Four Cauvery Delta Branches

Tiruturaipundi Jn. - Point Calimere (Kodikkarai)

10 April 1968; from the Point Calimere end. Usually 12 posts/km.

This M.G. branch was 45 km long and had three trains, class III only, each way daily in 1968; presently, just two trains, all second class, are operated up to Agastiyampalli (36 km). Vedaranyam (34 km) is the most important town on the route and has a 1000+ years-old temple dedicated to Siva. Further S. is Agasthiyampalli (36 km), from where much salt is transported by goods trains to the other parts of South India, as well as to Northern states. And that is one of the reasons to keep the line running, despite its being in the red. There are regular bus services from Vedaranyam to Muthupettai in the W, Tiruturaipundi in the NW and Nagapattinam in the N (55 km).

This line passes through the tail-end of delta which does not receive much water and so agriculture is less intense than elsewhere. 9-km section, now closed to traffic, ran slightly W S across a swampy reserve forest on sand dune, facing Palk Strait that separates India from Northern tip Ceylon.

The railway terminated just past Kodikkarai village, which is not Point Calimere, though the station was thus named. Point Calimere is actually some 5 km to the E of the railway station and is the point where N/S Bay of Bengal coastline makes a more or less an abrupt turn to the W. The coast then runs W for about 50 km up to Adirampattinam. The sand dune or bar varies in width from 0.4 to 1 km (N/S) and 2-4 m in height, extending from Point Calimere for a distance of nearly 38 km to the W to the mouth of a lagoon situated some 5 km SE of Muthupettai, into which a number of the distributaries of R. Cauvery empty after irrigating the Sn. half of the delta.

From Point Calimere, the sand bar, now 200 to 400 m wide, runs N for 12 km just past Thopputhurai, with the Bay of Bengal to its E. The swamps thus extend for about 40 km W/E and 6-8 km N/S, the railway running closer to its En side, 2-5 km inland from the Bay. There are huge tracts of "spontaneous" salt swamps to the W of the extinct railway line.[1]

I arrived at Vedaranyam from Nagapattinam by road, and after spending some time at the temple, reached the station to catch the passenger train from Tiruturaipundi to Point Calimere, which arrived at 12:52, some 15 mins. late, and reached Point Calimere with the same delay.

45-(2?): Point Calimere (Kodikkarai) (alt. not marked), a 13:14. Station aligned nearly N/S, situated on a flat, wide sand dune, with the sea a few hundred metres to the S, some 3 m below the station level. Rather a desolate place with an eeriness even at the early afternoon hour. The pfm. on the Wn. side opened past a large waiting hall to a small, quiet town of old, tiled houses, with an old temple, also very quiet, on the asphalted road to Vedaranyam. A small corrugated GI goods shed was served by a short siding at the Nn. end of the pfm. and, just past the points, was a provisional water tank. I went out to the village and found a small hotel, where the owner would prepare tiffin items on demand if one did not want any of the cold items stacked in a glass almirah. Had just a coffee and returned to the station.

Though only a handful of passengers travelled that day, large crowds would arrive on new moon days to take bath in the sea and conduct a ceremony for their departed ancestors.

d13:53, after the ST engine (2-6-4T) reversed by the triangle past the loop to the E to attach itself at the other end of the train with four carriages, GT, TYLR, GT, GT. Ran N-NNE on the flat dune for about 500 m, passing the village to the W, edging slowly towards the Bay coast on the E, invisible some 4 km. away. Soon 1 in 600 up / a culvert on L with sluice to hold the backwater / 1 in 1000 dn, then across tidal swamps.

That was Kodikkarai reserve forest, which had only the previous year been declared a sanctuary. That day, from the train I saw just a few birds on the swamps and no animals; any that might have been around would have been scared away by the frequent, shrill hooting of its whistle by the ST. [2]

Then across sandy plots of tobacco grown to the W, the air reeking of its aroma. Some huts to the W, some old, tiled houses with more tobacco to the E. 43-5: Entered a dense scrub jungle with 5-10' tall shrubs and stunted trees, an occasional palmyra or a small cluster of casurinas rising above them.. Ballast here was red sandstone chips embedded in sand. Then a short stretch of 1 in 500 dn, running NNE. Past an unmanned level crossing for a sandy jungle track; more of dense jungle. 40-4/0: Across a creek in low tide, again more of the jungle. Some brief stretches of 1 in 200 up, curved left almost straight into N; jungle abruptly disappeared and we were on 8' embankment with salt pans on both E and W. 38-8: 4 x 20' girder bridge across Uppanar (tr. "salt river"); 37-11/7 curved right across pans glistening with salt on the sandy, flat, open terrain for more than 2-3 km to both E and W - could not make out the sea to the E. 40' girder bridge across Vedaranyam canal. Salt pans receded, level-crossed an earth road, soil again sandy and land bare as we entered

36-9: Agasthiyampalli a 14:07, d 14:08. A sizeable station; 100 m long, low level, unpaved pfm. at left, with a modest, country-tiled, oldish office with a bit of waiting space; four loops to the right, a high island between the last two loops for loading salt, with a large goods shed made of corrugated GI sheets. Salt traffic was evidently more important than passenger; much of the salt being brought by a forest road running W for about 20 km along the Nn edge of the salt swamps. Town of old, tiled houses 400 m to the W, with the gopuram (tower) of another old and famous temple.

Gradients 1 in 200 up or down; the Bay of Bengal visible to the E at about 2 km away. but veered away from it, curving gently left and heading N-NNE again across scrubland. Passed the famous temple of Vedaranyam to the left (W), its tower rising above the houses of the quite densely-built town that extended up to the station.

34-3: Vedaranyam (8') a 14:14, d 14:16. The station was much less impressive than Agasthiyampalli. 100 m long, unpaved, low pfm at left, with brickwalled SM's and Booking offices and a moderately large waiting space, walled with corrugated asbestos sheets. No loop, but just a siding to a 50 m long goods platform stacked with logs of casurina to be loaded in 4-wheeler wagons. To the right (E), the sea was about 3 km away past rolling scrubland dotted with palmyras and patches of casurinas.

More of scrubland on still sandy terrain; The gradients then remained 1/1000 or 1/2000 most of the way with L runs in between. Steady left curve, with a backwater to the right, settling into W-WNW, entering.

31-9: Thopputhurai (13') a 14:20, d 14:21(?) Small GI goods shed on a sand mound on the left served by a short siding. Piles of casurina logs, but no salt. 70 m long, unpaved, low pfm at right, beyond which a town of large and medium sized houses. The train then headed inland. Light scrubland on quite sandy soil occasionally carved into thin fields with palmyras and casurinas. Level run for nearly a km., as sandy soil started acquiring a semblance of earth, grey.

27-5: Neyvilakku, a 14:31, d 14:34 No loop or siding; 150 m, unpaved low pfm. at right, with 3 kerosene lanterns on posts. Small, asbestos-roofed office walled in part with thick cardboard! A couple of houses to the right (N). Casurina clusters and scattered palmyrahs gave a one-third tree cover to the terrain. 25-6/24-10 gentle right curve into N-WNW. Some plots of tobacco around a few huts as the landscape became a little more open.

24-2: Kuravappulam (12') a 14:40, d 14:45. A loop at left on which stood a few open wagons, being loaded with casurina logs; a 60 m long, unpaved, low pfm at right with a tiny GI shed at the upper end, a small, tiled office with a new rectangular waiting hall just outside the barbed wire fencing of the station. Land on both sides semi-open. As the soil became less sandy, thin fields with pulses and coarse grains appeared; terrain flatter. More casurinas clusters and palmyrahs. Did a steady 40 kmph.

17-5: Kariappattinam, a. 14:56, d 14:57(?), A 60 m., low sand-filled pfm. at left, with medium-sized, tiled office-cum-waiting hall and a stall selling buscuits and tea. A 250 m long loop at left, with a bare siding beyond it. Continued N-WNW for a while, then curved left into W-WSW, as soil attained a better texture, but still with frequent sandy intrusions growing casurinas. A tank to left, then across Mullaiyar by 2 x 40' girder bridge, at once level crossed the Vedaranyam - Tiruturaipundi asphalt road; Curved right to enter

10-11 Melamarudur (8.5') a 15:14 (?), d!5:16. A short siding at left with a tiny goods shed. 70 m pfm at right with medium-sized, tiled office-cum-waiting space. Absolutely open fields to the left (SSW) for over 4 km, beyond which dense casurinas. To the right also L fields with scattered trees around old houses and huts, beyond which were more casurinas. Again curved right settling into a W- NNWly direction. Soil grey, no more sandy; all around flat, bare paddy fields, with the coconut tree-lined road zigzagging some 400 m to the right, following the rail track faithfully; landscape virtually the same for over 4 km.

5-10: Adirangam (8.5') a 15:24, d 15:29. No loops or sidings. 60 m long, low, beaten earth pfm at right, with electric posts; tiled office-cum-waiting space. A track outside led to a village 400 m. away. On both sides, flat, harvested paddy fields on grey, earthy soil, with coconut trees beyond. Continued W-NNW. Culvert across a 10' irrigation canal. Then absolutely flat, bare paddy fields on both sides. 1-2 curved right, joined on the left at 0-13 by the line from Tiruturaipundi. Ran together into N-NNE, crossed Mulliyar by a 2 x 20 girder bridge, entering

0 (64-0 from Mayavaram Jn) Tiruturaipundi Jn. (15') a 15:41. The junction, aligned nearly N/S was rather large. The 120 m. long, fairly high, mostly unpaved, main pfm. on the En side, was well-sheltered, with a row of parcel, SM's and booking offices and then a VLR room, and a waiting hall outside. A 80 metre long, low island served tracks 2 and 3 to the W, beyond which were four loops extending into short sidings. The last loop was served by a short goods loading pfm, with a fairly large goods shed, beyond which, away from the loop was another, larger shed. All trains and engines were watered here. The large, fairly old town, hq. of a taluk, lay to the E. Despite the frequent buses on the roads towards Tiruvarur in the N, Nagapattinam in NE, Vedaranyam in SE, Muthupettai in SW, and to Mannargudi in NW running full, the trains towards Tiruvarur and Muthupettai were also well patronized in 1968, and there was always a passable, if not big, crowd on the trains towards Vedaranyam.

Took the Karaikudi - Mayavaram Passenger, also hauled by an ST, with the carriages TPPQLR (with mail van from Pattukkottai), T, T, FST, GTY, TYLR, a. 16:51, d 17:08, to reach Tiruvarur Jn at 18:26, then by the Tanjore - Nagore Pass., d 18:51, reached Nagapattinam at 19:37.

Notes

  1. Google Earth gives a good image of the extensive salt pans to the W of Point Calimere.

  2. On a November afternoon in 1972, when I was a lecturer in the College at Karaikal, I took a group of my students on a day's tour, walking through the forest on the swamps along the railway track from Vedaranyam to Point Calimere. It was a pleasant trek with so many birds (from the North and from Siberia, I was told) flocking the swamps for fish - I saw many varieties of them, but did not know the names of the species - I could just tell a crane from a crow and nothing more. Suddenly, ahead of us, along the track, was a black bear, walking erect at a swift pace and then disappearing in the jungle. We saw some deers, of three different kinds, and a pack of wild dogs, besides a porcupine, amidst the shrubs. I was told that jackals and monkeys too abounded, besides wild boars; and that, further to the west, wild horses roamed open land, being the descendents of the stallions reputed to have been brought in ships by Arab traders during the Chola period. But we did not see any of these.

    And past the station at Point Calimere, goaded by my students, I ventured neck-deep into the calm sea waters and froze at the sight of a big shark heading towards me. I screamed "shark, shark", but the fishermen in their catamarans around did not rush to my aid. Instead, they watched non-chalantly, as the beast came within touching distance of me, sniffed at me a few times and went away to swim elsewhere. The fishermen had a good laugh and told me that it was not a shark nor a whale, but only a dolphin, harmless like a pup. They were often found in those waters; and sea turtles, which I could not spot. Of course, the sharks and whales existed further out into the sea.

  3. We had no time to visit the actual Point where the coastline makes a sharp turn and the Palk Strait meets the Bay of Bengal some 5 km to the E of the rail terminus along the sand bar. At that time there stood a 12-foot stump of a light house there, built by a Chola king nearly 1000 years ago and lit by burning wood. It was said that, on a clear day, one could see from its top the coastline of the Nn. tip of Ceylon across the Palk Strait, though it was some 50 km away to the S. The tsunami of December 2004 was reported to have further reduced it, but otherwise did little damage to the sanctuary as it is sheltered by the Strait. Rama is said to have first surveyed Sri Lanka from the dune thereabouts, leaving a pair of his His foot prints on a stone, before moving on to Dhanushkodi to attempt the crossing.

  4. One year after the section was closed to traffic in 1987, the sanctuary was enlarged to include the swamps, mangove forests, creeks and lagoons up to Muthupettai some 35 km to the W. Point Calimere is certainly worth visiting by all nature lovers; while railfans will miss the travel by the 9 km strech, and an occasional bus runs from Vedaranyam to Point Calimere, the trek on foot will be more rewarding. I am not aware whether the tracks have been pulled up or still remain there - most likely they are not there.

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