![]() A majority of passengers on the train are soldiers manning our borders since China is just 220 kilometres from Dibrugarh," station in-charge R. "Most of the 22 coaches of the Vivek Express have been built in the integrated rail coach factory at Kapurthala and the rest at Perambur. That done, he gets an update on the locomotive's load capacity, electrical output and power certification from the staff before he heads to the pilot's cabin. Today Dibrugarh, a bustling town on the Himalayan foothills, is the only non-Capital city in the country to have important trains such as the Rajdhani Express and Vivek Express originating from it.Īfter braving a downpour, as we await the station master and train staff at the crew lobby, we chance upon an intriguing procedure:ĭriver Mohammad Rahimuddin, 55, blows hard into an alcometer for a breathalyser test done to ensure drivers aren't tipsy when they guide the train. In 1881, the British set up a 65-km metre gauge line from Dibrugarh in north Assam to the Margherita Garden Estate, mainly for transportation of tea and coal. ![]() Perhaps, a line by author Paul Theroux about the romance of travel comes close: “You go away for a long time and return a different person - you never come all the way back.” Boning up on railway fiction might help you prepare for 82 hours on the tracks, but as India flashes by the window, nothing prepares you for what lies inside: a journey that opens your eyes to ways of travelling and surviving the Great Indian Railways experience. Having grown up reading the works of adventurers such as Jules Verne and Rudyard Kipling, I wasn’t short of inspiration. ![]() It covers a staggering 4,300 km (more than 1/10th the earth’s circumference), in an unforgettable four-night-three-day grind. It’s India’s longest train ride, starting from Dibrugarh in Assam and sweeping down the eastern coast to culminate at Kanyakumari. Today, 160 years later, even at a time when the Railways are making headlines for the wrong reasons, a ride aboard the Vivek Express is the opportunity of a lifetime. On A hot summer afternoon in 1853, as the first steam locomotive pulled out of Bombay, India entered the rail era.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |