A little bit of local rail fanning in and around Kakinada.
1 - CNB WAG7 hauling a freight at Chadrampalem gate near Pithapuram.
2. Tracks heading towards PAP at Chandrampalem gate.
3. View of the old Kakinada port station from the customs office level crossing. This LC is after the port station where the tracks continue towards NFCL and Kakinada Seaport.
4....
more... View towards the sea at the Customs office LC. The 3 tracks on the right enter the Abs Agrotech premises and terminate there. The left most track is the port line which leads further to Kakinada Seaport (KSPL), NFCL and GFCL ( Now Coromandel fertilizers). This is the line that will probably be the starting point for the proposed Kakinada-Pithapuram line.
5. Another view of the old port station from the Level crossing. An ALCO was stading idle with a short freight rake and the Kotipalli rail bus was parked further ahead.
6. View of the Port/NFCL line (possible future Kakinada Pithapuram line) looking towards the Port station from another level crossing near the customs office.
7. Port line heading towards NFCL. Notice the Earth work going on beside the track. This is probably doubling work. Judging form the progress I saw, the new line can be ready in a relatively short time.
8,9,10,11 - Several spurs and sidings in the port area, some leading to NFCL and others directly entering the Deep water port. Beyond these gates is a large and impressive facility for loading Coal! Here is a short documentary highlighting the Coal loading facility in Kakinada -
click here12,13 - A level crossing on the Kakinada-Kotipalli track at a short distance before Rameswaram. Sad to see this line in a state of disuse.
14,15 - A piece of rail history now completely neglected. These piers were those of a rail bridge across the Godavari canal outside Kakinada near Pratap Nagar bridge, on the old Kakinada - Kotipalli route which was totally demolished in 1940 as the British needed steel for railway lines elsewhere during the 2nd World war. These piers, around 85 years old are the only remaining relics of the first attempt at a railway route to the Konaseema area. The new Kotipalli line has a bridge across the same canal around 2 km upstream from this spot. ( This is based on anecdotes I got from my Grand parents and locals ).