Holiday special train will start operating on the Kalka-Shimla heritage railway track from the first week of May. A large number of tourists are coming to Shimla by rail during summer vacations.
Tourists are facing difficulty in booking seats in trains coming to Shimla due to the long waiting list. Northern Railway is going to run an additional holiday special train to provide additional facilities to the tourists.
Tourists are very excited about the journey on the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge track. 103 tunnels between Kalka and Shimla make the journey interesting. Barog tunnel number 33 at Barog railway station is the longest.
Its length is 1143.61 meters. The toy train takes two and a half minutes to cross the tunnel. There are 869 small and big bridges on the railway. There are 919 turns on the entire railroad.
At sharp turns, the train turns at an angle of 48 degrees. The Kalka-Shimla railway line is a narrow gauge line. The width of the track in this is two feet six inches.
In view of the historical importance of the Kalka-Shimla rail line, UNESCO included it in the World Heritage in July 2008. The historic arch gallery bridge at Kanoh Railway Station was built in 1898.
This bridge on the way to Shimla is present at 64.76 km. The four-storeyed bridge built in arch style has 34 arches.
Holiday special will run from the first week of May
Holiday special train operation between Kalka and Shimla is proposed from the first week of May. For the convenience of the tourists, a special train will be operated till July 15.- Mandeep Singh Bhatia, Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala
6 trains including rail motor car running between Kalka and Shimla
Rail Motorcar (72451), Shivalik Deluxe Express (52451), Himalayan Queen (52455), Kalka Shimla Express (52453, 52459 & 52457) are running today. Waiting for some trains for the next week has reached more than 60.
Gala dinner given to foreign guests, Agriculture Minister welcomes them by wearing shawl-cap
The state government organized a gala dinner at the HPCA Stadium in honor of the foreign guests who had come to Dharamshala for the G20 meeting. They were honored by the state government as per Himachali tradition.
Agriculture Minister Prof. Chandra Kumar presented gifts to the delegates. The delegates were honored with Himachali caps and shawls and Kangra paintings.
They were gifted pine needle earrings, Kinnauri flower coasters, Himachali handicraft products tweed tote bags, and jute mats with stamps symbolizing Dev culture.
During this, administrative staff including Tourism Development Corporation Chairman RS Bali, Kangra-Chamba MP Kishan Kapoor, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, and Deputy Commissioner Dr. Nipun Jindal were present.
During the gala dinner, the foreign guests were also apprised of the rich folk culture of Himachal.
Folk artists from different regions of the state showed the delegates a glimpse of the cultural richness of Himachal through dance and music. They thanked the hospitality of the Himachal government.
On this occasion, some delegates were also seen dancing to Himachali folk tunes along with the artists.