VALMIKINAGAR to PANIYAHWA Train Journey on a WDP4D Locomotive in Dense Forests!

A journey from Valmikinagar in Bihar to Paniyahwa in Uttar Pradesh onboard a WDP4D locomotive passing through dense forests. Train:- 19040 Avadh Express Valmikinagar is situated on the Narkatiaganj - Gorakhpur Broad Gauge railway line and it has a railway station named Valmikinagar Road. The route from Valmiki nagar to Paniyahwa passes through the dense forests of Valmiki Tiger Reserve which means that frequent sights of wild animals like tigers and elephants on the tracks is very common here. If you notice then you can see walls are constructed on both sides of the railway tracks throughout the forest area to prevent animals from crossing the tracks and stay in their jungle limit but still some of them trespass the tracks, following which there has been imposed a speed restriction of 60KMPH from sunrise to sunset and 35 kmph from sunset to sunrise in the jungle. Just see the heavy lush greenery surrounding the train. There are 3 small bridges throughout the jungle. Madanpur Devi Sthaan Temple can also be seen. There was an incident around 10 years back on the 2nd bridge near the temple- about 8-10 pilgrims were ran over by Saptkranti SF express on the middle of the bridge while they were crossing it. After crossing the jungle, the train veers to the left for crossing the mighty Gandak Bridge and arriving at Paniyahwa. There is speed restriction of 20kmph for a short distance in between so we slow down a bit. The bridge is on a higher altitude so the EMD was put in 8th notch to achieve that gradient. An interesting thing to note is that the bridge marks the border of Bihar/East Central Railways and Uttar Pradesh/NE Railways. Also, I was constantly trying to locate the Himalayas from the bridge area but failed because pollution had covered up most of the distant scenes. A little sights of the foothills can be observed if looked closely. Enjoy the jet engine sounds of the EMD WDP4D locomotive and plug in headphones/earphones for best experience! About Valmiki National Park:- Valmiki National Park, Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the India-Nepal border in the West Champaran district of Bihar, India on the bank of river Gandak. It is the only National park in Bihar. The extensive forest area of Valmikinagar was previously owned by the Bettiah Raj and Ramanagar Raj until the early 1950s. Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) is one of the natural virgin recesses in east India, situated in the north west corner of Bihar. The pristine forest and wilderness of VTR is an excellent example of Himalayan Terai landscape. VTR comprises the Valmiki National Park and Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary. The VTR forest area covers 899.38 square kilometres (347.25 sq mi), which is 17.4% of the total geographical area of the district West Champaran. As of 2013, there were 22 tigers in the Reserve. The name of the district West Champaran derives from two words, Champa and Aranya, meaning forest of Champa trees. Geographically, it is situated between 83°0 50′ and 84°0 10′ E longitude and between 27°0 10′ and 27°0 03′ N latitude. Total forest area comprises about 900 square kilometres (350 sq mi), out of which the Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary is 880 square kilometres (340 sq mi) and spread of the National Park is about 335 square kilometres (129 sq mi) area. In the north, the protected areas are bordered by Nepal's Chitwan National park while the Indian state Uttar Pradesh bounds the sanctuary from western side. Bihar Government is turning 800 hectares of forest in VTR into Grassland making it India's biggest grassland. The landscape of VTR encompasses foothills ranges of Himalayan Siwaliks with mosaic of the cliffs, ridges, gorges, hills, streams and valleys; dense forests, open woodlands, grasslands, swamps and riverine fringe. Criss-crossing and meandering rivers, streams and rivulets, man-made canals; Swamps and Grasslands. River Gandak forms the western boundary of Valmiki wildlife sanctuary. It enters in India at Valmikinagar, where two rivulets Sonha and Pachnad joins it, forming a holy confluence ‘Triveni’. The river is called ‘Narayani’ in Nepal. Harha – Masan River system originates from the Valmiki Forests and forms Burhi Gandak River down south. River Pandai flows into Bihar (India) from Nepal in the eastern end of the Sanctuary and meets Masan. All these rivers with their precursor and tributaries namely Rohua, Kotrahia, Manor, Bhapsa, Koshil, Singha, Dhonghi, Ganguli, Dhoram are full of youth and verve. The wildlife found in the forest of VTR are the Bengal tiger, Indian rhinoceros, Black bear, Indian leopard, wild dog, wild buffalo, wild boar etc. There are several species of deer and antelopes found in VTR which are barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, Sambar, blue bull. Apart from that the striped hyena, leopard cat, wild cat, fishing cat, languor, monkey, and flying squirrel can also be sighted in VTR. The tiger's population in the Reserve was 10 in 2010, which increased to 22 in 2013.

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