End of a much loved railway - Narrow gauge around Nagpur

"Out of the number of things I have done, I have written a lot on the Railway. I wrote an article for BBC, recalling my travel experience on the Satpura narrow gauge Railway when it was on the verge of conversion to broad gauge.

I even wrote the introduction to the books by Vinoo Mathur, called, Buildings Bridges and Black Beauties of Northern Railway.

In 1996, I made a documentary on the Bombay-Howrah Mail."

"Back in the days, the rail attendants used to make the bed in First Class AC coaches in Nilgiri Express, that ran from Chennai to Mettupalayam."

"One of the decisions that had been taken by the Chairman of the Railway Board, Mr. M. S. Gujral, to do away with piece-meal loading and only book full trains, was inevitable but sad, as one of the most picturesque of train operations was shunting."

In the picture: A diesel locomotive shed at Nainpur.

"Many of the passengers described the railway as their lifeline. Now that lifeline has been cut. Many railway officials are deeply saddened by the death of the Satpura lines. A stationmaster at Nainpur junction, the heart of the system, asked me, "Why do they have to close such a busy railway?"

"The Satpura Railway's narrow gauge line was popular for its outstanding beauty, particularly when it twists like a snake following the contours of a thick, hilly forest.

The line will be replaced by a broad gauge line which is being bulldozed through that forest. Fast through-trains with few or no stops will run now on the broad gauge. But the railways are hoping to preserve a short section of the historic Satpura lines."

Sir Mark Tully was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1985 and was awarded the Padma Shree in 1992. He was knighted in the New Year Honours 2002, receiving a KBE, and in 2005 he received the Padma Bhushan. In 1985, he was awarded the Richard Dimbleby Award of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for lifelong achievement.