Indian Railways in action

Waiting with a green flag, the crew of 315 Pune – Kolhapur passenger waits for an overtake by a southbound BCN. Alandi, 26th January 2008

Face etched with concentration and the body hammered by slipstream, assistant driver drops token of earlier section and gets ready to collect token for the section ahead. The glove and padding on his arm helps soften the impact from collected token hoop. Jejuri, 15th August 2005

Southbound RoRo [Roll on-Roll-off] on the Gad river viaduct. Like several of my images, this one was completely unplanned, although not unanticipated - in my previous night’s dream! Was this pure luck or a sign from the gods of railfanning, when this event occurs a few seconds as my friend Lalam Mandavkar and I trekked around 1.5 kms from the main road to this location? Aravali Road, 1st May 2009

Northbound BCN leaves 4 km long Tike tunnel, and heads for 1 km long Banewadi tunnel, while atop what used to be India's tallest railway viaduct, the 64 meter high Panval viaduct. Ratnagiri, 21st March 2012

Kids await the arrival of 11029 Koyna express following this freight train to reach Lonavala and their school. Khandala, 3rd February 2007

12630 Nizamuddin - Yesvantpur Karnataka Sampark Kranti biweekly express. Viaduct 2, Shindawane ghat, 24th April 2016

Station khalasi walks the Patalpani ghat banker to the tail of waiting 458B Akola – Ratlam fast passenger to push the train through the graded section. Kalakund, 28th June 2008

WCAM3 locomotives push the 11009 Sinhagad express after a brief passenger halt. Khandala, 2nd October 2018

This is one of India's fastest diesel hauled stopping passenger train, covering 437 kms in 8 hours, while stopping at 30 stations! Madgaon – Mangalore Central 56641 passenger, Sharavati A bridge, Honnavar, 1st November 2011

Spikes on the OHE poles deter larger monkeys from aiming for the top, but the younger ones still reach above, by climbing inside the hollow structure. Where else but at Monkey Hill? Bhor ghat, 2nd October 2018

Busy BCNHL, heading north. Adarki, 6th October 2013

A beautiful part of the world. Down BTPN approaches tunnel 5. Adarki, 6th October 2013

6200 horses meet 2 bulls, 2 cows and the person in a pink shirt. Daundaj, 6th July 2013

16532 Bangalore – Ajmer Garib Nawaz weekly express, on one of the many curves in this landscape. Adarki, 10th December 2016

12781 Mysore – Nizamuddin Swarna Jayanti weekly express enters tunnels 1. Shindawane ghat, 21st March 2015

When fluffs of clouds create patchy sunlight. 12781 Swaran Jayanti express powers through. Daundaj, 3rd June 2017

Single line crossing magic. 51409 passenger bursts out of tunnel 4, while 12781 Swaran Jayanti weekly express waits for the line to clear. Adarki, 4th October 2014

11029 Koyna express takes rapid strides through the afternoon's searing heat. Ambale, 24th April 2016

Sunset sees a few drops of rain. Khandala, 2nd October 2018

Mumbai – Bhubaneswar 11019 Konark express is pushed from the rear by these WCAM3 banking locomotives. Khandala, 2nd October 2018

11050 Kolhapur – Ahmedabad weekly express crosses the 51435 Pune – Satara passenger. Shindawane, 11th July 2015

14805 Yesvantpur – Barmer AC special weekly express traverses the ancient viaducts near Monkey Hill. This train reverses direction 6 times in its 2250 km journey. Bhor ghat, 2nd October 2018

11030 Koyna express curves around the tiny hamlet of Bahirji-chi-wadi, where all the families have only one surname, 'Pawar.' And across the railway line is yet another hamlet called Pawar wadi... Daundaj, 30th November 2014

Candy floss vendor, just arrived on this train, walks to the exit. Meanwhile the itinerant trinket seller expands business to other coaches. Shindawane, 15th August 2015.

Jumbo@home. A beautiful machine undergoes scheduled maintenance. Pune loco shed, 5th January 2009

Diversion on the up road. Monkey Hill, 9th March 2014

The 'only end-to-end timing matters' Duronto express can run seriously before time! We reached the location as per plan for the 12223 Kurla terminus - Ernakulam Duronto photoshoot, but we could barely get the camera out of the bag, when the train arrived, a whopping 15 minutes before the estimated time. Southern end of Sharavati B bridge, Honnavar, 2nd November 2011

Menace of the approaching BOXN sends postal trolleys scurrying across the tracks. Madgaon, 13th November 2007

Northbound mail/express crosses the Tawa river bridge. Bagra Tawa, 13th September 2014