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Flanked by hills on both sides, the rail line, like twin threads of silver, clings to the steep cliffs and ventures boldly over bridges, built over tiny streams that show off their radiance in the sunlight. The cool breeze sweeps across your face as the train makes an arduous climb of almost 4800 feet from Kalka to Shimla in almost five hours. The rail journeyThe rail line begins its climb almost immediately after its departure from the Kalka railway station. The toy train chugs along the line, whistling through the deodar, pine, ficus, oak and maple woods at a speed of 22 km an hour. As the journey begins, one is taken in with the change in vegetation, and the majestic glory of the railway stations and Gothic-style bridges en route. The most refreshing part of the journey is the experience of sitting by the window, breathing in the cool breeze and taking in the greenery, smell of fresh dew on the vegetation, the chirping of birds and the sight of cattle grazing around the track, especially if you are travelling in either of the two early morning toy trains. Quick Facts
Total change of altitude : From Kalka, 655 meters (2,150 ft) to Shimla of 2,076 meters (6,811 ft). The first main station is at Dharampur, at a height of 4,900 feet and at a distance of 20 miles from Kalka. The gradient here is very steep, and in order to achieve the flatter gradients required by the Railways, the line develops into three loops at Taksal, Gumman and Dharampur. After leaving Dharampur, the rail line gains on the road route by taking short cuts and tunnels so that up to Tara Devi, the distance by rail from Kalka is almost one-fourth mile less than the distance by road. Twenty four miles from Kalka, the railway line is 5,200 feet above sea, where it falls to 4,900 feet at Solan, and further to 4,667 feet at Kandaghat (36-and-a half miles from Kalka), where the final ascent to Shimla starts. The rail line goes through Shoghi and from Tara Devi, the rail line goes round the Prospect Hill to Jatogh, winding in a series of curves round Summer Hill and burrows under the Inverarm Hill to emerge below the road on the south side of Inverarm, and thus reaches Shimla.
Multi-arched galleries like ancient Roman aqueducts have been used to take the tracks over the difficult terrain, which would otherwise have been difficult to cover. These stone masonry arched bridges, which use lime stone, have as many as four storey's, each story having an arch and each arch having a different configuration. Most of the 102 tunnels (the 1930’s renumbering, with numbers going up to 103, has not been changed till date though tunnel number 46 does not exist any more) too have a history of their own. An interesting feature about these tunnels is that till today, whenever these tunnels have to be illuminated for maintenance, plain mirrors are used to catch the sunlight and reflect this light inside the tunnel. Gone are the days of traveling in the rickety coaches with wooden berths. In their place stand freshly painted coaches which provide the comfort of chair cars. Another coach, Shivalik Queen, provides privacy in the form of coupes. For those looking for royal luxury, the Railways provides Shivalik Palace, a separate luxurious compartment with beautiful interiors, provision of sleepers and comfortable sofas for relaxing. This also has a well-equipped kitchen and an attendant to serve foods and drinks, along with an attached bathroom. The other option for tourists is to take the rail car which takes lesser time than regular trains to reach Shimla. Hoping to save the fixture from extinction, Indian Railways and preservationist groups had appealing to UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to give the toy train world heritage status and the same was accorded to it. It joined other mountain railways of India – Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in West Bengal and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway near Ooty in Tamil Nadu – which already enjoy the status. Another Indian Railways site in the UNESCO’s World Heritage site list is the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (earlier known as Bombay Victoria Terminal) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Kalka to Shimla distance | Kalka to Shimla by bus | Kalks to Shimla by Taxi
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Tunnel on the Kalka Shimla railway line
The Kalka Shimla Heritage Train Heritage Bridge on the railway line
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Kalka
Shimla Heritage Toy
train
