The Karnataka Express was introduced in the late 1970s, linking the national capital of New Delhi with Bangalore, the state capital of Karnataka. The train at present covers the 2,400 km journey in around 40 hours, cutting across six states and through the Deccan Plateau. The 24-coacher is powered by an electric locomotive till Manmad, after which two diesel locomotives take over for the remainder of the journey till Bangalore
This compilation contains the second part of the 2,400 km journey of this legendary train, covering the diesel-hauled portion. At Manmad, we have a change of traction from electric to diesel; a combination of WDM2 and WDM3 twin Alcos now take over from the Itarsi WAP4 and chug into the Deccan Plateau. We cross the rugged hills around the Ankai area and cruise across the Godavari river. The twin Alcos merrily belch smoke as they maintain a steady pace of around 90-100 kmph through the sugarcane fields of the Deccan zone. We enter Ahmadnagar as dusk falls and subsequently, there are a couple of crossings with Pune Alco hauled expresses before we enter Daund.
The next morning, we are in Andhra Pradesh and are greeted by a wonderful sunrise prior to Guntakal. At Gooty, we veer away from the Renigunta lines via a 180 degree horseshoe curve, featuring some excellent notching, chugging, smoking and acceleration, and head towards Anantapur and Dharmavaram.
The landscape becomes incredible after Dharmavaram with the occasional hills become a more regular feature. Prior to Prasanti Nilayam, we cross a small tunnel and the landscape keeps getting better after this stretch, right till the outskirts of Bangalore. The main highlight of this stretch is undoubtedly the Makalidurga Ghats, 70 km prior to Bangalore, perched at an elevation of 2,700 feet, featuring a fantastic combination of arid rocks, and green shrubs, overlooked by small grey monsoon clouds. The twin diesels merrily cruise through this stretch at around 75-80 kmph, negotiated a number of sharp curves.