The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge railway in North India which traverses a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for dramatic views of the hills and surrounding villages. The railway was built under the direction of Herbert Septimus Harington between 1898 and 1903 to connect Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British Raj, with the rest of the Indian rail system.

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Kalka–Shimla Railway
At the Taradevi station
Terminus	Shimla
Commercial operations
Built by	Herbert Septimus Harington (20 April 1855 – 11 November 1913)
Preserved operations
Operated by	Northern Railway
Stations	18
Length	96.60 km
Preserved gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1903
Preservation history
Headquarters	Shimla
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	Himachal Pradesh, India
Part of	Mountain Railways of India
Criteria	Cultural: (ii)(iv)
Reference	944ter-003
Inscription	1999 (23rd Session)
Extensions	2005, 2008
Area	79.06 ha (0.3053 sq mi)
Buffer zone	74.88 ha (0.2891 sq mi)
Coordinates	30°51′8″N 76°56′15″E
Location of Kalka–Shimla Railway in India
Kalka–Shimla Railway map Legend km 0.00 Kalka Delhi–Kalka line 5.69 Taksal 10.41 Gumman 16.23 Koti 26.00 Sonwara 32.14 Dharampur 39.00 Kumarhatti 42.14 Barog 46.10 Solan 52.70 Salogra 58.24 Kandaghat 69.42 Kanoh 72.23 Kathleeghat 77.81 Shoghi 84.64 Taradevi 89.41 Jutogh 92.93 Summer Hill 96.60 Shimla

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Its early locomotives were manufactured by Sharp, Stewart and Company. Larger locomotives were introduced, which were manufactured by the Hunslet Engine Company. Diesel and diesel-hydraulic locomotives began operation in 1955 and 1970, respectively.

On 8 July 2008, UNESCO added the Kalka–Shimla Railway to the mountain railways of India World Heritage Site.^[1]

Shimla (then spelt Simla), which was settled by the British shortly after the first Anglo-Gurkha war, is located at 7,116 feet (2,169 m) in the foothills of the Himalayas. The idea of connecting Shimla by rail was first raised by a correspondent to the Delhi gazette in November 1847.^[2][3]

Shimla became the summer capital of British India in 1864, and was the headquarters of the Indian army. This meant that twice a year it was necessary to transfer the entire government between Calcutta and Shimla by horse and ox drawn carts.^[2][4]

In 1891 the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge Delhi–Kalka line opened, which made the construction of a branch line up to Shimla feasible.^[2][5]

The earliest survey was made in 1884 followed by another survey in 1885. Based on these two surveys, a project report was submitted in 1887 to the government of British India.^[3] Fresh surveys were made in 1892, and 1893 which lead to four alternative schemes being suggested - two adhesion lines 67.25 mi (108.23 km) and 69.75 mi (112.25 km) long and two rack lines.^[3] Fresh surveys were again made in 1895 from Kalka to Solan with a view to determine whether a 1 in 12 rack or 1 in 25 adhesion line should be chosen. After much debate an adhesion line was chosen in preference to a rack system.^[3]

Construction of the Kalka–Shimla Railway on 2 ft (610 mm) narrow-gauge tracks was begun by the privately funded Delhi-Ambala-Kalka Railway Company following the signing of a contract between the secretary of state and the company on 29 June 1898.^[3][4] The contract specified that the line would be built without any financial aid or guarantee from the government. The government however provided the land free of charge to the company. The estimated cost of 8,678,500 rupees doubled by the time the line was opened.^[3] The Chief Engineer of the project was Herbert Septimus Harington.

The 95.68 km (59.45 mi) line opened for traffic on 9 November 1903^[4] and was dedicated by Viceroy Lord Curzon.^[6] This line was further extended from Shimla to Shimla Goods (which had once housed the bullock cart office) on 27 June 1909 making it 96.60 km (60.02 mi).^[7]

The Indian Army were sceptical about the two feet gauge chosen for the line and requested that a wider standard gauge be used for mountain and light strategic railways. Eventually the government agreed that the gauge was too narrow for was essentially a capital city and for military purposes.^[2] As a result, the contract with the railway company was revised on 15 November 1901 and the line gauge changed to 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) with the track built to date being regauged.^[3][8] Some sources however state the regauging wasn't undertaken until 1905.^[9]

In 1905 the company took delivery of a 10-ton Cowans Sheldon travelling crane to assist with lifting rolling stock back onto the tracks after accidents and for general track maintenance.

Due to the high capital and maintenance costs and difficult working conditions, the railway was allowed to charge higher fares than on other lines. Nevertheless, the company had spent 16,525,000 rupees by 1904 with no sign of the line becoming profitable, which lead to it being purchased by the government on 1 January 1906 for 17,107,748 rupees.^[3]

Once it came under the control of the government the line was originally managed as an independent unit from the North West Railway office in Lahore until 1926, when it was transferred to Delhi Division. Since July 1987, the line has been managed by the Ambala Division from Ambala Cantt.^[7]

In 2007, the Himachal Pradesh government declared the railway a heritage property.^[10] For about a week, beginning on 11 September 2007, a UNESCO team visited the railway to inspect it for possible selection as a World Heritage Site. On 8 July 2008, it became part of the mountain railways of India World Heritage Site^[11] with the Darjeeling Himalayan and Nilgiri Mountain Railways.^[12]

During the 2023 North India floods, several sections of the line were washed out by landslides.^[13]

The track has 20 picturesque stations, 103 tunnels (102 currently active), 912 curves, 969 bridges and 3% slope (1:33 gradient). The 1,143.61 m tunnel at Barog immediately before the Barog station is longest, a 60 ft (18.29 m) bridge is the longest and the sharpest curve has a 123 ft (38 m) radius of curvature. The railway line originally used 42 lb/yd (20.8 kg/m) rail, which was later replaced with 60 lb/yd (29.8 kg/m) rail.^[4] The train has an average speed of 25–30 km/h but the railcar is almost 50–60 km/h. Both the train and railcar are equipped with vistadomes.

The temperature range and annual rainfall are 0–45 °C and 200–250 cm, respectively.

The KSR and its assets, including the stations, line and vehicles, belong to the government of India under the Ministry of Railways. The Northern Railway handles day-to-day maintenance and management, and several programs, divisions and departments of Indian Railways are responsible for repairs.

The route winds from a height of 656 metres (2,152 ft) at Kalka in the Himalayan Shivalik Hills foothills, past Dharampur, Solan, Kandaghat, Taradevi, Barog, Salogra, Totu (Jutogh) and Summerhill, to Shimla at an altitude of 2,075 metres (6,808 ft).^[8] The difference in height between the two ends of line is 1,419 metres (4,656 ft).

The first locomotives were two class-B 0-4-0STs from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. These were built as 2 ft (610 mm)-gauge engines, but were converted to 2 ft 6 in (762 mm)-gauge in 1901. They were not large enough (they were sold in 1908), and were followed in 1902 by 10 slightly larger engines with a 0-4-2T wheel arrangement. The locomotives weighed 21.5 long tons (21.8 t; 24.1 short tons) each, and had 30 in (762 mm) driving wheels and 12 in × 16 in (304.8 mm × 406.4 mm) cylinders. Later classified as B-class by the North Western State Railway, they were manufactured by the British Sharp, Stewart and Company.^[15]

Thirty larger 2-6-2T locomotives, with slight variations, were introduced between 1904 and 1910. Built by the Hunslet Engine and North British Locomotive Companies, they weighed about 35 long tons (36 t; 39 short tons) and had 30 in (762 mm) drivers and 14 in × 16 in (355.6 mm × 406.4 mm) cylinders. Later classed K and K2 by the North Western State Railway, they handled most of the rail traffic during the steam era. A pair of Kitson-Meyer 2-6-2+2-6-2 articulated locomotives, classed TD, were supplied in 1928. However, they quickly fell into disfavour because it often took all day for enough freight to be assembled to justify operating a goods train hauled by one of these locomotives. Shippers looking for faster service began turning to road transport. These 68-long-ton (69.09 t; 76.16-short-ton) locomotives were soon transferred to the Kangra Valley Railway, and were converted to 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge in Pakistan.^[15] Regular steam-locomotive operation ended in 1971.

The railway's first diesel locomotives, class ZDM-1 manufactured by Arnold Jung Lokomotivfabrik (articulated with two prime movers), began operating in 1955; they were regauged, reclassified as NDM-1 and used on the Matheran Hill Railway during the 1970s. In the 1960s, class ZDM-2 locomotives from Maschinenbau Kiel (MaK) was introduced; they were later transferred to other lines.

The KSR currently operates with class ZDM-3 diesel-hydraulic locomotives (522 kW or 700 hp, 50 km/h or 31 mph), built between 1970 and 1982 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works with a single-cab road-switcher body.^[16] Six locomotives of that class were built in 2008 and 2009 by the Central Railway Loco Workshop in Parel, with updated components and a dual-cab body providing better track vision.^[17]

The railway opened with conventional four-wheel and bogie coaches. Their tare weight meant that only four bogie coaches could be hauled by the 2-6-2T locomotives. In a 1908 effort to increase capacity, the coach stock was rebuilt as 33-by-7-foot (10.1 by 2.1 m) bogie coaches with steel frames and bodies. To further save weight, the roofs were made of aluminium. The weight savings meant that the locomotives could now haul six of the larger coaches. This was an early example of the use of aluminium in coach construction to reduce tare weight.^[4]

Goods rolling stock was constructed on a common 30-by-7-foot (9.1 by 2.1 m) pressed-steel underframe. Open and covered wagons were provided, with the open wagons having a capacity of 19 long tons (19.30 t; 21.28 short tons) and the covered wagons 17.5 long tons (17.8 t; 19.6 short tons).^[4]

During the winter months snow cutters are attached to the engine to clear the snow from the track.^[7]

BBC Four televised Indian Hill Railways, a series of three programmes^[18] which featured the KSR in its third episode, in February 2010; the first two episodes covered the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and Nilgiri Mountain Railway. The episodes, directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly respectively, were produced by Gerry Troyna. Indian Hill Railways won a Royal Television Society award in June 2010.^[19] The KSR also featured in the Punjab episode of CNN's Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.

In 2018, the KSR was featured in an episode of the BBC Two programme Great Indian Railway Journeys.^[20]

• Mountain railways of India
• Rail transport in India
• Tourism in India