Bangalore to Madurai Trains

The train was late. It is very convenient overnight journey. After dinner you can get into the train and for breakfast, you can reach Madurai . I booked lower berth in 3A. I was in B1 compartment. At Bangalore city station there was nobody in the cubicle. At Carmalaram, all the software engineers got in to go to their native place for weekend . Another old couple entered. One young engineer gave his lower berth to her. They were new to 3A. He helped in showing the bed-sheets, blanket and pillow . At Madurai, there were lot of passengers to take the escalator. One woman was very afraid to get in and after getting in she started climbing and fell on me. I fell back and my saree got caught in the steps. Somehow reached safe. The escalator does not enter to platform 1 to use waiting room and have breakfast. It reached outside the station on one side. It is a long walk to get inside and another long walk to get to waiting room. The ladies waiting room does not have feeding room - but the common waiting room had feeding cubicle. There are buggies for senior citizens without luggage!

The train travel was good. It was a bit crowded and noisy but the overall travel was good. I had used the Tuticorin Express. It was delayed by half an hour at the Bangalore city junction but this was not much of a problem. The arrival at Madurai was on time and overall the train travel was good.

As usual train journeys are still painful in India. Trains coaches are not clean and though they say but actually it is not. I travelled in 2nd AC but the condition of coach and bedding given was very poor. It is always suggestive to carry your own food and water.

It has just dawned. The slow train ran through the vast sunflower stretches of Koyilpatti in Tamil Nadu, India. Keeping aside my yawn, I wake up to the light sun-rays on my chin over at my side lower birth in the train. A vendor arrives with his crass cacophonous advertising, selling breakfast on a hand tray with portions steaming idlis, aromatic ghee pongals and meduvada (pulse battered with spices and fried into little rounds) on it, alongside a tumbler of chutney. He also carries a dispenser that keeps hot chai. I make a purchase for my tummy god in a jiffy, no thoughts there! Savouring the venpongal and steaming tea, I await as the train makes its way into Madurai Station in no hurry.

Train was on schedule and reached Madurai on time. As we got upper berths, we had problems, but one fellow passenger swapped his lower birth that allowed my wife to sleep comfortably without the need to climb up. Since we reached Madurai at 7.40 am, there was no need to taste the food either in the train or at the station.