Today I had a discussion with my father about railways in his childhood and the beginning of his career. My father's native place is Eluru, 60 km from Vijayawada towards Visakhapatnam.

He came to Visakhapatnam in 1974-1975 to take up a job. At that time, the following trains were running:

1. Madras Howrah Mail (a premium priority train that used to run with a diesel engine)
2. Madras Howrah Janta Express, which had goods coaches attached to it.
3. Bokaro Madras Express
4. Hyderabad Puri Express, which was later extended to Howrah as the East Coast Express
5. Hyderabad Visakhapatnam Godavari Express in 1974

Passenger trains:

1. Hyderabad Puri Passenger (not sure when it was canceled)
2. Visakhapatnam Madras Passenger, morning departure and morning arrival in Madras
3. Visakhapatnam Madras Passenger, evening departure and evening arrival in Madras. These two passenger trains were later cut off to Vijayawada
4. Kakinada Tirupati Passenger
5. Eluru Rajahmundry Passenger in the early 1960s

The Visakhapatnam Madras and Kakinada Tirupati trains used to run from the 1950s when he was in school. He traveled on the Madras Passenger three times in 1956 from Eluru to Madras and regularly commuted on the Tirupati Passenger from Nidadavolu, Tadepalligudem, Eluru to Tenali to his grandmother's house in his childhood.

The doubling of the Visakhapatnam-Rjy section took place after the 1967-70 period, while the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam-Bhimavaram-Nidadavolu line broad gauge conversion was completed in 1962. So they took up the doubling of Kovvur-Nidadavolu in 1962. My grandfather was the Tharsildar for land acquisition for the doubling and track construction of 15 km, which was completed in six months. The Circar Express was introduced in 1964 via BVRM from Kakinada to Madras and via Guntur.

During 1968-72, he used to travel on the Guntur-Guntakal-Hubli night passenger up to Dhone and then take a bus to Anantapur.

Passenger trains were then like our present intercity express catering to unreserved passengers, but they were late and had more travel time. In the Mail, East Coast, or even Janta Express, the unreserved compartments used to be at either end, and to travel standing from Eluru to Visakhapatnam. Even after 50 years, the situation is the same in unreserved coaches of long-distance trains.