The train passes through the Barog tunnel — the second longest tunnel on the Indian rail network.
If you thought you had only English and cricket to thank the British for, then think again. They also put in place five hill railway systems to make the journey away from the dusty plains that much quicker. So, you have The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR), Matheran Light Railway, The Kangra Valley Railway and Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR).
Clubbed together as The Mountain Railways of India, three of these have been declared ‘World Heritage Sites’ by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
Tunnels and bridges
On July 7, 2008, the World Heritage Committee — meeting in Quebec, Canada, for its 32nd session — accepted India’s application for World Heritage Site status to KSR. First suggested in 1847, the 96.54 km line — connecting Kalka in present-day Panchkula district of Haryana to the summer capital of the British in Simla — was opened to traffic on November 9, 1903.
The journey takes you through 102 tunnels and over 864 bridges! En route, the train passes through the 1.1 km-long Barog tunnel — the second longest tunnel on the Indian rail network; the longest is on the Konkan Railway.
Named after the engineer in charge of the section, legend has it that Barog committed suicide after making a mistake in laying the alignment of the tunnel through the belly of the Choordhar Mountain. Barog was fined Re. 1 and unable to face the humiliation, he took his life. He is buried near the incomplete tunnel.
Most of the bridges — the longest near Dharmapur is 70 metre-long — have been constructed with stone masonry and bridge deep valleys with multi-arched galleries. Between Kandaghat and Kanoh stations in the Solan district is Bridge No. 493, it is known as the ‘Arch Gallery’.
And, for those who like to keep a count, here’s another offering: There are 900 curves (70 per cent of the track is in curves) en route. But, hey, all this is recorded fact. So, just hop on to one of the several trains and enjoy the scenic expanse of the Shivalik ranges.
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