Train operations suspended on Kalka-Shimla railway line after cracks develop

All train operations on the Kalka-Shimla heritage line were suspended on Saturday after cracks developed on a railway bridge on Friday night.

Out of the total seven trains, two trains will arrive and return from Tara Devi station today and one is expected to return from Kandagjat but till Shimla, all trains remain suspended.

No official from the Railway Station was available to speak on the issue.

The tourists are disappointed as they have to reschedule their travel programme.

"I had a train at 3:40 PM. All the trains have been suspended due to some problem. I came four days ago and arrived here on a toy train. I am not able to understand what has happened. I have come with my family here, now it's becoming difficult how we shall return. They are saying some problems have occurred on track," said Mohmmad Sultan, a tourist from Kanpur.

A local expressed disappointment following the cancellation of his ticket.

"We had come to visit Shimla. Our ticket got cancelled and we got to know that some bridges had broken and it was disappointing for us. My son wanted to travel by toy train. They are not sure if the train will start tomorrow or not. Now we shall have to plan another route," Maani said.

On August 14, 2023, the Railway bridge collapsed at Summer Hill and the line was also damaged at several locations between Summer Hill and Solan. 

The trains were suspended last year in the first week of July till October.

Virender Thakur, local councillor, Shimla Municipal Corporation said they shall request the DRM Northern Railway to restore these services.

"The temporary Railway Bridge was built last year and was resumed within three months. I got to know that the railway track had started sliding from the corner of the bridge. Yesterday evening technical officials visited the site and trains have been suspended till further order," Thakur said.

"We demand that this railway track be restored. 8-9 trains run daily on this heritage trek. These trains are packed with tourists. We shall request the DRM Northern Railway to restore it. We hope this is restored soon. Until they give us a green signal the trains can't be run," Thakur added.

The First train arrived in Shimla on November 9, 1903; all the steam engine run trains used to come till 1970 here and after 1970 all trains were being run through the diesel engine.

The Kalka Shimla railway line was declared UNESCO's world heritage line in 2008. It has been a great tourist attraction after these tourists would rush through this train in the hills.

The first Vista Dome coach was attached to one of the regular trains in December 2018 and was started after December 2019 regularly. 

The trains remained suspended on this heritage track last year between July to October.