LKO/Lucknow Charbagh NR (9 PFs)

Local Name: Badi line

लखनऊ चारबाग़ (उत्तर रेलवे)

(لکھنؤ چارباغ (سمال ریلوے

Track: Construction - Electric-Line Tripling

DADN-KYQ Express, NR/LKO ka Aatank.

So, for some urgent work, I had to return home to Varanasi from Lucknow. The original plan was to return via Ekatmata Express, but due to some unforeseen circumstances with my Thar, I had to return back midway to the station.

So,...
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another hour, another plan. The 19305, DADN-KYQ Express suited me the best, so I booked the tickets in current availability. Hopped on an Uber and that was the fastest commute in my entire journey, reached Charbagh from Ekana in just over 20 minutes.

The train was on time till Kanpur, and as soon as it entered NR, it instantly got late. Still, I hoped the delay would not exceed 45 minutes. But the great NR/LKO. They were playing with a GM saloon and two ALCos on the PF-2 where the train was supposed to be received.

Shaheed Express was taken on the vacant PF-3 first, and when the ALCos finally got done with the parking simulator, Bagh Express was received on PF-2. And while it was a pleasant surprise to see coach display indicators on LKO, they were working with a mind of their own. Data of my still nowhere to be seen train was displayed while Bagh was on PF-2. And that of Shaheed started being displayed after it's departure.

Finally, after a delay of 1.5 hours, the train arrived on PF-3 and departed after accumulating a few more minutes of delay. But here comes something I hadn't expected from NR/LKO even in my dreams. The train reached SLN in around 1hr 20min, averaging more than 100kmph. And covered SLN-JOP in around 50 minutes, again an average of 100kmph. Now I was sure, we'd reach Varanasi before 11:30.

And then started typical NR behavior. The train was halted at every station to let the freights gain some progress, even though we were still late, officially. And finally the train was halted at Babatpur because operational block was taken. A totally avoidable situation, had they run the train on the schedule it was running.

The train halted there for almost an hour. Another block was scheduled if the previous one didn't work (they were welding the tracks), and exactly the same thing happened. But somehow we were allowed to proceed, supposedly because the train was full of people appearing for some exam, and they got agitated. The train was halted yet again at Shivpur and Varanasi outers.

At this point I was so annoyed, I deboarded and started walking towards the station. I boarded back when the train started crawling towards the station. Finally it reached BSB around 2 hours late. ½ hour of gained delay, even with a track-burning run, and a heavy slack in last 50km.

You can trust a wolf to guard the sheep, but can't trust NR to reach somewhere on time. Attached here are some pictures I took while waiting for my train. Well, except for the train I was traveling in.

P.S. Farakka is still displayed as MLDT-NDLS at BSB. And while the train boards are still printed and handwritten, CDO/KIR has taken extra steps to paint ER again wherever it had been peeled off. They're surely reading some blogs here.

Kumud.

Some snaps around the state capital, Lucknow.

1. Large station board of Lucknow NR with WDP-4D, 40155, Rani Naiki Devi from AMV in background.

2. The same frame from above with LGD WAP-7,...
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30274 peeking into the frame.

3. A beautifully painted NR inspection car standing along the usual crowd of coaches outside the AMV coach care center.

4. A Lucknow ALCo sharing the frame with the inspection car Parakh, on PF-4 of LKO.

5. BSB-LKO Shuttle Superfast standing on the PF-7 of Lucknow NR on a rainy day. I deboarded the train and ran to the back in heavy rains to capture it.

6. UPMRC metro bound to Munshi Pulia, after I deboarded it at my destination Indira Nagar.

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