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Kalka - Shimla Railway


Do you know that, it took a long time of 20 years to build it with excellent engineering skills.



Kalka Shimla Railway is a narrow-gauge mountain railway built by the British in India.


The weather conditions here and the inaccessible region made the construction of this line challenging. This railway line connects Kalka to Shimla towns. While Kalka is located in the foothills, Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British rule and currently the capital of Himachal Pradesh, is located at an altitude of 2000 meters in the Shivalik ranges of the Himalayas. There are 103 tunnels on this 100 km long railway line.


History

In 1896, the Delhi Ambala Company was entrusted with the responsibility of constructing this railroad to connect Shimla, the summer capital of British rule, with Kalka. After leaving Kalka railway station at an altitude of 656 meters above sea level, the train passes through a winding path of the hills of Shivalik to Shimla, located 2,076 meters above. On 24 July 2008 it was declared a World Heritage by UNESCO.



Kalka Shimla Rail
Kalka Shimla Rail

Rail traffic continues on this narrow gauge rail of two feet six inches from November 9, 1903 to the present day. The Kalka-Shimla railroad has 103 tunnels and 869 bridges. There are 919 curves on this route, out of which the train rotates at an angle of 48 degrees at the sharpest turn. The tunnels and bridges built in this route give more importance to this line. All the tunnels are built between 1900 and 1903 and the longest tunnel is Barog tunnel which is one km. Is longer than. Passengers can get a chance to see the early mountains of Himachal Pradesh up close and leisurely by sitting in this train running at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour. This train covers the 96-km journey from Kalka to Shimla in 6 to 7 hours.



 
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