Konkan Splendour, DEMU Style

They say it's the journey that matters more than the destination. Keeping this in mind, I chose to change my travel plans during the regular visit to Shree Shantadurga Temple in Ponda, Goa. I usually take the Chikmagalur-Madgaon-Ponda-Madgaon-Mangalore-Chikmagalur circular route for these visits, so as to avoid returning by the same route. Madgaon is the place I prefer to stay the night, at a hotel in close proximity to the railway line. The usual mode of train travel is the Yesvantpur-Vasco Express followed by the Mumbai-Mangalore Superfast 'Rocket' for the return leg. 

The 'Rocket' takes the beautiful Konkan Railway route to Mangalore, and runs through the countryside of coastal Karnataka at top speed. This was the part I wanted to change. I wanted to take in the scenery this route has to offer. So to slow things down, I decided to take the Madgaon-Mangalore DEMU, a recently-introduced stopping service between the two cities that departs from Madgaon at 0500hrs., and reaches Mangalore at around 1200hrs. Perfect for my plan then, because I still had to take a bus from Mangalore to Chikmagalur, my home.

Having woken up the hotel staff to check out of the lodge at 4 in the morning, I walked the half kilometre to Madgaon Station at a brisk pace, with tripod in hand to ward off any stray dogs or er..humans who might want to take a look at the costly cameras I was lugging. The walk, thankfully, turned out to be quite uneventful and by 0430hrs I had bought a ticket to Mangalore Junction (instead of Mangalore Central, a decision which I repented later). This is where another aspect of travelling on the Indian Railways comes up. The ticket costs just Rs.80 for the 320km journey. In contrast, it cost me Rs.103 to travel the 7km from Mangalore Junction to the KSRTC Bus Stand by autorikshaw. That's how cheap it is to travel by train.

Back to the DEMU. This is a multiple-unit train manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory and is the only one of its kind plying on the Konkan Railway. The train was stabled on the mainline, and I decided to board the train immediately. After the smartly dressed Konkan Railway loco pilots had boarded the DEMU's spacious cabin and started the engines, the train was brought to the platform and at exactly 0500hrs, the little 8-coach train departed from Madgaon. The pilots were quick to accelerate out of the station and the line gradually turned South towards Mangalore. At the very first stop, Balli, the northbound Netravati Express was given priority and it came by at its own convenience, delaying my train by 25 minutes. At this point I decided to take a nap to catch up on lost sleep. 

When I woke up, it was already daybreak and the train was making quick progress, trying to make up for lost time. Canacona and Loliem were dispatched in quick succession, and we crossed over into Karnataka. The idyllic countryside was a treat to watch early in the morning, with the sky being turned into a mix of blue and dark gray. The DEMU rumbled past sleepy villages and towns of Northwest Karnataka, where one could see people going about their morning chores. The smoke from kitchen fires hung low in the cool morning air, even as farmers got ready for another day of providing the nation with food. As another hour passed by, children in their varied uniforms started appearing on the village roads, and office-goers who worked in cities further south started boarding the still-empty train. One thing I liked about this train is that it never got crowded. I had 6 seats all to myself during the entire journey!

Passing over the beautiful bridges over the Kali and Sharavati rivers, into and out of numerous tunnels at top speed, all the while picking up and dropping passengers like a city bus, the DEMU's continuous run was stopped at Manki Road, a little village just past Honnavar. The pilots who had got down to stretch their legs informed me that there would be a crossing here. As the warm morning sunlight broke through the cold, dark clouds, the Ernakulam-Okha Express rattled past at top speed with an Ernakulam ALCO in the lead. Delayed further by a higher-priority train, the pilots started making use of the full potential of this kind of train - accelerating early, accelerating hard, and braking late. The technique seemed to work, until we were stopped at the very next station - Murdeshwar - for Mamta Banerjee's brainchild to speed through. The Ernakulam-Mumbai Duronto Express seemed to blend in with the green environs of Murdeshwar as it sped past with another ALCO chugging happily. None of the delay seemed to bother the pilots though; they still looked bored as ever.

Moving on, the DEMU had another uninterrupted run till Barkur, where I had to juggle the two cameras again for the final crossing of this journey. Owing to slack time here and there and some spirited driving by the men in charge, the DEMU had maintained its original delay of 25 minutes, even with three crossings in between. This is where I decided to have a little chit-chat with the pilots and asked if I could take a photograph of the train with its headlights on. The immediate reaction was "You are from press?". Being a railfan, I am used to this kind of query. Hell, it was better than being asked "Are you going to send the photo to our not-so-friendly neighbour?". After I gave the usual explanation of why I love trains and photographing them, the assistant pilot happily obliged and I got the shot I wanted. A few seconds later, the Mangalore-Madgaon Intercity thundered past, with yet another ALCO firing on all cylinders. The spirited driving resumed, and soon we were at Surathkal, where a WDG4 from Golden Rock shed was awaiting departure with Konkan Railway's money-spinning-environment-saving traffic decongestant: the Roll On-Roll Off train. With over 30 trucks off the road and on the train, the reduction in the amount of pollution, congestion and all other things was evident. An uneventful run later, I was at Mangalore Junction, where I got down from the train and bid adieu to this little(in train terms) mile-muncher. The next realisation was of how stupid I was to have taken a ticket to Mangalore Junction, instead of Mangalore Central. Following the usual trend of my journeys on this stretch, I had bought a ticket to Junction instead of Central. For those who do not know, Mangalore Junction is virtually outside Mangalore city, while Central is inside. What followed was a fruitless wait for a bus in the hot sun, and an exasperated decision to take an autorikshaw to the bus stand. I was in no mood to spend any more time in the hot, humid environs of Mangalore, what with having been sick the previous day. A 'loss' of 103 precious rupees, a quick lunch and a 4.5-hour bus ride later, I was home.

Words can only tell you so much, which is why I also recorded some 20 videos en-route to show the beauty of this section of the Konkan Railway and compiled them into a 15-minute 'documentary'. Do have a look at it. Hope the little travelogue was worth reading. For people who love to travel, this route and this train deserve a spot on the to-do list. Thanks for stopping by!