Rail service and travel by rail in the Indian subcontinent

[jis]

The WDP4D's definitely have an EMD sound to them, I suspect they were built using some EMD technology.

It is also cool to hear the Alcos that sometimes show up on the IR Diesel powered trains.

Also interesting that this particular trip was under wire for its entire run but they used a Diesel, maybe they were short of electrics that day?

Yes WDP4s are EMD derivatives created in India by BLW.

The WDM3 are Alco derivatives again created by what was then DLW, now BLW.

Mainly Weekly trains like this one land up with oddball loco links. It might have some short segment of its circuitous route involving trackage yet to be electrified. Since the engine is from Bhagat ki Kothi shed near Jodhpur, apparently this train gets this power in both directions.

OK, Just checked its routing in the South. It travels via Miraj Pune Shindwane Ghat which is not fully electrified yet. The Bhagat ki Kothi WDP4D is its normal loco link. This train actually operates using a Royapuram WAP-7 electric between Bengaluru and Hubbali, but then changes over to Bhagat ki Kothi WDP4 some variant among -D, -B or unadorned 4.

 

[jis]

BTW @AmtrakMaineiac the train that he traveled on in this one (from indianrailinfo.com):

https://indiarailinfo.com/train/tim...ur-express-via-guntakal-16534/2014/136/126#st
Wouldn't it be lovely if such a rich and well presented set of information was available for Amtrak trains?

 

[jis]

An illustration of how quickly the highly distributed power Vande Bharat trains can accelerate compared to a commuter EMU. The Vande Bharats can hit 80mph (130kph) in a little over a minute from dead start.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

I'd hate for this thread to just fade away, so here is a link to a website that has information on the multiple unit trains that IR operated, both in service today and retired. Since multiple unit trains are a personal interest of mine, I'm having a very good look at this. This link is from the Indian Railways Fan Club by the way.

https://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-mu.html

 

[jis]

I'd hate for this thread to just fade away, so here is a link to a website that has information on the multiple unit trains that IR operated, both in service today and retired. Since multiple unit trains are a personal interest of mine, I'm having a very good look at this. This link is from the Indian Railways Fan Club by the way.

https://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-mu.html

Did you know that I was one of the early members of IRFCA, not quite the founding ones, but within the first ten. It started as a group mailing lists among friends in our graduate school days in the US, well strictly speaking a little after I finished my Ph.D., but close enough. That is where the A comes from, which stood for America as in Indian Railways Fan Club of America! Now they just use the abbreviated name.

Indian Railways is going full tilt distributed power sets, stuff that is not mentioned in that page since it is relatively new. The Vande Bharat Express sets are all distributed power EMUs. Currently they are deployed as day trains, but a Sleeper version is in the works for replacing the Rajdhani Expresses.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Did you know that I was one of the early members of IRFCA, not quite the founding ones, but within the first ten. It started as a group mailing lists among friends in our graduate school days in the US, well strictly speaking a little after I finished my Ph.D., but close enough. That is where the A comes from, which stood for America as in Indian Railways Fan Club of America! Now they just use the abbreviated name.

Indian Railways is going full tilt distributed power sets, stuff that is not mentioned in that page since it is relatively new. The Vande Bharat Express sets are all distributed power EMUs. Currently they are deployed as day trains, but a Sleeper version is in the works for replacing the Rajdhani Expresses.

Wow, that is incredible and IRFCA seems to have come a long way. I also had a feeling the A stood for America, but didn't really have much to go by. Also, the Vande Bharat Express units, I tell people to pay close attention to them. Indian Railways is doing some big things and eventually they plan to offer the units for export down the road.

Tracks are also being upgraded and I've read dedicated tracks to operate at higher speeds is being planned. In addition to that, the Vande Bharat Metros will also be coming. 238 8 car sets that'll replace the old multiple unit fleet currently operating in Mumbai.

The current multiple unit fleet dates back to when the system was operated at DC current with 1,500 Volts. Several of the older Jessop multiple units were converted to operate on AC and are still running for the time being. The era of the 1500 volt DC power ended in 2016 and it's been AC current since.

 

[jis]

The first electrification around Calcutta was 3,000v DC between Howrah and Burdwan via Main Line. Within a decade it was converted to 25kV AC, and the 3kV DC EMUs were transferred to Bombay after conversion to 1.5kV DC. IIRC those are the so called Jessops EMUs in the Bombay Suburban system.

Calcutta initially did not have enough EMU power cars, so they created push-push consists with 4 trailers at the two ends with a Hitachi-Mitsubishi-Toshiba 25kV AC locomotive in the middle. They ran those until they got enough power cars to create 1Power+3Trailer units, which is the way they have been ever since. Now of course Kolkata has an enormous 25kV Suburban System operated by 25kV EMUs and further extended on regional routes by 25kV MEMUs.

It is the only Suburban system in India that has international border stations. Those are at Gede, crossed by the international Kolkata International (Chitpur) - Dhaka Cantonment Mayitree Express, and Petrapole adjacent to the Bongaon Suburban Station, crossed by the Kolkata International (Chitpur) - Khulna Bandhan Express. It is actually possible to take local trains on the Bangladesh side to the border, Darshana opposite Gede, and Benapole opposite Petrapole, cross the border on foot, and then travel to Kolkata on a Kolkata (Sealdah North) Suburban service. Here is a diagram of the vast suburban system of Kolkata:

Incidentally, our family house is less than a mile walk from Ballygunge Jn. One of the houses that we lived in when I was a kid was within a short walk from then the location of Park Circus. The station did not exist then, but there was and still an overpass, the so called Number 4 Bridge. Every evening I used to ride my tricyle over to it to watch the Sealdah South Suburban trains go by, then pulled by little Steam Tank locomotives.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

I've been watching video's about the Dehli metro and now on to RapidX which I haven't finished yet. Fascinating stuff. Interesting that in the Dehli Metro video, RM transit implies that the Dehli suburban network is rather threadbare.

 

[jis]

I've been watching video's about the Dehli metro and now on to RapidX which I haven't finished yet. Fascinating stuff. Interesting that in the Dehli Metro video, RM transit implies that the Dehli suburban network is rather threadbare.

Yes, Delhi Suburban Service is much smaller than Mumbai or Kolkata or even Chennai. But that is compensated for by it having the largest Metro system, which acts like a combination of Metro and RER in the Parisian parlance.

But as the Metro systems develop in Mumbai and Kolkata, integrated with the Suburban service they will become much larger in the overall reach. For example, Kolkata Suburban in its longest reach covers the entire area South of the River Ganga (Lalgola) and the Bay of Bengal (Kakdwip, to be extended to Namkhana on the Bay of Bengal)!

 

[user 6862]

There is no direct train from Kolkata to Feni. There is a five times a week service from Kolkata to Dhaka Cantonment Leaves Kolkata around 8am, arriving in Dhaka around 4:30pm. You have to make it from there to Feni by Bangladesh Railway service, four trains a day taking between 4 and 6 hours. There are late evening departures arriving middle of the night or departures during the day arriving later in the day.

From Dhaka there is rail service upto Chattogram (erstwhile Chitagong) at present. Extension to Cox's Bazar is scheduled to go on line in June 2023 according to this article:

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangla...zar-train-service-may-start-in-june-next-year
Until then there is very good bus service both from Dhaka and Chattogram to Cox's Bazar.There are flights too from Dhaka to both Chattogram and Cox's Bazar (about one hour flying time) both Biman Bangladesh and US Bangal Airlines.

If my main goal was to visit Feni and Cox's Bazar I would not fly to India. I would fly directly to Dhaka with an airport much larger and with more international traffic than the one in Kolkata. I would fly Emirates or Qatar Airlines directly to Dhaka with a connection through Dubai or Doha. Qatar through Doha has the additional advantage of getting US C&I pre-clearance at Doha on the way back.

If visiting India too was a goal then of course flying into India makes sense. Get the latest information from both Bangladesh and Indian Embassies on whether they will do Visa on Arrival through the land crossing or you will need to get Visa from the Consulates before travel, and if the latter whether you can get them from Consulates in the US or they will issue those only in Bangladesh and India. These rules change frequently and it is best to get informed well before hand.

Hope you find this information useful....

BTW I was born in Kolkata and still own significant inherited property there and in its suburbs jointly with a sibling and a whole bunch and cousins. My maternal Grandfather's family came originally from Borishal (Barisal) District, now in Bangladesh, and on the verge of getting rail service for the first time ever! They moved to Kolkata a generation before the partition.

Excuse me butting in here Rambling Robert and hope you have fully recovered too.

@jis

As a native of Kolkata do you have up date information as to whether it's possible to buy tickets for the Maitree Express from Kolkata to Dhaka online? If not are there agencies who can pre buy tickets on the customers behalf?

Reason I ask is I hear this train is often sold out and although we build padding into our journeys if wouldn't work if we had to wait say 4 or 5 days to get tickets from the local ticket office.

Thanks for your help.

 

[jis]

As a native of Kolkata do you have up date information as to whether it's possible to buy tickets for the Maitree Express from Kolkata to Dhaka online? If not are there agencies who can pre buy tickets on the customers behalf?

I don't believe there is any way to buy tickets other than to show up at the ticket office at the downtown office of Eastern Railway or at Kolkata International station. You have to show up there (Tourist Reservations Counter at the downtown office or Kolkata International Station at Chitpur where the train departs from) armed with your Passport and your Visa to Bangladesh. The only saving grace is you can buy a round trip ticket.

Reason I ask is I hear this train is often sold out and although we build padding into our journeys if wouldn't work if we had to wait say 4 or 5 days to get tickets from the local ticket office.

Chair Car is often sold out. First Class which costs double that of Chair Car usually has availability even on the next train. The trains run 90% full, and all the unfilled seats are usually in First Class.

Incidentally it runs 5 days a week now, up from the previous 3 days a week. On three days it uses a Bangladesh Railway consist, and the other two days an Eastern (Indian) Railway consist. They are pretty much identical as far as accommodation goes. The Bangladesh consist is actually imported from India, manufactured in the same factory as the Indian one, and they are the so called LHB cars

In case of a misfortune of the train being completely full there is a fallback in the numerous number of buses including luxury buses that ply between Kolkata and Dhaka, and now they are faster than the train as most of them go via the new 6.15 km long Padma Bridge, instead of the more circuitous route via Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna or even the classic ferry from Goalondo Ghat to Dhaka. The buses do cost more than the train so no wonder the trains run almost full.

Having said all that, railways, both Bangladesh and Indian can change their rules on short notice, and they may suddenly start permitting IRCTC to issue tickets over the internet to foreign tourists. They have never done so yet, but there is always a first time. So it is worth checking with IRCTC

Speaking of fallbacks, there are also about half a dozen non stop flights each day between Kolkata and Dhaka, flown by both Indian (IndiGo, Air India, Spicejet) and Bangladeshi (Biman, US Bangla) Airlines.

 

[user 6862]

I don't believe there is any way to buy tickets other than to show up at the ticket office at the downtown office of Eastern Railway or at Kolkata International station. You have to show up there (Tourist Reservations Counter at the downtown office or Kolkata International Station at Chitpur where the train departs from) armed with your Passport and your Visa to Bangladesh. The only saving grace is you can buy a round trip ticket.

Chair Car is often sold out. First Class which costs double that of Chair Car usually has availability even on the next train. The trains run 90% full, and all the unfilled seats are usually in First Class.

Incidentally it runs 5 days a week now, up from the previous 3 days a week. On three days it uses a Bangladesh Railway consist, and the other two days an Eastern (Indian) Railway consist. They are pretty much identical as far as accommodation goes. The Bangladesh consist is actually imported from India, manufactured in the same factory as the Indian one, and they are the so called LHB cars

In case of a misfortune of the train being completely full there is a fallback in the numerous number of buses including luxury buses that ply between Kolkata and Dhaka, and now they are faster than the train as most of them go via the new 6.15 km long Padma Bridge, instead of the more circuitous route via Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna or even the classic ferry from Goalondo Ghat to Dhaka. The buses do cost more than the train so no wonder the trains run almost full.

Having said all that, railways, both Bangladesh and Indian can change their rules on short notice, and they may suddenly start permitting IRCTC to issue tickets over the internet to foreign tourists. They have never done so yet, but there is always a first time. So it is worth checking with IRCTC

Fabulous detailed answer that gives us hope we can do this in a fairly straightforward manner, thank you very much.

I am just now finalising our next trip, an Argentina and Chile adventure which is proving a challenge to find methods of buying train tickets either online or at the ticket offices. It does appear that as bus tickets are fairly easy to buy we will be bussing from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso Chile and again for the entire 4000+ km from Ushuaia back to Buenos Aires even though there are a handful of Argentine rail journeys available and advertised with online sales, no tickets become available.

So with the fanciful idea of making an almost rail only journey from Paris to Dhaka with a few ferries thrown in, I would prefer if we could complete the last leg of that journey by train... as interesting as the new road bridge looks. Even though we prefer trains we are usually comfortable travelling long distances by bus too but not on a rail only journey.

And thank you very much again.

 

[user 6862]

Another question. Which time of year is most comfortable or uncomfortable in Kolkata. Thanks

 

[jis]

Another question. Which time of year is most comfortable or uncomfortable in Kolkata. Thanks

Most comfortable - January and February, and also the last two weeks of December usually. Most uncomfortable - April through June/July until Monsoon arrives.

 

[user 6862]

Most comfortable - January and February, and also the last two weeks of December usually. Most uncomfortable - April through June/July until Monsoon arrives.

Thank you

 

[caravanman]

l appreciate that the cross border train is a very different train to all the rest of Indian trains...

You may need to book other trains within India, so I can give a little info from my own experiences. Be aware that the "booking window" for most trains opens 120 days in advance, so you can't buy tickets more than 4 months ahead. Trains do get very busy, so book as early as you can.

If you can register online with Indian Railways, they will offer the most train options: https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/profile/user-registration

Many overseas folk report difficulties, either with non Indian mobile phone numbers for "one time passwords" or issues getting foreign card payments accepted. (American Express cards are said to work most often.) Folk do manage, I used to be able to book direct myself, but in recent years the online card payments all seem to fail.

Another option is to buy via an "agent". I can vouch for the service provided by Raj at [email protected] . Foreign cards or paypal are accepted, and tickets are emailed to you. There is a small "commission" surcharge, but well worth it for scarce tickets.

Another agency that I have used several times is 12go.asia which offers direct online booking, rather than the need to email, as with Raj.

No idea if either can assist with a train to Bangladesh, I wonder if there might be any options to buy online via Bangladesh Railways?

Bon Voyage!

 

[BlackDiamond]

So with the fanciful idea of making an almost rail only journey from Paris to Dhaka with a few ferries thrown in

Wow. I would be curious to know what route you are taking, particularly on how you would get between Europe (via Turkey presumably, then what?) and India.

 

[jis]

Another question. Which time of year is most comfortable or uncomfortable in Kolkata. Thanks

BTW, if you travel after 2025 it is very likely that Maitree Express will have been rerouted to use the shorter and faster Kolkata - Jessore - Narail - Bhanga - New Padma Bridge - Mahwa - Dhaka route.

You get to see the new Padma Bridge, but you miss out on the historic Hardinge Bridge across the Padma upstream at Sara and the Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna.

Someone ought to do a documentary on "The Railway Bridges of South Asia". There are dozens of spectacularly long bridges over riverbeds that are dry 8 months of the year, and full of water shore to shore during monsoon. The fact that a lot of the trunk routes run perpendicular to the flow of rivers makes it so, specially on the coastal lines, and the rivers are really big near their mouth.

As a native of Kolkata do you have up date information as to whether it's possible to buy tickets for the Maitree Express from Kolkata to Dhaka online? If not are there agencies who can pre buy tickets on the customers behalf?

Here is the page on Kolkata - Dhaka service at the Seat61 site. It appears to bear out my information that it is not possible to buy tickets for it on line...

https://www.seat61.com/Bangladesh.htm#International

 

[user 6862]

l appreciate that the cross border train is a very different train to all the rest of Indian trains...

You may need to book other trains within India, so I can give a little info from my own experiences. Be aware that the "booking window" for most trains opens 120 days in advance, so you can't buy tickets more than 4 months ahead. Trains do get very busy, so book as early as you can.

If you can register online with Indian Railways, they will offer the most train options: https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/profile/user-registration

Many overseas folk report difficulties, either with non Indian mobile phone numbers for "one time passwords" or issues getting foreign card payments accepted. (American Express cards are said to work most often.) Folk do manage, I used to be able to book direct myself, but in recent years the online card payments all seem to fail.

Another option is to buy via an "agent". I can vouch for the service provided by Raj at [email protected] . Foreign cards or paypal are accepted, and tickets are emailed to you. There is a small "commission" surcharge, but well worth it for scarce tickets.

Another agency that I have used several times is 12go.asia which offers direct online booking, rather than the need to email, as with Raj.

No idea if either can assist with a train to Bangladesh, I wonder if there might be any options to buy online via Bangladesh Railways?

Bon Voyage!

Some great info Ed, I'll be plaguing you for more in the future. If you are in France when we are here please drop in, it's all a bit basic but we are fairly friendly.

Thanks

 

[user 6862]

BTW, if you travel after 2025 it is very likely that Maitree Express will have been rerouted to use the shorter and faster Kolkata - Jessore - Narail - Bhanga - New Padma Bridge - Mahwa - Dhaka route.

You get to see the new Padma Bridge, but you miss out on the historic Hardinge Bridge across the Padma upstream at Sara and the Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna.

Someone ought to do a documentary on "The Railway Bridges of South Asia". There are dozens of spectacularly long bridges over riverbeds that are dry 8 months of the year, and full of water shore to shore during monsoon. The fact that a lot of the trunk routes run perpendicular to the flow of rivers makes it so, specially on the coastal lines, and the rivers are really big near their mouth.


Here is the page on Kolkata - Dhaka service at the Seat61 site. It appears to bear out my information that it is not possible to buy tickets for it on line...

https://www.seat61.com/Bangladesh.htm#International

Thank you again jis, personal insights are always the best information for me. I would prefer to ride the Hardinge Bridge and am aiming at 2024 to travel. But without your info would never have realised there would be a deadline.
Yes, already read the Seat61 insight on ticket availabilty but it appeared a little out of date (is everything before Covid now out of date?) therefore my question to you.

Agree on your Railway Bridges idea, could run a second series on major infrastructure too.

Thanks

 

[jis]

Thank you again jis, personal insights are always the best information for me. I would prefer to ride the Hardinge Bridge and am aiming at 2024 to travel. But without your info would never have realised there would be a deadline.

I don't know exactly when the deadline is. That is my best guess.

Even after the deadline, you could experience those two bridges by taking the daily day time Dhaka to Khulna Express upto Kushtiya and back. This I believe can be done in a single day with no overnights involved, but should be verified.

 

[caravanman]

Wow. I would be curious to know what route you are taking, particularly on how you would get between Europe (via Turkey presumably, then what?) and India.

Not quite what you are asking, but a friend of mine went by train to Thailand!

The Planning, as promised….

 

[user 6862]

I don't know exactly when the deadline is. That is my best guess.

Even after the deadline, you could experience those two bridges by taking the daily day time Dhaka to Khulna Express upto Kushtiya and back. This I believe can be done in a single day with no overnights involved, but should be verified.

Got it!

 

[user 6862]

Not quite what you are asking, but a friend of mine went by train to Thailand!

The Planning, as promised….

Read this before but a while back. He's a really good writer and takes you along at a pace, look forward to reading more tomorrow, thanks Ed.

 

[jis]

Excuse me butting in here Rambling Robert and hope you have fully recovered too.

@jis

As a native of Kolkata do you have up date information as to whether it's possible to buy tickets for the Maitree Express from Kolkata to Dhaka online? If not are there agencies who can pre buy tickets on the customers behalf?

Some more detailed information from someone who actually did it within the last several months on buying tickets in Kolkata for Maitree (Dhaka) and Bandhan (Jessore/Khulna) Express.

Tickets are available at ER Fairley Place Office at the International Counter in addition to Kolkata International Station's International Counter. Fairley Place opens at 9am and is open till 5pm. Kolkata International is open till 9pm.

Ticket can be purchased by either the traveler or a designated agent, but the traveler's Passport and Visa must be presented at the ticket counter. No copies of any sort accepted. So naturally no tickets using any method that makes it impossible to present the original documents. So no internet.

It is recommended that one gets to the Ticket Office before 9:30 am to get the ticket application form. Tickets are sold in order based on the number on the form. The earlier one gets in the earlier and more likely that one gets ticket. Lines can be long. Fortunately on can get a Return (round trip) Ticket.

The procedure is same in Dhaka. Tickets are available from Dhaka Cantonment station. Similar procedure for buying tickets at Jessore Station and Khulna Station for Bandhan Express.

Security is much tighter on Maitree Express than on Bandhan Express. Apparently a lot of smuggling from India to Bangladesh happens via Bandhan Express mostly in Chair Car. So on that train it is better to avoid Chair Car.

Here is a recent video of a ride on the Bandhan Express to Khulna, goods smuggling and all, though unfortunately in Bengali, but one may still see it with audio turned down..

Youtube link