The Great Circular Indian Railway Challenge

Hey Lester and the Lester Gang, better confirm to him immediately! Dial 911 and confirm immediately.. you don't need a better person with you. He will find ways and means to get you in and out of trains, and food joints, and god knows what!! It's really great VSP sir!

Dear Murli,

It could be difficult for me to do the entire trip; hence I have told Mr.Lester that I will join them for "part of their journey".
And VSKP-BZA-HYB is my 'home-ground'.:-)

Thanks Mr VSP sir.. Your home ground is noted. But your spread of relationships across the IR system has become too well known to me from my own sources, and NOT only from IRFCA or similar links . Yes, it could be difficult to hold down a demanding job as yours to spend 15 days out on travel; but during your short sojourn with them, you could give them very useful tips and share your knowledge with them. Anyway, I am glad you are joining them, and I am really JEALOUS as I mentioned in my earlier posting ! Best of luck and good wishes.

OK, I am ready to go public with the promo blog now that I've reached my initial fund raising target and got a few comments and feedback on the blog.
I'll be making a lot of development on the site about the journey details and various options as we get them developed, but the site is good enough to go public now.
We'll end up on the Railway Children events page some time next week, their events manager is out for the next few days. I'm sure we'll get a few recruits from that, especially when we've got our story well tuned. We've got plenty of time for that to "build up steam".
As for the fund raising bit itself, a couple of key points
1. as you will see, I've had some fantastic contributions in the last few days from close friends I've been emotionally blackmailing. It would be really good at this stage if we could boost the head count so if you have just a quid or two to spare it really would be of great help in impressing the organisations I will try to get involved over the next few months.

2. I want to make it very clear once again that nobody involved in this is in any way obliged to get involved in the fund raising or give any money. That said, if you have friends that might want to sponsor you it might prove more effective for you to set up your own page, it takes minutes. I'll gladly link you in from the blog.

So here's the stuff
http://gcirc.wordpress.com
http://justgiving.com/gcirc

Feedback, especially critical stuff, is most welcome especially at this early stage. So if you've got a gripe about the site please get it off your chest. This place will always be the place to discuss the details of the trip though, I will just summarize things we are in general agreement about on the site (the route details will clearly be changing but I can only keep it so up to date). But if you want to discuss the site itself then contact me directly or just leave a comment. I have to clear any comments so if it's not totally appropriate I will edit/censor you, such are my powers .

You are journeying in 2011? Man, Lester, you are going to see a lot of changes in Railway timetables... be warned...Be Aware, beware or am I being a tubelight without a choke ? Good wishes.

Murli, you've made me well aware of the great man's power and influence.
VSP, we've got yonks to go, you'll know well in advance what we've ended up deciding to do. We'll most likely be booking at least 6 months in advance and I'd hope to have a firm itinerary sorted well before that.
I will be away for most of December, this whole thing will go to sleep for a month or so round then (unless it really has developed a life of it's own by then, which may be it already has).

Will the roads even be open in February? If not, you can invoke "force majeure" to justify not doing the northernmost bit.

Well I'd like to throw my hat in the ring as very interested. This sounds like my kind of fun. At this point the likelihood of my being in India during February 2011 is looking very good and...

I have 3 of 4 of Steven's possible reason's for joining.
1) Rail enthusiast
2) India fan
3) Person up for an adventure for Charity
and the added obvious necessity of
4) slightly insane human

I did one of the Bharat Darshan tours in Feb of this year - we covered just over 10,000 km in 14 days in a 3 tier sleeper. We had 4 overnights off the train at either a hostel or hotel (traveler's choice) and those showers were so necessary!!

Anyway, count me in as a very interested member. You have yourself another "candidate from the superior sex".

RE-EDIT
WTF happened there ? My, ahem, overnight xxxxxx of MidSomer Murders, Series 7 is killing the bandwidth and screwing up my posts - sorry.

Anyway, rondel, I simply said that, in due course, I'll facilitate contact between you and my wife who's also very interested in the trip and that I'll step out of the way after that.

-skk

The Jammu Srinagar highway does get blocked in case of heavy snow-fall. It is quite unpredictable. One has to keep track on a daily basis. The local newspaper is of help:
http://dailyexcelsior.com

I have serious misgivings about the kind of photo you have published at the top of the blog pages.
Are such trains really common any more? Esp with electric traction on so many routes.
You yourself plan to travel by the Rajdhani express in 1AC class.
Why not put that train as a cover picture?
Just re-enforcing a negative stereotype does not gel with your mission of going out there with a cause.

Crikey!!!.
I'd better tone down the "this has never been done" stuff. We'll break your 10,000, but only just, But 3 tier for solid 2 weeks, this is going to be a breeze.

Mr Lester, you have not addressed my serious concern about the photo of the hopelessly over-crowded train on the blog pages!

OK. thats the second complaint I've had.
3 points.
1. discussion of the site should go on using the site itself, or directly to me. not in here
2. I've discussed the photo on the photos page
3. people dont read

It's cranked up 500 quid in one week flat, and to be perfectly blunt about it I'm not expecting a great deal of cash from people who are prone to negative re-enforcement anyway. I'll go find a replacement.

Hey Lester, I am NoW really getting VERY VERY JEALOUS... but can't do anything about it right now ! Let us see Still one more year to go.

As for the photo, I have no problems at all. It's nothing new. Its flashed all over the world. But that doesn't make you the scapegoat. What you could do is attach another photo showing one of the 'fancier' trains that SKK wants. So don't get riled. Get on with the job you have undertaken ! Good wishes always.