Emotional farewell for metre gauge train in Kerala

PUNALUR - It was all over for the last metre gauge train in Kerala when the Punalur-Chencotta passenger train to Tamil Nadu pulled out of this city Sunday evening.

Since Friday, innumerable number of people had been making a dash to the railway station near this city, 75 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram, for a last ride on the century-old metre gauge track.

A railway official attached to the Punalur station told IANS that Sunday has been a day of unprecedented rush of people to travel one last time.

“The last journey began at 6.50 p.m. and the previous three trips have been flowing with people. There are just four bogies and people are sitting on the roof top also,” said the official who did not wish to be named.

“Despite the police asking the passengers to get down, no one is listening,” he added.

The Kollam-Punalur (45 km) track has already been converted into broad gauge. The next stretch to be converted is the Punalur-Chencotta (46 km) and work is all set to start with this metre gauge train being pulled out of service.

“I have been using this train for the past three decades at least three to four times a week. I source my vegetables and bit of provisions from Tenkasi because they are cheap there,” said Parmesweran, a local trader near Punalur.

“With this train being pulled out of service for laying a broad gauge track, I am a bit sad because the experience of travelling on a metre gauge track is different,” he added.

The Kollam-Chencotta metre gauge railway remains as a monument of British engineering technology on which work started in 1890 and opened in 1901.

“We are from Kottayam and we just came to see this metre gauge train. The views are breathtaking with a few tunnels. The magnificent Pathimoonnu Kannara Palam (13 Arch Bridge) at Kazhuthurutti is unbelievable. We enjoyed the ride,” said Siju Jacob and his group of friends after the ride.

The route was built mainly for the transportation of crops like pepper and other spices to erstwhile Madras from Kollam and today it is basically used to take produce from Tamil Nadu to Kollam.

Another railway official, on condition of anonymity, said the tunnels and the bridges would be strengthened.

“We were able to finish the first stretch from Kollam to Punalur in a reasonable time limit and so would be the next stretch from Punalur to Chencotta,” he said.

“Today, technology is available for strengthening the tunnels and old bridges and it would be done. The new tracks would be laid and are expected to be ready in two years,” he added.