Indian Railways has established another landmark in the railways history with the addition of the historic Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge railway to the coveted list of the world heritage sites. The esteemed decision was taken during a meeting of the UNESCO world heritage centre.
This pride recognition won the Indian Railways the world heritage status for their fourth line. UNESCO declared the Kalka-Shimla railway as “one of the most authentic mountain railways in the world.”
The other three railway sites which are already there on the list are-The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in West Bengal, The Nilgiri Mountain Railway near Ooty in Tamil Nadu state and Chattarpati Shivaji Terminal (earlier known as Bombay Victoria Terminal) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The Kalka-Shimla railway (KSR) line was opened to traffic on 9th November, 1903. The KSR covers a total distance of 96 kms during which it travels through a wide range of scenic beauties passing 102 tunnels, many bowed bridges and several alluring stations like Dharampur, Barog and Solan etc.
There are a variety of options for travelling in the train like Delux Rail Motor Car, The Shivalik Delux Express, The Shivalik Palace Tourist and The Shivalik Queen Tourist Coach. These alternatives provide a wide room for a wonderful travel experience.
In its initial stages, KSR was assigned with the modified version of steam locomotives used in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. But soon later, more compact, powerful and larger locomotives were included in it. It was the only railway to see the earliest version of petrol driven cars similar to the Royal Char-A-Banc carriages become commercially successful. It also experienced innumerable technology changes with steam, petrol and diesel power for trains running on its hilly territory.
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