Bilimora Waghai Narrow Gauge Journey

From a long time, it was my wish to cover 2 Narrow Gauge Lines - Miyagam Karjan Dabhoi & Bilimora (BIM) -  Waghai(WGI). One fine day I got to know that Miyagam Line shall be closed soon along with many other Narrow Gauge lines across the country. Hence I decided to atleast travel in BIM-WGI line before it meets the same fate as others at the earliest.

Finally on 18th August, Saturday Me along with fellow Rail Enthusiast Khurshed Lawyer started off early from Mumbai by 22953 Gujrat Express upto Bilimora. 22953 reaches BIM by 09.35 as per schedule and 52001 BIM WGI Passenger leaves at 10.00 which meant we had almost 25mins of spare time. 22953 took a bit long halt at Valsad (probably for a crew change) and we reached BIM approx 5 to 7mins behind the usual schedule. Enroute we had a magnificent view of Vaitarna river as our train passed over Vaitarna bridge and customary overtake by 12009 Ahmedabad bound Shatabdi Express at Umbergam Road.

                                            View of Vaitarna River from Vaitarna Bridge

The moment we got down at Bilimora we made a quick dash to the ticket counter and headed to Narrow Gauge platforms at the other side. The rake was already stabled on Platform along with its loco attached. After a quick photography session on the station we made it inside the coach by 9.55 and bang at 10am, our power ZDM-5 #503 (shed - Pratapnagar) started off our train with a long honk.

                                      Pratapnagar ZDM-5 #503 with 52001 BIM WGI Passenger

About the section - 

BIM - WGI follows a One Train only System of working. Our train cruised through the tracks at 30/35kmph approx which might be the MPS of this section. There were numerous Caution Orders of 10kmph enroute. The same consists does a total of 4 services in a day. 

Along with crew, there is also a Gangman onboard. At Level crossing gates, the train used to stop some distance before the gate, Gangman used to get down and close the gates by halting the traffic to make way for the train to pass. The train used to completely halt once it had passed the LC gate so that the Gangman was able to re-open the gate and get back in to the Train. 

We saw the Guard issue tickets to the passengers who boarded at intermediate stations. 

Once the ticket sale was done, Guard used to exachange Green Flag with the LP to indicate train was ready for departure. At the Level crossings where there were no Gates, there were STOP & PROCEED Boards placed few meters prior to the crossing for informing the crew along with the usual W/L boards.

Crusing at steady pace of approx 30kmph, as we left Bilimora, we were surrounded by a pleasent greenery all around us. It was a visual treat to watch our train moving such amazing scenery. 

We pulled into our first halt Gandevi a little late than the usual time. 

This station as such has a dilapidated building structure which may have been station building once upon a time. At every station enroute, we picked up quite a few passengers and proceeded towards our journey. Occupancy of the train was fair enough.

                                                      Dilapidated building at Gandevi

Since it was a One Train Only System of working, we didnot face any crossing like any typical single line section. The other stations like Chikhli Road and Dholikuva too offered some awesome scenic views.

                                                        Dholikuva Railway station

                                            A Green Canopy on tracks seen at Chikhli road

Due to time constraints, we ended our journey at Unai station and visited a locally famous Unai Mata Temple nearby. 

Interacting with few locals, and gangman (while he came in our last coach once post he re-opened the gates), we got to know that good frequency of buses exist from Waghai too back towards Bilimora and the journey time varies from a minimum of 2 to 2.5hrs. We also learnt that for the last few part of this journey the train passes through some dense jungle areas.

Return Journey:
Post getting down at Unai, we visited Unai Mata Temple.Somewhere nearby station, we sipped piping hot tea and some biscuits for refreshment (as it was raining heavily & there were no good food options visible as such nearby).As the rains receded we headed back to the bus stop right outside the Rly station in search of our connection back to Bilimora. 

We learnt from local people around and one staff that there wont be any direct connection soon for Bilimora but we can take a bus till Chikhli and get ample options towards Bilimora. 

Accordingly at around 2pm, we boarded a bus for Chikhli and reached there by approx 3pm. At Chikhli Bus station, PF-1 is dedicated only for Bilimora bound buses.
After waiting for a couple of mins, we got our pairing connection towards Bilimora and reached Bilimora by 3:30pm approx. The distance between Chikhli and Bilimora was 10kms and was covered quickly since we didnt face any traffic enroute. We looked around for couple of options to quench our hunger and found one right outside the station. After a good lunch, headed back to station to commence our return journey by 12936 Surat Bandra Intercity Express. Quick refresh in waiting room hall (which was well maintained), we headed back to PF-2 only to learn that our train was late by 15mins. Thanks to that, we could take a good video of Karnavati skipping Bilimora at its MPS. 

Exact at 5pm, our Intercity entered BIM PF-2 with BRC WAP-5 #30105 at its helm.

We had the most amazing speedy return journey by this train as it has an aggressive schedule and an equally aggressive run.

                                     BRC WAP5 - 30105 with 12936 entering Bilimora JN

The trip concluded at Andheri with some great memories of the Narrow Gauge journey and the aggressive Intercity ride.