Exploring the beauty of railways in rain

Every monsoon, this group of 10-15 railway enthusiasts in the city take a trip along different suburban railway routes to enjoy the experience of rail travel during rains. By picking out stations on the city outskirts, their tour involves clicking pictures of green landscapes en route and grabbing popular snacks off the counters at the railway stations.
Some of the popular stations they visited include Shelu, Bhivpuri Road, Karjat and Palsadari on the Karjat route, and Vasind on the Kasara route.

“While the trips allow us a good break from the routine, they are exclusively centered around enjoying the beauty of the railways. For example: the platforms at Kaman Road station on the Diva-Vasai route is covered with grass. The remaining part of our trip involves visiting any temple or famous location around the area and eating lunch at a nearby restaurant,” business professional Abhishek Tamhankar said. The fans claim they love heading to a nearest railway station or a point, from where they can get a better view of the trains, after it starts pouring.

While Manasarovar station remains the top pick on the harbor line, Vaitarna and Saphale stations on the Western Railway are frequently visited by the group. “On these routes, trains travel on specific curves wherein one is able to get a view of the area around. Watching the wet trains, the fog are images that refresh your mind. Being railway fanatics ourselves, traveling in monsoon is yet another adventure,” said Pradip Galgali, insurance consultant.

While they intend to visit stations within Mumbai on weekends, they intend to move out of the city also. “This August, we plan to visit Araku Valley hill station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh during the monsoons. Last year, we had visited Vijaywada station and we completely enjoyed it. We would be visiting these places by trains, which is the best part of the journey,” Tamhankar added.

Kaushik Dharwadkar, who often takes these trips, said, “Some question our passion for visiting these stations and try to understand what is so different about our trips? The best part is, we switch off from the outside world and sit back and relax on the train journeys. My father would take me to Sion station, as a child, just to enjoy the beauty of train in rains. I just try to go back to that phase.”