Past the 'Waters of Hell' - the train to Patalpani

A map shows the line between Mhow and Dhulghat on the Mhow-Akola section.

Mhow stands for Military Headquarters Of War, an acronym that survives from the days of the British Raj. Now it has an isolated meter gauge line surrounded by an abundance of broad gauge.

Mhow was once a busy station along the meter gauge route from Ajmer to Akola via Khandwa and its three platforms catered to the many trains serving the line.

Today, a single platform caters to the remaining traffic whilst the other platforms are undergoing re-construction, waiting for the imminent arrival of the broad gauge trains from Indore.

The next station on the line after Mhow is Patalpani, significant in its importance as it is the start of the descent through the Choral Valley.

Tourists visiting the nearby Patalpani waterfalls also disembark here as the falls are only a short walk from the station.

Even though we see some flat cars and tankers stabled here, barring some departmental trains, freight no longer runs on the line and the only traffic the route sees are the six passenger trains in each direction.

The section between Patalpani and Kalakund, running along the Choral river with its numerous bridges, viaducts and tunnels, forms a fascinating backdrop to view the operations of this almost one hundred and fifty years old railway line.

One of the features that one must see on this section is ravine viaducts No. 1 and 2. The later is 120 meters long and rises about 50 meters from the valley floor making it the highest bridge on the line.

It was built in 1876 as a viaduct with 2 stone pillars, the demolished remains of which can still be seen. In 1974, the alignment was changed and in its place stands today a five span steel structure.

A railway worker inspects inspects the line on ravine viaduct No.1.

The 100 meter long ravine viaduct No. 1, built in 1876, still stands on its original stone pillars, a testimony to the skill and durability of the railway builders of their time.

Constant maintenance of the line is required to keep it running smoothly and a sizeable workforce is employed by the railways for its upkeep.

Gangmen patrol the line constantly and ensure that it is in good condition and safe.

The permanent way inspector conducts routine inspections on his trolley and makes sure that there are no unauthorised or unsavoury characters about the line.

Two bridges span the Choral River, aptly named Choral bridge No.1 and Choral bridge No.2. The later is numbered 666, the devil's number, but the bridge has thankfully not witnessed any incident.

The sleepy station of Kalakund lies at the bottom of the gradient of the Choral valley. It is an important station on the line due to the fact that bankers are attached here to all uphill trains heading for Patalpani and Mhow.

After Kalakund, the train heads South East towards the Narmada and the holy town of Omkareshwar.

Train 52988 on the Omkareshwar bridge.

A 850-meter long railway bridge spans over the Narmada at Omkareshwar. This bridge has been around since last 140 years.

The view from the window of a train on the Omkareshwar bridge

Omkareshwar is home to one of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines, holy to the Hindus. There are steamboats across the Narmada river and also two connecting bridges to reach the temple.

The Dhulghat spiral viaduct viewed from below.

Driving further South by road, we head towards Dhulghat. Dhulghat lies in the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati District of Maharashtra.

About 2 kms. South East of the station lies a spiral which the locals refer to as 'Char ka Aankda', or the figure of 4. This is because the track plan of the spiral roughly represents the figure of 4 when written in Hindi or the Devnagri script.

A passenger train crossing the Dhulghat spiral.

The spiral consists of a 16-span, 193 meter long steel viaduct which spans a shallow valley. The spiral brings an to an end a memorable rail trip.