Cheers as joy train chugs along Kashmir of the South

Cheers as joy train chugs along Kashmir of the South
After 11 long years, the Bangalore-Mangalore train started chugging on December 8, connecting the state’s capital to the coastal region. TOI correspondent N D Shiva Kumar, who boarded the inaugural day train at Mangalore, got a panoramic view of Shiradi Ghat and a kaleidoscopic picture of the joy of the people
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

On board the Mangalore-Bangalore train:
Loco-pilot Ramaswamy was both joyous and tense. As railway minister Lalu Prasad pressed the electronic button and Muralidhar waved the green flag at 3 pm on Saturday, Ramaswamy started piloting the coastal dream — Mangalore-Bangalore passenger train — amid cheers, happy journey wishes and smiling waves by hundreds of people at the Mangalore Central Railway Station.
As the decorated inaugural train started chugging carrying 90 passengers, hundreds of people came out of their houses and fields to have a glimpse of the train and wave at the train.
At Kankanadi, the first stop, it was time for celebration as people thronged the place, walked into the train, broke coconuts and offered puja to the train. At the Kabaka Puttur station, people felicitated Ramaswamy, burst crackers and distributed laddus to all the passengers. They did not seem to be satisfied with just this. They walked through all the bogeys as if to get the feel of the train.
Puttur Chamber of Commerce president and former CMC president. Lokesh Hegde, who was part of the celebrations, expressed his joy as he believed that the train not only ensured safety and comfort for passengers, but also would help in economic growth.
“I was born and brought up here. I have never seen a passenger train moving here. I have come straight from college to see this dream train. From now on, I can travel to Mangalore by train,” said an elated Yashwanth, a first-year BBM student and resident of Puttur.
The train rolled on, giving a glimpse of the serene beauty of the Western Ghats. After travelling 92 km, the train stopped at Subramanya Road Station. It was a replay of Kabaka Puttur — celebrations. Meanwhile, the train got an additional facility — three more engines in the back to push the train to enable it to climb up the steep terrain, which has 50 gradients. The train started moving — on the bridges, through the tunnels and on the curves. As it started climbing the 50-metre stretch, we realised why Shiradi Ghat is called the ‘Kashmir of the South.’
The train chugged, at a slow pace of below 30 km per hour, showing the virgin ghat section with hills on one side and valleys on the other. The breathtaking views of deep valleys, picturesque waterfalls, dense forests and coffee plantations started unfolding, making the heart skip many a beat. The darkness blinded us and the sound was deafening as the train moved through those 57 tunnels, which ran for a length of 11 km. Shiradi Ghat is very very curvy! Out of the 55 km terrain, 34 km is on curves. It has 110 curves with a maximum curvature of 8 degree at 85 places!
As the sun got ready to set, it was a riot of colours on the horizon. As we reached Yedakumeri at 6.45 pm, darkness had started engulfing the ghat, conveying a deep sense of mystery. After we reached Sakleshpur, the celebrations were led by former MLA H M Vishwanath.
The joy clearly said it all. The train will surely bring in prosperity to the unemployed youth of Kankanadi, Narimoguru, Yedamangala, Subramanya Road, Sribagilu, Aryabhata, Yedakumeri, Kadagaavalli, Donigal and Sakleshpur. They will have jobs on hand catering to the travellers — in terms of transport, food outlets and providing accommodation.
As darkness took over, the overhauled and repainted inaugural train carrying 90 passengers (67 in second class sleeper, 10 in twotier A/C and 13 in 3-tier A/C) chugged on, crossing Hassan, Mandya, Mysore and Bangalore City Station, before coming to a halt at Yeshwanthpur at 4 am. The inaugural train took 13 hours to cover the 453 km distance. It was one-and-a-half-hour more than the actual time it takes to travel. The reason for the delay is not known. But one disappointing fact is that only the inaugural train had a day run. Otherwise this is a night train, and passengers will not have an opportunity to enjoy the serenity and beauty of Shiradi Ghat.
Hope there will be a day train soon...
VIBRANT HUES
Ramakrishna Hebbar, a retired policeman from Krishnapura in Suratkal, had boarded the train wanting to recapture the joyous time he had experienced 22 years ago. “I had taken my brother Ganesh to put him at SJP Polytechnic for a diploma course in 1985. The ticket price was Rs 42. Today, I wanted to get on to this train and I found an excuse: I decided to go to Mysore and visit my sister,” he says laughingly. His brother is now engaged in business after completing his BE degree.
Loco-pilot Ramaswamy, who hails from Mysore, had piloted the meter gauge train in 1979 and also in 1996, before the railway line was stopped. “I am very happy to pilot it again. Those days, elephants used to walk on the tracks. I have seen flying snakes.’’
Signal man Muralidhar had also associated himself with the train on the route more than 11 years ago. On Saturday, he had the opportunity to signal the train. “It feels nice,” he said. G Madhusudhan, senior section engineer, maintaining diesel locomotives, KR Puram, Bangalore, said: “Though we have seen many new trains, this is totally a different experience. It is a wonderful feeling to see the track, an engineering marvel, and the celebrations.’’