World's Most Dangerous Railway Tracks | India: The Pamban Railway | Free Documentary

foreign [Music] Express on the southernmost rails of India over a distance of around 600 kilometers the railroad makes its way through Tamil Nadu it's risky route across the Indian Ocean guarantees a spectacular train journey [Music] thank you [Music] it's November and the rainy season transforms the landscape the Indian monsoon season is considered the largest in the world and is both a curse and a blessing for the people [Music] unpredictable floods threatens cities and their inhabitants but rainfall is vital for drinking water supplies and agriculture [Music] in Chennai the Metropolis on the Bay of Bengal with its more than 11 million inhabitants drinking water is a particularly scarce commodity when temperatures often rise above 40 degrees Centigrade for weeks on end in the summer months the supply of water becomes an important task for the South Indian railways for millions of pilgrims the 665 kilometers from Chennai along the Bay of Bengal are the only way to get to the pilgrimage site of ramaswaram the journey takes around 12 hours yeah it begins at the Chennai egmore railroad station opened in 1908 it is one of the city's landmarks Taz the sixth longest platform in the world and is built in an indo-gothic architectural style [Music] and 50 000 Travelers set off from here every day a ticket to the pilgrimage side ramiswaram costs about three Euros so quite affordable for 10 years cleanliness and safety have been top priorities at Chennai egmore especially the safety of female passengers traveling by train um excuse me the security purposes after the last bombing a few years ago security has increased significantly Railway police officers search each carriage daily with sniffer dogs for explosives and drugs look what's up come on come on come on go inside today locomotive driver shiam sundarau is responsible for the safety of the technology as always he starts his working day with a thorough check of the locomotive okay sir I'm going to go into normal mode now at the other end of the Train the conductor must also check the Hydraulics of the brakes especially in the monsoon season visibility is often poor and the rails are underwater so it's very important the brakes don't get out of control safety check past the journey can begin every day 144 trains leave Chennai egmore station one of them is the rameswaram express foreign [Music] Ed in 1908 Chennai egmore railway station was only a branch station for Metropolitan trains to the Sea but the rapid development in rail transport made it the gateway to the South on board the rameswaram express the pilgrimage Begins for the parimala family with a hearty meal they brought their own breakfast as there is no food service for safety reasons near the coast the railroad crosses a fertile and flat landscape [Music] it has been raining heavily for days and more rains are to be announced climate change is already affecting the east coast of Southern India violent Cyclones and extreme heat will make the Bay of Bengal a dangerous region in the future passengers are happy to have open doors and windows this is the only way to make the journey bearable in temperatures of over 40 degrees without air conditioning [Music] rail travel in India is not always comfortable but trains the most important means of Transport for people and goods India is still an agricultural country with over 40 percent of the workforce working in agriculture South Indian freight trains alone carry over 30 million tons of cargo a year [Music] please go to the back with the luggage to the back standing right by the open door is a risky pleasure which is not looked upon favorably by the railway police the immediate response would be the train resembles a snake but for me the train is an elephant elephant is so big the train is patient accommodating and it takes care of everybody she is a mother elephant to me the South Indian railroad is more than just a means of transportation in 1859 the English colonial power started the construction of the first train line which today of course connects people in the city and the country [Music] thank you [Music] India is dependent on its agriculture but its natural resources are under threat Water Supplies are particularly at risk the increasing pollution of drinking water lakes prompted Arun Krishna Morty to end his career at the technology company Google he founded an environmental organization that is now very successfully renaturalizing the lakes in Tamil Nadu India's booming cities consume more water than is available and in addition pollute the environment that provides them with the drinking water they need to survive the environmental organization of our own Krishna Morty has freed the Lakes from plastic waste and clean them step by step now native plants and animals live there again this region of Tamil Nadu is dotted with small lakes and ponds and is the resting place of many birds the waters provide ample food for humans and animals already in the early 18th century they were a popular hunting ground for over a hundred years the area has been of ornithological importance and a waterfowl sanctuary [Music] yeah it is only thanks to the commitment of environmentalists that today cormorants and countless stalks in particular confined food here again for them the open stretches of land have become perfect winter quarters Cheng alpatu is located 60 kilometers Southwest of Chennai on the shores of Lake kolavai the city is an important Transportation Hub has less than 65 000 inhabitants two of whom entertain passengers on the train the two transgender women sadika and sweater as a so-called third gender that is neither female nor male they are recognized by law but are not always respected [Music] foreign although the railroad has now banned the performances sadika and Sweta have not given up entertaining the passengers with their shows the ride from chengal Patu towards the south is their most important source of income [Music] outside the flooded landscape passes by larpa alarm the parimala family enjoys the artist's performance [Music] in the [Music] middle off the railroad track along the Palau River back to its source to the West lies the little known part of Tamil Nadu the fertile Plains of our cot meaning six forests in Tamil in the 18th century Fierce battles for Supremacy took place here between England France and the indigenous nawab Dynasty [Music] the next stop is villupuram the local station is an important railroad Junction as here the line splits the rameswaram express continues South all trains to the West and East to the Bay of Bengal pass through this bottleneck [Music] due to strict covid measures there are still far fewer passengers on the road the stations are surprisingly empty by Indian standards [Music] sir I couldn't communicate with the train kindly help me is a track five for superintendent pranav Kumar safety is a priority We Are a Human Being we may mistake but in Railway our Indian Railway concerned they are telling that a station Master should not do any mistake we have to perform we have to give our hundred percent because many trains on India's tracks date back to Colonial times safety is a top priority and although the government has spent billions on modernization an average of around 30 people still die every day on train Journeys foreign [Music] not only operates the most important means of Transport the company is also the country's most important employer security Personnel are only a small factor here in total around 1.3 million people are on the payroll of the state-owned company and since 1988 women have also been allowed in the cockpit as train drivers by 2022 around 1 000 women had their hands on the wheel alongside the women are The Untouchables the members of the lowest cast work for the railroad company they clean the tracks of excrement and dirt a task that no one else in India wants to do [Music] in recent years Indian railways has increasingly hired women to carry out safety inspections here electronics are thoroughly checked foreign [Music] comes first but cleanliness is just as important cleaning teams are on duty at many stations removing dust and mud stains also seen as women's work women are an integral part of the Indian railways even in management positions using a magnet phone that works independent of electricity station Master Raja SV announces the number of the next train train number 1611 everything is under control and the rameswaram express can enter villupuram station the parimala family has now been on the road for almost three hours that's how long it takes to cover the 160 kilometers from Chennai to vilupuram [Music] the train stops for no more than two minutes enough time for the head of the family murugan to get something to drink [Music] hello coffee coffee [Music] the ticket inspectors prepare for departure each passenger is noted down on paper time is running out is worried where is her husband come on get inside sir the train is leaving [Music] bad luck for those who are late Railway security official bandaru naguraju explains the duties of the security Force we have to keep an eye on the passengers their belongings and Railway property too so that no robbery should happen to rescue from an attack on any passenger and to keep everything safe mainly we have to keep them safe despite the risk of flooding and train delays the monsoon season is the perfect time to travel to some regions in Tamil Nadu [Music] [Music] the kaveri river one of the five major rivers in South India crosses the region the kaveri also called the Ganges of the South starts in the west and is considered Sacred by Hindus its source is a popular place of pilgrimage [Music] in sirangam the rangan taswami temple can be seen from afar the Hindu building is one of the five holiest sites located on the banks of the kaveri [Music] foreign [Music] the temperatures are rising and the gentle jerking of the train is so horrific after about eight hours they reached tiruchirapali a quick glance out of the window a few clouds in the sky but no storm inside heading south to tiru chirapali the railroad also borders the fertile plain of tanjavour one of the most productive and densely populated regions of Southern India known for its rice cultivation a dam was built on this tributary of the kaveri river and has been supplying the population with water ever since [Music] there are no more signs of the devastating floods of 2005 which claimed the lives of hundreds of people [Music] from afar one of the most prominent landmarks of the area stands out the rock Temple [Music] thank you [Music] 320 kilometers south of Chennai the train crosses the kaveri river to the Temple Town of tiruchirapali meaning city of Heaven The Rock Fortress and Temple complex Rock Fort which dominates the cityscape was the scene of fierce battles between Muslim maratha British and French troops from the 17th to the 19th century today tiruchirapali has 850 000 inhabitants and is home to one of the most important railroad stations in Tamil Nadu [Music] Junction is a junction station and headquarters of the Southern Railway Zone around 15 000 passengers use this Junction daily engine driver Kadar mohinuddin is aware of his responsibility for safety since childhood he has dreamed of becoming a train driver my grandfather was a driver in a steam engine my father was a railroad which actually pushed me towards a job on the railway then later I did my exams initially I failed two or three exams but later I was selected and I got my first appointment in Chennai a few more steps and the locomotive is ready to go for the second part of the route from tiruchirapali to ramesswara [Music] every day thousands of pilgrims come to see one of the famous temples of the city for the parimalas from Chennai too it is their sacred Duty the postal station in tiruchirapali is bustling with activity from here letters are sent in all directions in the past there were mail trains the so-called males today they're carried in baggage cars however as delays of more than one day are not uncommon on the Indian railroads the male is also often delayed yeah foreign Express leaves on time ticket control on the train is very strict the name and date of birth of each passenger are checked [Music] the parimala family has spent the night in tiruchirapali and is now having breakfast from tiruchirapali the train takes about four hours for the 250 kilometers to mandapam the last station before the pamban bridge south of tiruchirapali fertile Fields lined the railroad the floods caused by the monsoon rains are dangerous for the Train the train driver constantly keeps an eye on the water level on the track as soon as the water reaches the rails he must stop today everything is going smoothly the monsoon was merciful and the rameswaram express which is the next station on time upon Malay and the railway Colony a settlement where railroad workers live and work [Music] right next to the station is the so-called train graveyard discarded locomotives and railroad cars are stored for recycling [Music] the service life of the trains is defined at the beginning of their operation after that they're put on the work track recycled parts are sold in the South Indian Workshop of the Railway [Music] [Music] The Men's Work is strenuous there's hardly any shade and the temperatures are way over 40 degrees Centigrade [Music] thank you and who also does the really hard work needless to say that women do the heavy physical labor here [Music] just a few steps away from the railroad cemetery is the Golden Rock Railway Workshop one of three railroad workshops serving the southern Indian railroad area it was built by the East India Company in 1928 by the standards of its time the plant was a technical sensation during the second world war Royal Air Force aircrafts were repaired here foreign [Music] do most of the work [Music] in 2018 the golden Rock Railway Workshop had over 6 000 employees the current capacity of the workshop is 12 locomotives per month everyone at Southern Railway is particularly proud of the fact that women play a crucial role in this [Music] Express reaches an average speed of 42 kilometers per hour on the route to the South [Music] compared to International standards the speed is low but compared to other trains in India the rameswaram express is very fast it would be Unthinkable for an accident to happen on route a disaster if the engine driver were to fall asleep for even a minute because unlike in many other countries he is the sole driver in the cabin [Music] the unpaved railroad crossings pose a major risk for accidents this makes it all the more important to always keep an eye on the rails [Music] a big challenge In Summer with outside temperatures of 50 degrees and no air conditioning the traffic is wild and chaotic hardly anyone obeys the traffic rules deafening honking in the hope that this time no accident will happen [Music] more than 13 000 train accidents were recently counted per year in India over 8 000 people have either fallen off a train or been hit by a locomotive while crossing the tracks [Music] today the journey seems to go smoothly the journey will not take much longer it's about another three hours to rameswaran [Music] security is a constant presence on board a woman does this job too [Music] time for a quick Indian rice ball on the train there is still no food to buy due to covid regulations the final Sprint just under 80 kilometers to rameswara [Music] foreign [Music] attendant vinesh is informed that the train is about to pass a welcome change in his daily routine [Music] to avoid falling asleep I step outside and walk for a while I read books and walk to count asleep while on duty strong tea helps vinesh stay awake during the long uneventful hours because one thing is certain moped riders or pedestrians will cross the tracks at the last second to prevent this grids have been placed underneath the barriers everything's manual here so far there are no electrified devices strictly speaking this is not even an electrified area foreign [Music] the train now reaches mandapan the last station in front of the spectacular palmban Bridge the first Bridge across the Indian Ocean to the pamban peninsula an unforgettable experience even though the railroad bridge is only a little more than two kilometers long it's getting close just a few more kilometers until the crossing bridge manager ramakrishnan is happy to provide information to the Curious passengers after all when it opened it was the longest bridge across the sea we are daily Wagers working in construction sites every day we cross our pandan bridge to reach our work site and return back it's actually scary to cross pamban Bridge every day but still we tend to do it with courage the palmban bridge is already over a hundred years old to the right of it runs The Pedestrian and Motorway bridge to the left the new railroad bridge which is to be put into operation in 2023 the Steel Bridge Braves the hot and humid climate every day not only time gnaws away at the steel but rust is also a problem [Music] foreign foreign [Music] searches for defective areas that need to be repaired immediately [Music] yeah I did it is actually challenging because these bridges are already one or seven years and being situated in your corrosive environmental area but still it is in the last segment of its life german-born engineer William Donald schanser designed the bridge the middle section can be opened for ships to cross the pork straight [Music] many specialists are needed every day to keep the decrepit two kilometer long bridge in working order oh the first plans for the pamban bridge were drawn up as early as 1870. it was intended to improve the trade routes to Sri Lanka the bridge is built on an artificial Sandstone Reef 12 meters above sea level at wind speeds of 55 kilometers per hour it had to be worked on using the simplest technical means in two years around 600 men used 4 000 tons of cement 2 600 tons of steel and 80 000 cubic meters of rock among other materials the end result is a bridge more than two kilometers long a technical Marvel [Music] for 17 years welder Sadiq has been driving across the bridge morning after morning he knows every Rusty screw on the structure and makes sure to fix each and every one as Sadiq is responsible for maintenance [Music] he repairs defective bridge Parts immediately or replaces them [Music] the team of Engineers and Craftsmen uses a trolley for inspection the men use it to drive across the bridge every day when the track is clear the barrier is moved to the side and the team can make its control run without worry [Music] every day men walk the bridge looking for damage they can't afford to take a wrong Step at work today the track layers don't have to worry about falling into the sea only a lukewarm Breeze is blowing in Southern India the main threat is Cyclones trains have no chance against these strong storms with heavy rain and huge waves every half hour men like Karan measure the wind Force at a precisely defined point Karan is aware of how important his work is if the wind speed is more than 58 kilometers an hour it is considered dangerous back in mandapam it's lunchtime at the temperatures are slowly becoming unbearable in this heat everyone moves only as much as absolutely necessary every human and animal alike is looking for a shady spot [Music] uh ticket office sales are slowly picking up in covid's Heyday most trains were not running and tickets were only available online if at all [Music] before station manager Santosh yadav starts his shift he first has to prepare himself mentally like all other employees he meditates for at least 15 minutes before each shift during the monsoon absolute concentration is required at work the mental training should help today there is no danger the train can cross the bridge [Music] but not all passengers are comfortable with the Crossing the anxious passengers in particular prefer to get off and take the boat many have had traumatic experiences in the past the railway line made a few mistakes from a technical point of view too the operations of trains due to a lack of information continued and the few trains which went to dhanush Gordy fell into the sea because of the cyclone the older passengers especially remember the devastating Cyclone of 1964. [Music] the waves came in the wake of a severe cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal a whole passenger train carrying over 100 passengers was washed away dhanush Kodi this is where the accident took place the place is located at the tip of the island of pamban in the strait between India and Sri Lanka this used to be the Terminus of the railroad line Kuma a fisherman is one of the few who was there and can still recall the disaster today the ruins are still standing half hidden in the sand are the remains of the old sleepers and rails I was born in Danish Kodi before the Cyclone we had our own tonikuchi which we used to fish back then I was only 12 years old at that time my mum and I were in the mountains there were 40 people working in the caravalli which is a fishing method almost all the fishermen were killed only two of them survived of course locomotive driver kada mohideen knows these stories too well although the weather is good today and there is no threat of a storm there is always some fear on board the train as it approaches the pamban bridge if you ask me what scares me I obviously say that when the train travels over the sea with a stormy water beneath it frightens me but after some days I got used to it thank you for the safety of passengers and due to the unpredictability of crossing the strait an assistant has been accompanying the driver for several years now four eyes see more than two [Music] muruguran parramali and his daughter Sweta also don't want to miss this moment the rameswaram express crosses the strait at 45 kilometers an hour [Music] the railroad bridge is conventionally built and rests on concrete piers in the middle it has a double Leaf bascule bridge that can be raised to allow ships and barges to pass through each half of the bridge weighs 415 tons foreign [Music] until 1988 this bridge was the only link connecting pamban Island in Tamil Nadu with the mainland at that time the Tulane anai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge the parallel Road Bridge was inaugurated [Music] [Music] [Music] now it's not as far to ramaswaram train station the destination of the 12-hour Journey the Working Day of train driver cardamoidin ends here rameswaram is one of the holiest sites of Hinduism and one of the most important places of pilgrimage in India the paramila family immediately sets off for the temple passing countless stalls with offerings [Music] he benefits a lot from the pilgrims the merchants weave flower necklaces so that their buyers can decorate the Hindu deity statues of the temples with them for each deity and Festival different symbolic flowers are woven in look at that [Music] the ramanata Swami Temple is the main Temple its construction can be dated back to the 12th century its entrances crowned by high towers are visible from afar the temple is dedicated to the holy Prince Rama who according to Legend created the first bridge to Sri Lanka with the help of a monkey Army to free his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of her kidnapper the temple attracts Pilgrims from all parts of India [Music] for many of them the rameswaram express is the only way to complete the dream of a pilgrimage it's here at the Strait of pamban that the journey from Chennai to ramasualam ends [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] the journey takes about 12 hours the train crosses the state of Tamil Nadu and connects Chennai with the famous pilgrimage site of rameswara in the days before the great Cyclone the train continued to danushkodi many pilgrims at that time extended their journey to bathe in the sea at dhanush Kodi but after the storm of 1964 the place is only a much visited Memorial the same goes for the old fishermen every evening he makes an offering to the god Rama it is supposed to help keep evil away and protect the people foreign [Music] bridge will no longer exist its time has passed but a train journey with the rameswaram express will always remain an experience foreign [Music] [Music]

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 293,063

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), Worlds Most Dangerous Railway Lines, dangerous railway tracks in world, dangerous train routes in the world, zambia, india, The Pamban Railway, pamban, pamban railway bridge

Id: qqm05rlsJKo

Length: 52min 5sec (3125 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 11 2023