As my 12134 Mangaluru Mumbai Superfast Express slowed down at Shiroor, I figured it was going to be for some crossing. But I was surprised to see a Plasser unit in the mainline and wondered why wasn't it sent to the loop for us to go through. Only then did I notice an ALCo hauled train waiting at the other home signal. It was the 19424 Gandhidham Tirunelveli Humsafar Express.
As soon my train entered the loop completely, the Plasser was given the starter and it moved southwards. Within minutes, the Humsafar too was given the green, and accelerated past us, chasing the Plasser, possibly in search of a comfortable location to overtake it.
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leading my 12134 Mumbai Express was KYN WDG3A, while a VTA WDM3D hauled the Humsafar.

Presenting the final part of a full Journey on the 12133 Mumbai CST Mangalore Jn. Rocket SF express; this video covers the entire run through Karnataka from Asnoti to the final destination of our train, Mangalore Jn. After departing from Madgaon Jn. more or less on time, we cruise past the last few stations in the station of Goa on the KR line, including Balli, Canacona and Loliem. After Loliem, we cross the border and venture into Karnataka. The first station after entering the state of Karnataka saw us loop into the solitary platform line. We were looped for the KR king- Trivandrum Rajdhani express to cross. Within minutes of us entering the loop, the TVC Raj made its presence felt with some good chugging and honking by the GOC toaster leading it. After the crossing, we departed and sped past the Kali river bridge, the longest in the northern half...
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of the coastline along Karnataka.
Our first halt in Karnataka was the scenic Karwar. This place has two direct trains to Bangalore. The rocket sped along the KR line surrounded by lush greenery and occasional drizzles. At Harwada we spotted the Gandhidham bound weekly express from Nagercoil led by an ERS WDM3A. The route was bliss to travel in during monsoon. Tunnels were a part and parcel of this entire route, with quite a few of them coming in the stretch between Madgaon and Mangalore. Ernakulam Nizamuddin Duronto express; India’s longest running Duronto in terms of distance, was waiting for us to pass at Ankola. The coastal plains of Karnataka seemed well watered and were replete with water bodies and mushy farmlands.
After departing from Kumta, we rushed towards the longest river bridge of the entire KR belt at Honnavar. Before reaching the bridge, we cruised through the station and met the Mangalore Magaon Passenger led by an ERS WDM3A. Immediately after the station followed the tunnel, The Bridge over the river Sharavati is the longest in KR at a total distance of 2.6km. Another unscheduled halt at Manki saw us make way for the Madgaon Mangalore Intercity led by a Palindrome ALCo from Erode shed, the WDM3D 11111.
Following Manki, we cruised past the majestic statue of Lord Shiva at Murudeshwar. It was a beautiful sight from the train moving a few kms away from the temple complex. Standing at an astounding height of 123 feet, the statue of Lord Shiva is the second tallest in World. Soon after, we were cruising past Murudeshwar station, the drizzles were back to give us company. At shiroor we crossed the passenger train from Byndoor Mookambika road to Kasargod. The funny thing is, although this passenger service technically terminates at Byndoor, the loco can’t reverse there since the station doesn’t have any loops; hence the entire train comes to Shiroor to reverse and proceed back to Kasargod.
After a short halt at Byndoor, majority of the train became empty and we rushed off to make up lost time. The entire coastal region of Karnataka had a vast majority of people growing Coconut farms. After crossing the Bangalore Karwar express at Bijoor, we were looped into Kundapura to cross a north bound Ro-Ro rake, led by a WDG4 from UBL shed. Post Kundapura, the clouds opened up and rains continued to last out till we reached Udupi, where the Delhi bound weekly express from Kochuveli crossed us led by yet another toaster WDP3A from Golden Rock shed. Even a WDG4D was spotted in Udupi. Post Mulki, the rains came back to haunt us, but this didn’t deter us from capturing the Ro-Ro getting unloaded at Surathkal- our penultimate halt.
We inched towards our destination; after crossing the Mangalore Airport. The airport looked majestic as well as scary, located on top of a cliff. The AI 812 crash incident of 2010 came back to my mind. The bypass lines veered away from us just slightly before Mangalore Jn. At the home signal of MAJN, the Subramanya Mangalore passenger waited for us to enter ahead of it, led by KJM WDG3A twins. At 15:30, we pulled into pf1 of Mangalore Jn., concluding a wonderful 17.5hour journey from Mumbai CST. This train is worth a try atleast once, after that you will fall in love with it.

out of the train window
Shot on the way to gokarna from Mangalore in Karnataka, India. All courtesy to the extremely scenic konkan railways.
This went into explore and ranked 301 on Saturday, November 3, 2007
By Neha Thakur
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This photo was taken on September 29, 2007 in Shiroor, Karnataka, IN, using a Canon PowerShot S3 IS.