CAUTION: THIS VIDEO IS 21 MINS LONG Finally it was my turn to experience the Meter Gauge (MG) ride and this was nailed to my luck on 26th day of June ' 2012.Excluding the Ooty mountain train , Thiruvarur - Pattukottai MG Passenger will be the last running MG route in Southern Railways rather South India. The original route of this train was Thiruvarur -- Karaikuddi via Pattukottai which has now been curtailed to Thiruarur-Pattukottai at a distance of 76 KM. My journey was even shorter as I had to return back . Arrived at Thiruvarur Junction @ 7:45 AM by taking the Tanjavur-Thiruvarur Local train. I was all excited to see the little Golden Rock YDM4 6321 with 4 MG coaches attached standing ready on track to kick start its journey. I had 25 mins before the train could takeoff , there was a lady selling hot Pongal & thick onion chutney at the station, I just couldn't wait to taste the steamy hot Ponagal and hot onion vaddas . After a heavy breakfast snapped some picks of the ydm4 from the Foot-over --bridge and from various angles. In the opposite direction arrived the 3 coacher Tiruturaipundi - Tiruvarur Passenger 56890 right on time hauled by GOC YDM4 6251. I decide to travel till Tiruturaipundi which is 26 KM'sfrom here and return back to the same place in the opposite direction Pattukottai -Thiruvarur Passenger 56894. This is the station where both the trains cross. At the stroke of 8 HRS 10 MINS my train started at Tirivarur, started moving slowly out of the station with a speed restriction of 10 KMPH with in the station limit , gracefully curves out of the station . Foot-plating on a MG train was pretty challenging as the train tends to shake a lot and if one happens to loose balance it can easily kick you out .These MG coaches were of 1992 manufactured. 20 years of age. The 26 KM journey took approximately an hour to reach, and there are 6 tiny stations on this stretch. Mangudi -5KM, Mavur Road -9KM, Tirunelikkaval -13KM, Ammanur -16KM, Alattambadi -18KM & Thiruthuraipundi -26KM All these stations look so beautiful and lively, with the low raised platforms, filled with of lush green trees & flowers . Toddy Palm trees , Date Palm trees, Coconut, Neem & Jack fruit trees can be found in abundance in this region. The heritage semaphore signals en-route still looks so bright in red with the white stripe as if they were raised recently. The YDM picked up speed after crossing Mavur Road, the speed was thrilling along with the balancing act I had to perform all through out my journey with my DSLR baby(my camera) in one hand capturing these memorable events for a life time. The train is a life line for hundreds of daily workers, farmers, traders, merchants, local sellers & especially for the school students. I really enjoyed spending time with the school boys on the journey. They will have a hard time when this route shuts down for Broad gauge conversion, having to shell out 4 times the train fare on buses. At 9 HRS 10 MINS the train reached Thiruthuraipundi junction, yet another beautiful station with lot of grenary. I was surprised to see a Foot-over bridge in this MG station though no one uses it due to the low raised MG Platforms. Spotted 2 GOC YDM4's 6225 & 6312 idling at the station yard. At around 9HRS 25 Mins arrived the 3 coached Pattukottai -- Tirivarur Passenger 56894 , hauled by GOC YMD4 6281 which leaves Pattukottai at 7 HRS 45 MINS both these trains meet at Thiruthuraipundi junction at abt 9 HRS 15 MINS. The train was late by 10 MINS. Boarded this train to return back to Tirivarur. The train reached Tirivarur by 10 HRS 20 MINS. I was surprised to see even this MG train getting shunted though there is no other train that goigto come till evening.The shunting was performed by GOC YDM 6251 along with YDM 6281, so got a chance to capture YDM twins together. Later 6281 came back to the station hauling the red MG rakes and a tiny looking BCNA rake which looks really cute. The passenger train was brought back to the other side of the platform with GOC YDM4 6251 for the return journey in the evening. Towards the end you can see the MG Coach care center with loads of MG rakes lined up, one MG rake seems to be partially gutted on fire. This MG trip was worth a visit to cherish for my entire life time. This will be the last MG line in South India and the route is going to shut down for Broad Guage conversion. All the beautiful stations will soon be raised to dust and built in the latest style with high raised platforms and Foot over bridges. The semaphore signals will be raised to the ground and thrown apart. The daily travelers will be the major sufferers until the services are resumed in BG . The future generation is only going see MG's in Videos and Pictures .I must say our generation is lucky enough to witness NG, MG & the present BG. I hope this video has made you feel worth watching, thanks for your 20-25 precious minutes. Do post your comments and feedback without fail.

• published: 29 Jun 2012
• views: 209759