Great writeup of travelog.

The train used to leave on time or at 700 before with PF 6&7 and from about 11 months post Vande Bharat is introduced there is a scuffle of PFs and dep to make VB leave on time and multiple dep from 500 till 900 the confusion continues which train wil leave first preference is express train VB then Shalimar SeC, Villupuram Purilia Janambhoomi, Gunpur next Kirandul.
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Next do visit Draksharamam 30km from Kakinada and Samalkot the second temple of Lord Shiva of Samalkot and Pitapuram Kukkuteswara swamy temple and both are Shaktipeetas.

Trip continued
The LHB jerk indicated that we are proceeding . A sigh of relief went across the train. We called our driver to inform that the train has finally departed . Fine sir , after breakfast I will also start, it will take me half an hour lesser , he said . Ok I said

The cloudy atmosphere spread across a...
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chill breeze as our coach finally exited the platform onto the tracks taking us out of Visakaptnam. The Howrah bound legendary mail crossed us soon with a trail of AC coaches and few sleeper coaches for name sake purposes . Hope he doesn't overtake us before we turn , thought to myself , echoed by dad.. 25 kms... Anything possible .

Our seat was facing the opposite inbound track that I didn't notice to my left , untill i suddenly spotted a freight to my left on our directio Thought it was on a siding line when suddenly another one stood facing opposite .. is it a face to face situation?? Who will get to proceed ?? Or will they fight for space .. optical illusion, it's an up and down for freight seperate .

We have a quick halt and go at Marripalem where few people board . WAP7 showed its power with the tiny coach as we went past with the acceleration...passenger is a no load , passengers are less load , sang the WAP7 as it made its way to Simmachalam station , the announcement going on for the Palasa Visakapatnam express special to enter.. No words to express for these poor MEMU express , expressed my brain .... A quick stop and go followed .

Visakaptnam - housing a harbour , HPCL, steel corporations is a haunt for freights , and every station, every siding , every inch of track seem to be occupied by the WAG7 twins / WAG9 twins hauling their rakes in and out with BOXN , CONCOR and tankers in consist and a solo guard at the end of front depending on the consist .

A LHB rake crossed behind a WAP7 as we crossed Pendurthi, as my dad exclaimed " This is very high traffic - how to follow schedule ??? Slack I said.. I thought doubling was a major achievement , now it's tripling , quardpling and the rush just doesn't seem to reduce . And so is the demand . Don't know where we are heading !!! But seriously interesting how railways is managing this loads.. too technical, everything requires priority exclaimed my Dad , as we approach Kottavalasa with a line of freights occupying the siding lines . Junction point I remarked , for the main line and the hill line, so freight aplenty here, waiting their turns entering , exiting Visakapatnam region. With so many freights around, what do you expect this passenger to prioritise, asked my dad, for my mom replied - EV coaches should be only reason for this train to run . What we have paid is mere 175 vs the 750 what that seat generates ... But tonnes of freight for the section , revenue is ....Colgate smile follows

The Quardple Howrah line deviates straight while we curve left to enter the hills exiting Kottavalasa. What I assumed to be a single line turns out to be a double line , but I fail to notice we are in middle track , untill i notice a next BOXN on left.. Freight have changed ..it's triplets of WAG-5 chocolate liveried that we are encountering now. Up and down the hills , WAG-5 and WAG-9 have increased their haulage by a loco each, triplets of 5 and doublets of 9 ..but main consist BOXN ... Sand I remarked seeing it till dad clarified , it must be ore. 70T beamed the coach painting mark in white .. 50-60 coach consist *70 T *revenue.. a huge coffee compared to Rs.75000/- what we are hauling behind us in white & blue .

The scenery enroute was beautiful with green beds of lands across , and white egrets flocking by the JCB machines, cattles , humans and whoever working on the field , in hope of their food. An occassional open bills stork, painted stork and wooly necked stork made their presence felt by their wingspans and size , but domination was the cute egrets

The next station nearly threw me out of gear ... Malliveedu ...(Again him ???) Is this station provoking our passenger train...oh there he has come again...why the hell did he come .. The angry look on WAG-5 seem to indicate the same as I said , once we leave full track is yours ... Where ...there are plenty before me

Malliveedu is despatched shortly and Shrungavari Kota is approached . APSRTC holda a depot here with Ultra deluxe services plying to Arakku frommthere , with board and stickers sporting S.Kota .. A small station, quick cross, a namesake halt at many of these places , for our train has majorly noone to board or deboard anywhere , but we are still a passenger ... LHB passenger

We have almost covered 60 kms since we left , and 80 mins since our departure, but the MSL has just crossed the 3 figure mark. We have way ahead to go , thought to myself , as we approach Boddavara , where we reach the 150 mark . Slow ascent thought to myself, as the hills beging to close down on us .

The coAch began to hustle. Woke up mom, who had stretched in the empty LB next to me , as the couple on opposite woke up their daughters from UB. The RAC passengers were now away from LB , everybody ready for the photoshoots , cameras , views and whatever they wanted to check out on the KK line .. the time starts now , field set , players ready, and WAP7 ready to bowl the 1st ball - World Cup just got over 4 days before this trip mind it please ...

The honk was heard.. curve started .. ascend starts ...MSL ticks per curve .....bated breath awaiting ..... Curve numbers tick down , electric poles close in...we are single line , noone to call for, the remaining 2 tracks got tired to go uphill that they rested down at Boddavara saying anyway all freights have to come down here we will wait for them...who will climb up ...we are tired


We aren't ... The light light of the day's sun shows up between the clouds. We walk up to view the hills , camera position , when a honk came up , followed by a loud howl of the forward coaches and darkness set in.....the 1st of the tunnels was entered into ... The young children on opposite looked perplexed as their parents explained what it was ... Soon we were out and onto a bridge .. seriously don't know how many bridges and tunnels we crossed. Mom took oppostunity to switch off the tubelight in the coach, adding to the beauty ..white smile of the girl opposite in tunnel seemed like a lightning in darkness .a quick stop at Shuvalingapuram , sand any freight (surprising) , we pull out to the next series ...thug thug thug....dang dang dang....owwwwwwwwww...darkness....light ...

A siding line joins us as we enter the tunnel No. 13 , and we respect the signal , slowing down, chugging into the tunnel at speeds of 20-30... that the 200 mtrs tunnel seemed to go on for ever before showing us the light , as a group of tourist photograph the train exiting the tunnel, past a waiting WAG-5 triplets to Tyada, the only location on this route where the Ananthagiri / Arakku road passes closest to the track , next pojlint being in the plains of the Arakku valley

The MSL increase close to 500 mtrs indicate our ascent is short , slow and straight , but more views yet to come as we proceed past the stations . The track makes interesting curvatures and though poles block our view for good shots, competing with the ferns, there were scenes we couldn't not miss . S curves were common, and even for the short rake , the engine and the coach are in a straight line , while the middle bulges in opposite , like a snake stuffing in the meal ..

The view of a line passing somewhere uphill , electric poles lined up , on opposite hill catches attention, as we wonder whether we approach a junction. The stallion makes its presence next to a JCB breaking a hill on the curve, some development works going on in hills for railways .. track doubling ??? The green and brown presents a gory sight as the white and red pass close. It wont be long before hills move away at a arms length distance and another track and freight wil block the regular views of the hills along with poles

The white stallion moves at right angle to coach indicating an approaching bridge . We understand what he intends to do .. cross the valley rivulet over a bridge , cut into a tunnel, move to opposite hill and move the up hill on track we noticed minutes earlier and again do the winding up and curving into the green . Few minutes later , we are watching a downhill track and JCB on opposite hill with bridge at end , showing the ascent we have had . Of course we have ascended , for when we reach Chimidipalli, we have accomplished 600 MSL

52 tunnels was supossed to be the number , and we were quite behind when I notice that few tunnels were back to back . Some tunnels indicated with 2 numbers (25 & 26 were one marking if I remember on one , not sure of exact number ) while some , like city bus route numbers had a A & B prefix . Station after station freight awaited us

The tunnels back to back progressed , and soon a huge crowd on platform of approaching station surprised us . It was tourist station and autos drivers waiting to pounce on the approaching partners . Good crowd waited to deboard here

Sir , come sir , Borra caves , I will take you called a driver through window. I am not coming though the window boss I said to myself. A quick halt and honk indictated the departure and we have pulled out of the station

A series of tunnels follow up soon ...Borra caves doesn't end the journey, there is the Ananthagiri to be crowded indicates the curvatures .. 44-45-46-47 follow on quick succession and land us up in what was one of the highest broad gauge station a decade or two back. Platform and expansion works for doubling happening around , as we proceed for the halt, at 4 short of 1K MSL ( Did Don Bradman visit this station anytime ??) .

The hills have now opened upto a plain valley and double line starts again.. plain lands , fields follow up...a mild crisp chillness fill the air , at the plain, as the train descends down the hills into the valley...Everytime you people do this- remarked my mom...take us uphill and descend down stating it's the destination..never stay uphill...Ghum & Darjeeling , Pykara & Ooty, Munnar everywhere same story ...take me uphill uphill up up hill and pull us down

Screech...screech.....usssssshhhh... We pull us to halt in middle of nowhere... Is this Arakku.. slight confusion prevailed around as passengers deboarded to waiting autos and taxis... Called my taxi driver... No sir train is not at station, get off at station he said as train pulled out, taking a curve into the platform 1 of Arakku as majority of passengers deboard leaving empty space.... Long cherishable ride comes to an end, it's now time to explore the valley !!!