page_title: Mountain railways of India
section_title: Kalka–Shimla Railway
hierarchical_section_title: Mountain railways of India / Kalka–Shimla Railway
context_page_description: The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountains of India.
  Three of them, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and the Kalka–Shimla Railway, are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Mountain Railways of India". The fourth railway, the Matheran Hill Railway, is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. All four are narrow-gauge railways, and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway is also the only rack railway in India.
  Some mountain railways such as the Lumding–Badarpur section have been converted to 1,676 mm broad gauge, which is the nationwide standard, while some railways such as the Kangra Valley Railway are in the process of being converted to broad gauge. Some mountain railways, such as the Jammu–Baramulla line, are currently under construction, and others are in the planning stage, such as the Srinagar–Leh line, the Bilaspur–Leh line, the Jammu–Poonch line, and the Chota Char Dham Railway. All the mountain railways constructed in recent times use 1,676 mm broad gauge.
context_section_description: The Kalka–Shimla Railway runs between Kalka and Shimla. The railway is 95.66 km (59.44 mi) long, and its gauge is narrow 2 ft 6 in (762 mm). Shimla is the modern capital of Himachal Pradesh and is at an elevation of 2,205 m (7,234 ft) in the foothills of the Himalayas. It became the summer capital of British India in 1864, and it also served as the headquarters of the British Army in India.
  Until the railway's construction, the only access to Shimla was by village cartway. The railway line was constructed by the Delhi–Ambala–Kalka Railway Company, beginning in 1898 in the Siwalik Hills, and was completed in 1903.
  The Kalka–Shimla Railway has 103 tunnels and 864 bridges. Many of the bridges are multi-arched, reminiscent of Ancient Roman aqueducts, and one bridge, which spans 18.29 m (60.0 ft), is made with plate girders and steel trusses. Its ruling gradient is 1:33 or 3%, and it features 919 curves, with the sharpest at 48 degrees (a radius of 37.47 m (122.9 ft)). The tracks climb from 656 m (2,152 ft) to a peak elevation of 2,076 m (6,811 ft) at Shimla. The longest tunnel on the line is the Barog Tunnel (No. 33), which is 1,144 m (3,753 ft) long, connecting Dagshai and Solan. The loops at Taksal, Gumman, and Dharampur help to attain flatter gradients.
  The Kalka–Shimla Railway joined the Nilgiri and Darjeeling lines as a World Heritage Site in 2008.
caption: Shivalik Deluxe Express on the Kalka–Shimla Railway
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