Kalka to Shimla Train – a journey through the Himalayan ranges
Kalka to Shimla Train | Image Resource : tribuneindia.com
The Kalka Shimla rail route is no ordinary rail route. It is one of the sites listed on the world heritage list. This route was established during the British Raj days in 1898 as a means to transport resources to the major economic hub called Shimla which today is the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The Kalka-Shimla line today is maintained by the Indian Railways and mainly used a tourism route. The trains that are designed to travel on the route are also quite special and have luxurious cabins. A journey on this route is a once in a lifetime experience which everyone must try.
The entire route was built cutting through several mountains. The route has a total of 107 tunnels and 864 bridges. Today the number of bridges and tunnels has reduced a bit due to joining of redundant tracks and routes but the glory is still at its peak. In 2007 the Kalka to Shimla Train route was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Other Mountain Railways of India tracks and routes were also inducted into this prestigious list.
Kalka Shimla Train Info
Several trains run on the route between Kalka and Shimla. Some of these trains are regular trains whose booking can be done like any other train either offline or online. Some are special trains for which early booking must be made only through packages available at irctc official website.
The main trains are Shivalik Deluxe Express 52451/52, the Kalka Shimla Express 52453/54, the Himalayan Queen 52455/56 and the extremely popular daily train on the narrow gauge called Kalka Shimla Passenger 52457/58.