doors was done – there was a huge crowd waiting to board the train (although a bunch got down to start their trek from here), eventually filling all available spaces in the SL coaches of the train. As all of them would be getting down at Dudhsagar station, we had to push them in and squeeze ourselves at the door to get down at Caranzol.

Basic details of the Stretch:

This is important to understand and plan a trip. The branch line to Vasco diverges from the Bangalore (SBC) – Miraj/Pune Mainline at Londa Jn in North-West Karnataka (km 559 ex-SBC). This line has 0 km marking at Londa Jn. Further details are given below:

00 km Londa Jn (LD)
12 km Tinai Ghat (TGT) station

24 km Castle Rock (CLR) station – this is the highest point in the ghat section, extra engines are attached at the front to every train that is going downhill, to assist in braking (called ‘Brakers’). Usually Express trains have one main power and two brakers, while goods trains have two main powers and three brakers at the front. Like the Periya paathai and Chinna paathai for Sabarimala, the Periya Pathai (15 km trek) to the Falls start here. Adventure lovers usually start their trek here. There are 4 tunnels and a scary viaduct enroute before the next station. It is a steep downhill path from here (ruling gradient is 1:37).

32 km Caranzol (CRZ) station – this is a technical halt for all trains going downhill for brake-testing, requiring them to come to a complete halt and then start. No tickets will be issued to/from this station – this means a free ride from CLR. The Chinna paathai of 7 km starts here, no proper platform is available, one has to take the steps in the coach door and get down on the gravel. There are 6 tunnels and an interesting / safe but scary (Escarpment) viaduct enroute before the next station.

39 km Dudhsagar (DDS) station – again a technical halt for brake-testing for downhill trains. The non-trekking crowd gets down here and walks to the falls area (DWF halt station, but none of the trains stop here), which is less than a km away, separated by a tunnel. There are two more tunnels (infact, back-to-back) before the next station. The view point is a km away after the two tunnels.

43 km Sonaulim (LIM) station – again a technical halt for brake-testing for downhill trains. You can see this station from DDS on the other side of the valley. Three tunnels are there enroute before the next station.

51 km Kulem (QLM) station – this is on the valley floor, a commercial halt. Brakers are detached here. For all uphill Express trains, two engines are attached here as ‘Bankers’ to help pushing the rake uphill. All freight trains get two main powers pulling at the front and three bankers pushing from behind. These additional banker engines are detached at Castle Rock.

Ways to reach / Come back:

1. Take one of the morning trains – Goa Super (early morning) or Vasco Exp (around 10 AM) or Amaravati Exp (around 11 AM). Get down at CLR or CRZ or DDS.

2. Take a hitch ride in one of the freight trains going downhill (either in the railing of the locos or in the caboose of the Guard) and get down at one of the stations

3. Goa Super (2779) is the best train to return. It has a technical halt at all the three ghat stations – LIM, DDS and CRZ. It reaches DDS around 5 PM, making it convenient for tourists to return to Londa or Castle Rock. However, we witnessed around 500 people waiting to board Super on the day of our trek – it was a herculean task to board it. The good thing was that there was a Policeman on duty regulating the crowd. Ticketless travel to CLR as DDS does not have a ticket counter!

4. Trek back uphill to CLR, or downhill to QLM where there is an evening passenger to Vasco.

Getting into a freight train is entirely at the discretion of the Loco Pilot or the Guard. The trek downhill usually takes 20 minutes per km for a fresher on a clear day (or with slight drizzles). The trek uphill takes 40. The best season to visit is during monsoon to witness the magic, June – July. However, this means walking in torrential rain, risking safety and encountering leeches. August to October is pleasant, while November to February is cold. March to May is a bit hot, but enjoyable nevertheless.

Our trek:

We got down at CRZ and started our yatra. The first encounter was a caboose rake uphill with screaming WDG-4s at the lead. A lot of seasonal waterfalls in the crevices, interesting tunnels, viaducts and spots for photo-shoots kept us engaged along the way. My rough jottings on time taken are as under:

1015 Depart Castle Rock
1050 Got down at Caranzol
1100 Start of trek km 33
1120 Km 34
1140/50 Halt at Tunnel 7
1200 Km 35
1220 Km 36
1235/45 Halt at Tunnel 9
1250 Km 37
1255 Arrive at DDS
1325 Start from DDS
1345 Arrive at Falls
1545 Start from Falls
1600 Arrive at DDS
1730 Board Super

After an extended halt at DDS, I rushed myself deep inside Tunnel 11 to witness the best moment of my trip – I saw an uphill freight coming at LIM, it would ideally be ‘THE’ moment to face this rake inside a tunnel – with a lot of goose bumps, there I stood inside the tunnel, watching the screaming WDG-4s pulling a fully loaded rake with all their mighty power. The twin headlamps pierced the darkness of the tunnel, followed by a noisy pass-through of the locos and the usual dang-dang-dang-dang of the goods wagons; and just as the bankers were about to cross, the CLP decided to notch up (much to my pleasure) – the three WDG-4 bankers gave out a vent of pressure and started to notch up simultaneously, right in front of me. Imagine the sound of three Boeing aeroplanes revving up – that was the divine sound that I heard there in the belly of the tunnel. I came out of the south portal of the tunnel with an ultimate sense of satisfaction (‘janma saabalyam’!!).

The gang then decided to jump into the pool that was formed by the water from the falls at its foot. The water was cold, but manageable. As there was a constant gush of water from the falls, waves were coming to us one after the other. It was like taking a bath in the Marina Beach! With a half-hearted feel, we decided to move, come up and start our trek back to DDS station.

Given the rush, we decided to spread out and jump into whatever door that comes near us before the train (Goa Exp) comes to a halt. This decision worked out well as we were even able to grab a berth or two to park half of the gang. Goa Exp has slip coaches to Bangalore, that are detached at Londa and attached to the 6590 Rani Chennamma Exp. We had reservation in those slip coaches from CLR to SBC – but were not able to board them at DDS due to the crowd… it was only at CLR that we were able to get in! It came in as a pleasant surprise to a 5 of us in the gang that we were automatically upgraded to 3A, free of cost :)

A journey in 3A meant a comfortable rest for the legs after a tiring trek. The rakes were parked at Londa for shunting for 2 hours before RC arrived. All I remembered was a start from Alnavar Jn, the next thing I saw was pulling into Yeshwantpur Jn – I had slept like anything!! As always, RC enjoyed the highest privilege throughout the section and arrived SBC sharp at 7 AM.

Sunday:

Naveen and I had earlier decided to go to SBC Aravind (S)’s house to meet him, so, got into a 170 at Majestic, got down at Koramangala and spent the morning at his house. He took us to Kamat Hotel for North-Karnataka lunch buffet that included an array of 50 dishes served – sumptuous to the core!

The return journey was by AC Double Decker Exp, lower deck to Madras. He was BT at all the stations and arrived Perambur at 750 pm. We were held at BBQ to let the rake of Blue Mountain to be shunted to the platform and 1 Mail to depart. We were still 10 minutes BT, courtesy a lavish buffer in TT.

Interesting goof-ups:

1. One of the gang members (would not name him here!) didn’t get down at CRZ and allegedly the crowd didn’t let him detrain there. We reunited at DDS.

2. Another one took our ticket and went to his coach in RC Exp portion of the rake, while we were left without a copy of the ticket in S13, the Goa Exp portion of the rake, with no facility of vestibules. Finally, I managed to grab that during a 1 minute halt at Alnavar Jn, by the time which, the TTE got in. It was a perfect coincidence!

Epilogue:

There is no moral of the story here! It was a wonderful trip altogether. With proper planning and guidance, this trek can be one of the most memorable ones in one’s lifetime!!

Cheers!

-Aravind.
with sincere thanks to Ben, Raghu (IRFCA-Madras), Natarajan (IRFCA-Bangalore) and Sampath Kumar Sir (Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.) for their invaluable inputs and guidance during the planning stage.