Katpadi railway junction is one of the major junctions in India connecting to four different directions (Bangalore & Trivandrum, Pondicherry, Mumbai and Chennai), having more than 75 stopping trains connecting all four major metro cities in India.
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Friday, July 27, 2018
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Which is the best time in the year to visit Vellore?
Vellore is emerging as a medical and education hub. People come to Vellore for various reasons from all over the world. This blogpost is to talk about the time of the year that is best suited to visit Vellore.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Vellore cantonment railway station
Most people only know Katpadi railway station as the destination to come to Vellore. Many don’t know that there’s a railway station in Vellore too. For a long time Vellore railway station was served by meter gauge trains but recently gauge conversion and electrification took place and now any broad gauge train can go there. Citizens of in Vellore need not come to Katpadi junction to catch a train.
Now there’s direct train (Electric Multiple Unit of EMU) between Vellore Cantonment to Chennai Beach and Tirupathy . Those that are coming from Chennai/ Arakkonam/ Tirupathy direction to visit the Golden Temple, need not disembark at Katpai junction but continue to travel up to Vellore cantonment whereby they can avoid major traffic congestion of the city and from cantonment one can take an auto rickshaw to go the temple. From cantonment station, Golden temple is about 7 KM and.
Glaring feature of the Vellore cantonment railway station is its parking space. Between cantonment station and Katpadi junction, there’s one station called “Vellore Town” just behind the vellore fort.
First image below is the entrance to the Vellore cantonment railway station. Second one is the station itself (note the details to resemble the station like Vellore Fort). Last image is the Vellore town railway station that is just behind the Vellore fort and located in between Katpadi junction and Vellore Cantonment station. Cllick on the images to see the details.
Now there’s direct train (Electric Multiple Unit of EMU) between Vellore Cantonment to Chennai Beach and Tirupathy . Those that are coming from Chennai/ Arakkonam/ Tirupathy direction to visit the Golden Temple, need not disembark at Katpai junction but continue to travel up to Vellore cantonment whereby they can avoid major traffic congestion of the city and from cantonment one can take an auto rickshaw to go the temple. From cantonment station, Golden temple is about 7 KM and.
Glaring feature of the Vellore cantonment railway station is its parking space. Between cantonment station and Katpadi junction, there’s one station called “Vellore Town” just behind the vellore fort.
First image below is the entrance to the Vellore cantonment railway station. Second one is the station itself (note the details to resemble the station like Vellore Fort). Last image is the Vellore town railway station that is just behind the Vellore fort and located in between Katpadi junction and Vellore Cantonment station. Cllick on the images to see the details.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Journey from Duisburg to Hamburg, Germany
My friend and I had to travel from Duisburg to Hamburg so again we decided to travel by train for the same reasons as we did in our first leg of the journey. Only difference is that we didn’t have reservation this time. We got in and sat in some seats like we always do in India.
In no time, passengers with reservation tickets came by and we had to move. We moved for about two or three times and we felt very uncomfortable. We also couldn’t stand, as it is a three hours journey. We decided to go to the restaurant and see if they have a place to sit.
My understanding of a restaurant in a train is what I know of the pantry cars in Indian trains. They are very unhygienic so there I went with lot of apprehensions. First thing I noticed was the neat seating. Seats are elevated and are very few. My friend and I were four passengers out there so we found a place to sit.
We immediately purchased something to eat so that the guy wouldn’t ask us to leave. We also made sure that something is left on the table at all times (like some apple juice in a bottle) for the restaurant manager to believe that we are still working on our food. Train was so fast and soothing that we both of us fell asleep when the ticket conductor came by. It was rather embarrassing to see him wake both of us up to check our tickets.
By time we came close to Hamburg, restaurant was full so we realized there that we were not the only one’s without reservation on that train.
Ruby
In no time, passengers with reservation tickets came by and we had to move. We moved for about two or three times and we felt very uncomfortable. We also couldn’t stand, as it is a three hours journey. We decided to go to the restaurant and see if they have a place to sit.
My understanding of a restaurant in a train is what I know of the pantry cars in Indian trains. They are very unhygienic so there I went with lot of apprehensions. First thing I noticed was the neat seating. Seats are elevated and are very few. My friend and I were four passengers out there so we found a place to sit.
We immediately purchased something to eat so that the guy wouldn’t ask us to leave. We also made sure that something is left on the table at all times (like some apple juice in a bottle) for the restaurant manager to believe that we are still working on our food. Train was so fast and soothing that we both of us fell asleep when the ticket conductor came by. It was rather embarrassing to see him wake both of us up to check our tickets.
By time we came close to Hamburg, restaurant was full so we realized there that we were not the only one’s without reservation on that train.
Ruby
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Travelling by a train in Germany
During my recent visit to Germany, my friend and I decided to use the train as much as we possibly could as it would work out economical and also could see the country from a close vantage point.
Our first trip was by ICE (Inter City Express) from Frankfurt Airport to Duisburg. Well we had reservation and people helped us to locate the coach of the train on the platform. My first impression was the outward look of the train. It is not like any train that I had seen before, but it looked like one of those trains that I read about as ‘bullet trains’.
I was taken aback by German train punctuality. They are absolutely on the dot. After we got in, it is nothing but absolute amazement. It is clean, quiet, comfortable and fast. It didn’t take very long for it to catch speed. At one point it was running at about 280 KM/ hour. It was going so fast I couldn’t even take pictures from the train. It was only an hour and a half journey and we had to pass Cologne and Dusseldorf before disembarking at Duisburg.
As it was the first time for my friend and I to travel in Germany, we wanted to be careful not to make any mistakes. We were asking people before we did anything. It looked like there were few people on the train travelling without reservation and that reminded me of trains in India.
Our first trip was by ICE (Inter City Express) from Frankfurt Airport to Duisburg. Well we had reservation and people helped us to locate the coach of the train on the platform. My first impression was the outward look of the train. It is not like any train that I had seen before, but it looked like one of those trains that I read about as ‘bullet trains’.
I was taken aback by German train punctuality. They are absolutely on the dot. After we got in, it is nothing but absolute amazement. It is clean, quiet, comfortable and fast. It didn’t take very long for it to catch speed. At one point it was running at about 280 KM/ hour. It was going so fast I couldn’t even take pictures from the train. It was only an hour and a half journey and we had to pass Cologne and Dusseldorf before disembarking at Duisburg.
As it was the first time for my friend and I to travel in Germany, we wanted to be careful not to make any mistakes. We were asking people before we did anything. It looked like there were few people on the train travelling without reservation and that reminded me of trains in India.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
How to travel economically to Vellore from Chennai airport
Nearest international airport near to Vellore is Chennai Airport. When you reach Chennai, you have two ways to reach Vellore – by road or by train (you must disembark at Katpadi railway station). If you hire a taxi to come by road, they can charge you upwards of 1500 rupees so we’ll not talk about it in this write up.
If you come by train, it works out lot cheaper but unfortunately the Chennai central rail station is not near by. I will tell you two ways to take a train and then I’ll explain how you can travel from there to Katpadi.
Once you come out of the airport, walk (or you can take a taxi) up to the local rail station (TIRUSULAM) that is right in front of the airport. From there you travel to Chennai Beach local station (might cost less than 10 rupees) and catch Chennai Beach – Vellore Cantonment train (Train Number 185). Train 185 leaves Chennai Beach station at about 6:00 PM and reaches Katpadi at 9:00 PM. Disadvantage is that there’s only one train at 6:00 PM from this station in a day and also it has no AC coaches if you like to travel by one.
Second option is to catch a train at the Chennai central. For this you take a pre-paid taxi (for Rs. 350/-) to Chennai central and buy a superfast train ticket (Rs. 50/-) and then board any train that is heading towards South India (Bangalore, Trivandrum, and Coimbatore etc). There will be plenty of trains at any given time. Superfast trains will have AC coaches but since you may not have reservation, you should check with conductor about boarding it before hand and then pay him while travelling. It will cost you about Rs. 200/-
If you come by train, it works out lot cheaper but unfortunately the Chennai central rail station is not near by. I will tell you two ways to take a train and then I’ll explain how you can travel from there to Katpadi.
Once you come out of the airport, walk (or you can take a taxi) up to the local rail station (TIRUSULAM) that is right in front of the airport. From there you travel to Chennai Beach local station (might cost less than 10 rupees) and catch Chennai Beach – Vellore Cantonment train (Train Number 185). Train 185 leaves Chennai Beach station at about 6:00 PM and reaches Katpadi at 9:00 PM. Disadvantage is that there’s only one train at 6:00 PM from this station in a day and also it has no AC coaches if you like to travel by one.
Second option is to catch a train at the Chennai central. For this you take a pre-paid taxi (for Rs. 350/-) to Chennai central and buy a superfast train ticket (Rs. 50/-) and then board any train that is heading towards South India (Bangalore, Trivandrum, and Coimbatore etc). There will be plenty of trains at any given time. Superfast trains will have AC coaches but since you may not have reservation, you should check with conductor about boarding it before hand and then pay him while travelling. It will cost you about Rs. 200/-
Friday, April 10, 2009
How to reach CMC hospital from Katpadi railway station?
There are two ways that you can reach Vellore and that is by road and train. Major railway station near Vellore that is well connected to almost all the major cities in India is called “Katpadi”.
Nearest metro city that is 2 hours train journey away from Katpadi is “Chennai”. If you cannot find a train that is coming directly to Katpadi from your city, you can come to Chennai and from there you can take a train to Katpadi.
Katpadi is a junction so most of the trains stop for about five minutes. Once you reach Katpadi, there are several ways you can reach CMC.
Auto Rickshaw: An exclusive auto rickshaw normally charges about 70 rupees to go to CMC Hospital. Advantage of it is that you can enjoy the ride all for yourself non-stop.
Share Auto Rickshaw: Shared auto rickshaw’s charge 7 rupees to reach CMC but the only disadvantage is that you’ll have to site with other people and he stops wherever the driver sees customers to pick up business.
City Bus: There are plenty of private city buses running form 5 AM to 10 PM. If you don’t see a bus at the railway station, simply walk up to the road (about 300 feet) and you’ll see them. You should either take the bus number 1 or 2 and it will cost you 4 rupees.
Nearest metro city that is 2 hours train journey away from Katpadi is “Chennai”. If you cannot find a train that is coming directly to Katpadi from your city, you can come to Chennai and from there you can take a train to Katpadi.
Katpadi is a junction so most of the trains stop for about five minutes. Once you reach Katpadi, there are several ways you can reach CMC.
Click here to visit the 'Home Stay' (also called as 'Bed & Breakfast homes') facilities in Vellore. |
Auto Rickshaw: An exclusive auto rickshaw normally charges about 70 rupees to go to CMC Hospital. Advantage of it is that you can enjoy the ride all for yourself non-stop.
Share Auto Rickshaw: Shared auto rickshaw’s charge 7 rupees to reach CMC but the only disadvantage is that you’ll have to site with other people and he stops wherever the driver sees customers to pick up business.
City Bus: There are plenty of private city buses running form 5 AM to 10 PM. If you don’t see a bus at the railway station, simply walk up to the road (about 300 feet) and you’ll see them. You should either take the bus number 1 or 2 and it will cost you 4 rupees.
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