25 Trains – 25 Days | ixigo Travel Stories

Like train journeys? Come embark on this long yet memorable journey with me, one that made me take 25 trains in 25 days.

Target – Travel to all the ‘last’ railway stations in every major direction in India

Duration – 25 days

Mode of Transport – 25 trains across the country

This all started on an an early February morning at the humongous and historic Mumbai CST railway station. I was waiting for my first train, among 25 trains I would take over the next 25 days.

Yes, you heard that right–25 long distance trains in India in 25 days. If you call me insane, I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve worked hard to earn that tag. Hard beds of second class compartments would be my home. And the journey would take me to the last station in every major direction of the Indian rail network. No breaks, no AC, no comfort or good food for 25 days.

How did I manage to survive this trip? And what did I experience? Let’s find out.

Train 1

The first train was 10103 Mandovi Express from Mumbai to Madgaon in Goa. This train is famous for one reason and one reason alone, which is unpunctuality.

My 15 odd hours on the train were spent with good company. This good company is called great food. This train could quite easily be crowned the best for foodies.

Sheera-upma, tomato soup, fried rice, chicken manchurian, gulab jamuns and biryani–I ate all of this like a man living on borrowed time.

But the highlight was meeting the hard working and proud catering staff of Ahuja & Care caterers.

Train 2 to 4

A delay in my train caused a change of plans. Now the general compartment of Kerala Sampark Kranti Express took me from Madgaon to Udupi in Karnataka. This small coastal town is home to Lord Krishna’s temple. It also happens to be my family’s ancestral home.

The Netravati Express then took me from Udupi to Kochi in Kerala. But not before the jitters-inducing wait at 3 AM at Udupi Station.

The next afternoon I was in Kochi with a friend, named Chandy Thomas. Yes, that sounds like a pretty girl’s name. But in reality he is a rather hairy man.

Kochi was about seafood and beef fry. And brandy. Lots of it, actually. On a sober note, I also met a tea-stall owning couple. Why is that special? Because these superstars haven’t let their meager resources stop them from traveling to 16 countries.
The next train was the Island Express to Kanyakumari. Beautiful fields, blue skies and lush green palm trees–the perfect view from the train window!

Train 5

The next train would be the beast of this journey. It was the longest train journey in India. 15905 Vivek Express, running between Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula and Dibrugarh in Assam, almost the eastern end of the Indian Railways.

The statistical magnitude of this train is mind boggling. Some numbers are 4 nights, 8 states, 57 stops, 4,300 km and countless shocking moments. It is a great way to look at and understand India. But even better if you want to test the limits of your own patience.

map

If you skip the comforts of air conditioning and go second class, then only god can save you. Like I was saved. Well almost. Only my phones and cameras were stolen on the last night. I still managed to get off this battleground of a train with all my limbs intact.

Train 6 to 9

The next train I took was the Dibrugarh–Ledo Passenger train. A few slow hours through non-descript railway stations later, I was in Ledo, which is the easternmost passenger railway station in India, bustling with activity.

The original last railway station in the east is Lekhapani. The Britishers had laid the railway line till there during the Second World War. After Independence, we managed to do the impossible. We subtracted the line by a few kilometers.

The same train Dibrugarh-Ledo passenger brought me back. After a great Assamese meal with my host, it was time for train number 8, Brahmputra Mail to New Jalpaiguri. New Jalpaiguri was the first time where I had to take a long distance road ride. It was to Kurseong.

At seven in the morning I boarded the retro and cute Kurseong-Darjeeling Passenger train. This was also train number 9 for me. It takes a frustrating three hours for a 30 km journey. But it could not be avoided. It was a heritage ride with a lot of beautiful sights on offer. All my co-passengers were railway staff.

Train 10 to 13

New Jalpaiguri to New Delhi was a whirlwind few days, with only a half a day break in Kolkata. Padatik Express to Kolkata, then Bagh Express to Lucknow, Ruhelkhand Express from Aishbagh to Izzatnagar and then finally Sitapur Delhi Passenger train.

By the time I got off at Old Delhi Railway Station, I had started losing my sanity. Journeys had started blurring and my mind was almost impotent. I had started questioning this decision. May be 25 trains in 25 days was not doable after all. If it was, why hadn’t anyone else done this before?

The only special journey was the meter gauge Ruhelkhand Express from Aishbagh to Izzatnagar. Very soon these train rides will cease to exist.

Train 14 and 15

Even the day’s break in Delhi could not rejuvenate me. But I did not have the luxury of time. Train 14 was waiting for me at New Delhi Railway Station. It was Shri Shakti AC Express, the only air conditioned train in my entire project.

Next day, at 5 in the morning, I was staring at the shiny Katra Railway Station. My biological clock had stayed back on one of the trains. Even my orientation was disappearing steadily. One train journey at a time.

Train number 15 was the Katra-Jammu DMU. In less than an hour I was in Udhampur. I had now entered a crisis area. The military would be a common sight for the next few days.

This was going to be the most testing time on the project. Because the trip was poorly planned, I possessed only a jacket and canvas shoes. And this was the coldest region in the country.

If my spirit was low at Udhampur, the six hour tempo ride to Banihal that followed completely destroyed it.

Train 16 and 17

I would have preferred the comfort of a soft bed and some great food. But immediately after leaving the tempo, I had to make a dash for train number 16– Banihal-Baramulla passenger train.

It is a weird feeling to be stared at by a compartment full of eyes. Even more so, when you are in your own country. But that’s Kashmir for you. If the train made me skeptical of this trip, a Kashmiri cop in Srinagar showed me what true hospitality meant. He served me many cups of tea, mutton dal and hot fragrant rice. For a brief evening on this trip, I smiled and felt safe.

The next morning with wet shoes and wetter socks I left for Baramulla on train 17. Like things weren’t difficult enough for me, it had started snowing in the valley. For the first time, I had tears in my eyes. “This was not possible. This wasn’t within me”, I sobbed looking out at the cold, grey dullness.

Then I spotted a man on the train. And I had no option but to stop crying. He was wearing plain slippers, no shoes or socks. Neither did he have a jacket on. I told myself “If he can brave this pain, so can you. Just hold on”.

Train 18

I stayed at the snow covered Baramulla station only for a few minutes. Apparently there were no trains to get back after this one. Train 18 was the same one traveling in the opposite direction. By now, the valley looked furious. It rained like there was no tomorrow. I had to get back to Jammu that day. The valley is notorious for flooding in a jiffy and that could have stranded me for days, may be even weeks.

So, another cramped SUV at Banihal took me back to Jammu. But before that I had to endure a dangerous, landslide prone road. That I was not alone in that cigarette smoke filled SUV provided some consolation.

But miracles do happen and a friend named Bhawani Singh appeared in that form in Jammu. The comforts of his mansion-like house brought me to tears again. But this time they were tears of joy. I took a full day’s break.

Train 19 to 25

These 6 trains took me all the way to Udaipur from Jammu. By now, it was only the desire to finish the project that kept me going. And to be honest, even the sights ceased to matter. Greasy food, lack of sleep and almost no exercise had made me grumpy. So much so, that I stopped having conversations with co-passengers.

It was as if I was traveling alone with myself in a long and never ending railway tunnel. Only solace was that this tunnel also meant some magnificent trains like the Kalka-Shimla motor car.
That afternoon I was devouring some delicious egg dishes near Chetak cinema in Udaipur. Good food had been impossible to find on the railway network.

The Extras

Train 26 Udaipur-Ahmedabad Express gave me a few pleasant hours. This meter gauge train on a moonlit route through the desert was special. And in some way, it felt like the end of a magical journey.

I had three more trains to go. But it was not to be. This train which is known to be on time had a rare delay. For the first time in 24 days I had missed a train. It also meant I would miss reaching the last station in the western direction– Okha.

That morning at the busy Ahmedabad station I realized what I felt was not just fatigue. After 24 days, I had reached the end of my ability. A few phone calls and I called off the trip to Okha. “Some other day”, I convinced myself.

That evening on train 27 Gujarat Mail, I was headed back home. Though I had no idea back then, malaria had also traveled with me for a week or so. That was the reason behind my constant fatigue. I started getting treated for malaria as soon as I got home. It was now that I could appreciate the many gifts of this insane journey.

Learnings from this trip –

I now knew a little more about this country and its people. Also about its greatest colonial legacy–the Great Indian Railway Network.
Kindness was more powerful than any negative emotion. If there was one thing that kept my journey going, it was kindness of the many people who helped me when I was almost about to give up.
Personally, the most important learning was the ability of a challenge. A challenge is not a hindrance or a difficulty. It is growth. It is pushing the boundary of your own ability.

Would you want to take an odd trip consisting of 25 trains in 25 days some day?