There is certain magic in traveling by train in the mountains. The leisurely pace and the fragrant mountain air coupled with spectacular mountain scenery add romance to the journey. Himachal is fortunate of having two narrow gauge railway lines, both legacy of the British Raj, which guarantee travelers a trip of a lifetime.
The Kalka-Shimla track was opened for traffic on November 9, 1903 and is a 96-kilometer long narrow gauge line that winds through the mountains from Kalka to Shimla. Spectacular scenery along the entire route, and the marvels of its construction, keeps the traveler on this line spell bound. On leaving Kalka, the railway line enters the foothills and immediately commences its climb. The route offers a panoramic feast of the picturesque Himalayas from the Shivalik foothills to the middle Himalayas.
The Kalka Shimla Railway runs through 102 tunnels. The longest tunnel is at Barog, and is named after the engineer in charge of construction. Mr Barog apparently committed suicide after making a mistake in laying the alignment. This tunnel is over a kilometer long and remained for a long time the second longest tunnel on the Indian Railways. The line has 864 bridges, one of which is a 60 feet plate girder span and steel truss. The others are viaducts with multi-arched galleries like the ancient Roman aqueducts.
Climbing from Kalka at 656 meters above sea level, the line terminates at an elevation of 2076 meters at Shimla. A journey on the Kalka Shimla Railway is virtually a site seeing trip.