UNESCO World Heritage Shimla-Kalka Railway Restored, Services Resume

Train service resumed completely on Monday after nearly three months on the UNESCO world heritage Shimla-Kalka railway line which was damaged due to torrential rains, railway officials said. The railway track was damaged at 20-25 points from Shimla to Kalka due to the rains in July and August.

The movement on this stretch was suspended after massive damage to the track following heavy rains from July 7 to 14 and the traffic was resumed partially on some stretches including Kalka -Koti stretch, Kalka-Solan stretch and Solan-Taradevi stretch.

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Another spell of heavy rains in August triggered landslides which swept away a 50-metre bridge, leaving a portion of the track hanging.

The 96-km-long Shimla-Kalka Railway track had been laid in tough hilly terrain with 103 tunnels (now 102 tunnels as tunnel no 46 had collapsed, four decades ago), 800 bridges, and 919 curves along with negotiable gradient. The track which gains altitude of about 1590 metres is a marvel of engineering and a tourist attraction.