train journey to araku
6.05am : reached vizag station along with my wife, daughter, son-in-law and his mother to embark on a historic trip to araku by the only passenger train on an electrified single line route to kirandul, a distance of 473 kms. this freight line was primarily established to facilitate the transport of iron ore from the bailadila mines for export through vizag port, sometime in the 80s, if my memory serves me right.
vskp station appeared neat and clean with the even numbered pfs all vacant.
however,...
more... pf1 was occupied the just arrived and majestic godavari express. i was very surprised to see the entire train decked in a cream colour, the first time i am witnessing such a shade. secretly i have always been a votary of special colours for some of the prestigious trains and this colour gladdened my heart.
pf3 was home to the ready-to-depart 12863 hwh-tiruchi express which soon left on its onward journey.
pf5 was the platform from which my train the 58501 vskp-kirandul passenger led by a wag5a no. 23302 from the vskp stable was getting ready for departure. the loco was in charge of an slr-ur-ur-fc-s1-ur-ur-ur-ur-ur-slr in that order and the train was fairly packed with almost a 50% passenger crowd originating from oh kolkata.
on pf7 stood 17240 vskp-guntur simhadri exp scheduled to leave at 7.10 am
as i had been forewarned that nothing much other than tea/coffee would be available on the route, we picked up idli/vada/upma from the food plaza at pf1, with which i already had a fruitful and filling association during my 20 odd trips to vskp during the time from 2008 to 2010.
6.50 am: the train departed on time and traversed the beaten vskp-howrah track passing through marripalem, simhachalam, pendurti and kottavalasa, a distance of 27 kms. and then the trail veered northwards from kottavalasa to mallividu. took a short nap and when i woke up we had reached a station called shivalingapuram. it was now time for the majesty of the route literally carved through the mountain range of the eastern ghats to unfold.
the journey began to light up the hearts of all passengers especially the children who jumped and shouted with joy as the train wended its way through a series of 44 tunnels of varying lengths amidst darkness partially offset by electric bulbs strategically located on the inner sides of the tunnel walls. the entrance to each tunnel was inscribed with an indication to the effect :" tunnel no. ---, length of this tunnel ----- mts "
the entire track was a veritable engineering marvel akin to the konkan railway, albeit on a much smaller scale. the longest tunnel was 887 mts long and on the open portions of the track, there were steep cliffs and rock formations on the left and forest vegetation on the right. the landscape and scenery was a tribute to the communion between man & nature. we seemed to be far far away from civilization as we are used to and moving rapidly towards the virgin beauty of an unpolluted mountainside.
10.45 am : the train reached borra guhalu the alighting point for those desirous of visiting the famous borra caves (but more about that later). many of the passengers detrained here.
after this the gradient suddenly turned downwards marking a gradual descent into the valley instead of the ascent on the mountainside.
11.20 am; halt at simliguda station, the highest bg station in india, outside jammu & kashmir, situated at 996 meters above msl. that is like being at the top of a vertical staircase which is almost 1 km long,
11.45 am: finally arrived at our destination araku almost 1 hour late after one of the most visually appetizing train journeys i have undertaken. if the scenery was spellbinding, the effect it had on our psyches, even for a transient period was rejuvenating.
ps. i has initially planned to undertake this journey by road but was persuaded by one of our admins, venkat, to be precise, to travel by train instead. i am greatly indebted to him for this piece of advice for otherwise i would have been a loser. right before and during my trip to araku, he took upon himself the role of my friend, philosopher & guide. my special thanks to him and tejas who provided me with the valuable links for arranging and ensuring my accommodation at araku.
