Describing the Kalka-Shimla railway line as “one of the most authentic mountain railways in the world,” UNESCO yesterday recognised it as a World Heritage Site.
The decision to add the historic Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge railway to the coveted list was taken at a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Quebec City, Canada, yesterday. The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by secretary, Railway Board, ministry of railways, Mathew John.
With this decision, the Indian Railways has secured world heritage status for their fourth line. The other three in the list are the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in West Bengal, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway near Ooty in Tamil Nadu and the Chhatarpati Shivaji Terminal (erstwhile Bombay Victoria Terminal) in Mumbai.
The Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR) line was opened to traffic on November 9, 1903. During its six-hour journey on the 96 km narrow gauge route from Kalka to Shimla, the line runs through 103 tunnels, several arched bridges and picturesque stations like Dharampur, Barog and Solan.
Taking a journey on this line by any of these trains offers a unique opportunity to experience the majestic Himalayas and their conquest through engineering construction skills more than a 100 years ago.
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