As the majority of other reviews described Nilgiri or Darjeeling mountain railways I will focus of Kalka Shimla Railway (KSR). Visited March, 2019, one of highlights of my Indian tour.

Initially I planned to go to that part of India as late as possible (there might have been still snow, especially in higher parts of Himalaya in March). While visiting Chandigarh I have found a railway office selling tickets for the train Kalka – Shimla. As far as I remember the trains for the next day were fully booked so I decided to go directly to the station and try to find something on the spot. Arrived to Kalka by bus from Chandigarh in the afternoon, reached Kalka railway station and found out that it is possible to buy an ordinary train ticket without the reservation for one of the trains next day (no guarantee of sitting place).

After buying a ticket I had some time to visit the station and surrounding area Kalka Station is currently divided between normal (modern) railway and historical part of narrow-gauge railway (UNESCO site). Most of the buildings and a lot of equipment are from the initial period of its construction. Comparing to other UNESCO railways (Rhaetian, Semmering) KSR use historical carriages (or at least looking as historical as they are quite basic).

Basic fact of the KSR (taken from UNESCO plaque located at the station): open in 1903, it represents an exceptional technical achievement in the development of the Himalayan Mountains because of its length, its attitude and the difficulty of the terrain through which it runs in difficult climatic conditions. It is 96 km long, passes through 102 tunnels, 988 bridges and 917 curves, many of which are as sharp as 48 ° The longest tunnel is 1143 m, other important monument is a four storey stone arch gallery bridge. KSR climbs from the attitude around 600 m above see level (Kalka Station) up to around 2075 m (Shimla station).

I found a basic hotel nearby (inexpensive, nothing special but it was located close to the station), there are several others in the area. As I was not sure if I would be able to travel, I woke up early, went to the station and tried to catch the earliest possible train.

Here is the timetable of KSR trains (they depart every day) from Kalka to Shimla:

Train Number   Train Name        Origin    Departure Time Destination        Arrival Time       Travel Time

04527    SHIVALK DLX SPL              KLK        05:45     SML       10:25     04:40

04529    KLK SML SPECIAL             KLK        06:20     SML       11:35     05:15

04517    KLK SML SPECIAL             KLK        07:00     SML       12:55     05:55

04515    SML FESTIVL SPL              KLK        12:10     SML       17:20     05:10

First 2 trains looked as booked well in advance (groups or different reservation classes), so finally, I took the train of 7.00 a.m. – the slowest one. All the trains were not well marked but somehow I managed to find the right one, and found a sitting place near the window (and door). It was amazing how quickly the wagon was filled up with other passengers (and their luggage).

After departure, the train almost immediately started to climb the mountains at slow pace. As I later realized the average speed is around 22 km/h – not much but have in mind that you were in the mountains. The surrounding landscape changed gradually from mid-forest to hilly passing through countless tunnels. Even if my wagon was initially filled up with passengers to the limits, on each station it constantly got additional numbers of people, occupying every single space.

During short says on different station is enough to realize that most of the railway equipment and infrastructure was still preserved from construction period. Landscapes are also amazing; the only annoying thing is discarding rubbish by local from the train directly through the window.

Overall, it is a great experience that can be recommended to railway lovers.

Practicalities: try to buy the ticket well in advance. That will be more expensive but at least you will be travelling in more comfortable conditions. Otherwise there will still be possible to travel but in more difficult conditions. Ordinary trains do not have any restaurant wagons. You can buy some snacks from local sellers on some stations but they are very basic. Kalka has descent number of restaurants and hotels but Shimla is a kind of local tourist destination.

Places on the photo, bottom left, than clockwise: entrance to Barog Tunnel (the longest one), Kalka Station, Dharampur Himachal Station (passenger’s area), typical landscape of KSR – small line in the middle is a train going from Shimla to Kalka.

More about KSR http://www.kalkashimlarailway.in/ksr/