Railways in Himachal Pradesh

Kalka Shimla Railway Line/pxhere

Himachal Pradesh do not have a well developed rail network likes its neighbouring states Punjab and Haryana. This can be attributed to its mountain terrains which are still new in terms of geographical timeline and still being shaped by the works of earth. Having said that, there are one broad guage and two narrow gauge railway lines in the hilly state.

1. The Kalka Shimla Railway Line
2. The Kalka Valley Line
3. Nangal Dam to Una Broad Guage

The Kalka Shimla Railway
The Kalka Shimla Railway is a 96 km long narrow guage line that traverses through the picturesque hilly regions of Himachal Pradesh between Kalka and Shimla. It was constructed between 1898 and 1903 under the direction of Herbert Septimus Harington to connect Summer Capital of British India Shimla to rest of India.

The Kalka-Shimla Railway Line is also famous for its tunnels. As of now, there are 102 tunnels operational out of 107 tunnels originally constructed. Out of five unserviced tunnels, four tunnels were discarded at the time of operation in 1930 and tunnel number 46 was dismantled in 2006. It also passes through 864 small and big bridges.

On 7th July 2008, the Kalka-Shimla Railway was include ini UNESCO World Heritage list as part of World Heritage Site Mountain Railways of India. The Mountain Railways of India include Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

The Kalka Valley Railway
The Kangra Valley Railway is 164 km long narrow guage line between Pathankot, Punjab to Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh. The highest point on the line is Ahju station at an altitude of 1290 meters.
 
Nangal Dam to Una Broad Guage Line
Nangal Dam to Una Broad Guage Line is a 58 km long broad guage railway track between Nangal Dam and Una (Daulatpur Chowk).

Currently, a broad guage Bilaspur–Mandi–Leh line is proposed between Bilaspur and Leh. Once operational, it will be the longest track in the state and the highest railway track in the world.