A train journey comes to end with joyful memories

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abhisakthi

22 September, 2010

A meter gauge train that ran on the Sengottai - Punalur route nearly for 110 years was given a grand farewell by passengers, who have travelled by this train that passes through one of the most picturesque places in south Tamil Nadu.

A METER gauge train that ran on the Sengottai – Punalur route nearly for 110 years was given a grand farewell by passengers, who have travelled by this train that passes through one of the most picturesque places in south Tamil Nadu on Sunday.

The construction for this railway route was started in the year 1873 by the British and was completed after 27 years, in 1901. Route involved construction of long arch bridges over steep gauges. The first goods train traveled in this route on 1902 and started carrying passengers in 1904. The station master of Kochi flagged off the first passenger train from Kochi to Sengottai in November 1902.

Now, this 100 - year old train is to stop action, since the gauge conversion of this 51 km route is to be taken up at a cost of Rs 300 crores. It is one of the last gauge conversion works to be taken up in Tamil Nadu.

The tiny five compartment train takes just over 100 minutes to reach Sengottai in Tamil Nadu from Punalur in Kerala. But, it is one of the most thrilling train journeys of the modern days, because the train passes over five big bridges and over a 100 tiny ones, under which streams gush with clear water. When the train turn on the viaducts one gets the breath taking view of the beauty of the Western Ghats.

This is also a route on which one can pass through tunnels dug through rocky hills; there are five tunnels in this stretch including the 1 km long tunnel between Bhagawathipuram and Arayankavu.

On Sunday, many of the passengers, most of them vegetable vendors and office goers assembled with their favourite loco decorated with banana plants, floral garlands and flags and most of them even traveled on the top of this train to remember the last journey of this train.

Even during crowded days, it was a pleasure for passengers to travel by this train. It was convenient and it was a route travelled many times in their life. And many of them indicate small buildings of historical value like the stone water tank in the Punalur station it helped to fuel many steam locos it should be preserved as it is an art of heritage.