I went to train station during early hours this morning to receive my parents. The train got substantially delayed and myself and my brother are taking a leisure walk on the platform. Noticed that the Indian Railways has changed the train numbers to have 5 digits (they are announcing this for quite some time and didn’t realize that they already implemented it.) Based on my quick glance at arrival/departure boards, I think they numbered all the express trains to start with 1, passenger trains to start with 4 and local trains to start with 5.

When we are taking a walk, we noticed that the coach location signboards (the ones on the platform that indicate the coach location of the current inbound/outbound train on platform) display only 4 digits of the train number, because they are designed to contain a maximum of 4 digits. Looks like they are yet to “upgrade” those signboards. That means more contracts, more money, more whatever…

My Maruti 800 is due for a bunch of repairs: Silencer (muffler) is very much gone for a few weeks; Pollution (smog) check overdue; Bumper (fender) is hanging on one side; yada… yada. Today I had a single 3 hour session during which I got all of these issues taken care of. Back to comfort level on this commute car.

I traveled to Godavari Districts over the weekend. The main purpose is to attend wedding of a cousin. Narasapur express is late by an hour and half on that day, disturbing the logistics a bit. Disembarked the train at Bhimavaram on Saturday to visit relatives and then drove to Poolapalli. From there, visited Sakhinetipalli in East Godavari district. Once back in Poolapalli, took a few hours of rest and went to Amalapuram to attend the late night wedding.

Sunday is a relatively slow day. Bought some sea food for kids, met GVPR (HoD of CS Department at SRKR engineering college) and came back to Poolapalli. Boarded Narasapur express in the evening and headed back to Hyderabad.

That is a couple of hundred kilometers of nice and pleasant drive during this weekend. Nice views of green paddy fields and full canals, reflecting the good monsoon during this season.

On Sunday, I took my Xylo out for a highway drive. I wanted to get a feel of the vehicle after its 2nd service a couple of days ago. Took it over different types of roads: smooth, rugged, water clogged, etc. I felt that the driving experience improved. The stick shift (gear shift) is a bit smoother now. The vehicle handled the potholes on the roads well: I guess the key is to maintain the 35psi air pressure. If it is higher, then the ride is a bit bumpy. 35+psi was okay during summer, because the roads are relatively smooth. But on roads damaged with rain water, I think the inflation of wheels should be a bit on the softer side.

Still having a few questions about the ABS. The ABS got engaged even when I applied sudden breaks at 40kmph speed. May be it is due to the traction (or lack of) on rain hit roads. Felt that ABS to be a bit noisy when it gets engaged. Need to check it again one of these weekends.

I need to top up the fuel tank later this month and recheck the fuel efficiency. I don’t think it is going to change drastically from its 10kmpl levels (with AC, semi highway, semi city.)

Overall, I think the vehicle is running very good.

We got the 2nd service (due at 8months or 8K km, whichever is earlier) done for our Xylo. It roamed around 3500km only. The vehicle is bought about 8 months ago and hence I got the 2nd servicing done, irrespective of the odometer reading. One problem that is not fixed for a few months is the external temperature sensor. Looks like the add-on chrome package is occluding the external temperature sensor on the right side mirror. The service consultant flagged this issue with the company and he says he will get back to me.

The other major issue is delay in service. The vehicle is held up at the service center for two full days. Any issue with the digital drive assist seems to take long time (just like the last service.) That process blocked one of my weekend days.

The total cost (only for parts; the service is free) is about 1000 rupees. They changed the gear oil, differential oil and topped up fluids like coolant and windshield wash fluid.

The vehicle made only about 1000km in the last 4 months (since the last service.) That is a very low usage.

Today I have seen that the IRCTC web portal (the portal where Indian Railways tickets can be booked online) introduced human readable verification codes as part of the ticket booking process. This is a new change in their portal, which already allows only signed in users to book tickets. Unlike many other sites, the readability of the verification code is better here…