July 2019
This Journey happened in July 2019. I was both fortunate and slightly unfortunate to undertake this Journey, Fortunate because I got to travel in the then only Diesel hauled Shatabdi Exp in the country to do 130kmph; unfortunate because of the windows of the rake. You will realize when you see the Video. It was by sheer luck that @Its AP - The RAIL MANIA and I went on this trip, since a few months later the train was taken over by E locos.
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more... We were also fortunate enough to get the 130kmph run. Our friends in Howrah warned us, that if the 12024 Patna Janshatabdi crossed Khana Jn. (our entry point into the High Speed stretch) before us, then we would trail it all the way to Howrah and hence the chances of touching 130 kmph would inadvertently become less, since the JS ran at 110 kmph and we would trail it closely. The JS as it is had a scheduled arrival time 10 mins ahead of the Shatabdi.
Luckily, that day, we reached Khana Jn. first, since the JS was running about 40 mins late. We managed to finish lunch by then, and thus were fully prepared for the 130 kmph run. Even though it was for a brief period, the high speed run behind a WDP-4 (Diesel Loco) was thrilling. We enjoyed it every bit. But thanks to delay accumulated previously, we made it Howrah slightly late, but were fully satisfied.
Except for the disturbing windows (you will see in the video), we felt that the Journey was value for money. We enjoyed it a lot. Hope you enjoy the Journey Compilation too.
New Jalpaiguri Howrah Shatabdi Express!! A Complete Monsoon Journey
Video Link -
click here