Glass-roof coach on Shimla track in 10 days

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News service

Shimla, December 1

Efforts are on to increase the speed of the train from 25 kmph to 35 kmph and later to 50 kmph on the Shimla-Kalka narrow gauge track, said Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, who met Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur here today.

This would reduce the travel time by one hour when the speed was increased to 35 kmph and two-and-a-half-hour if the speed was increased to 50 kmph, he maintained.

The Railways will run a vistadome coach with transparent roof and ultra-modern facilities on the route in 10 days and it is likely to cost more than Rs 500 per seat, catering to mostly foreign tourists.

A trial run of coach with passengers on board was successful, said Station Superintendent Prince Sethi, adding that more coaches would be attached to the train.

The 114-year-old Shimla-Kalka train would be the first narrow gauge train to have vistadome (transparent) coach. The passengers and tourists enjoyed the ride and natural beauty as the train passed through hilly terrain.So far, toilet is not attached with the coach but it would be done soon and efforts were on to reduce the travel time which was about five-and-a-half hours to cover 96 km.

The coach, costing Rs 10-lakh, is made of glass and even the roof and doors are transparent. The 36-seater coach, with wooden interiors and cushions for comfort, is fully air-conditioned and steel railings have been erected along the doors. During his last visit to Shimla, Goyal had directed that such coach be manufactured for the narrow gauge rail line. The timing, fare and number of coaches to be attached with the train are yet to be decided and official sources hinted that fare could be increased.

with PTI inputs

Ticket to cost Rs 500

• The only such coach in a narrow gauge network exists in the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
• Such coaches in the broad gauge networks are being run between Mumbai-Goa and Visakhapatnam-Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh.
• There is also a proposal to run vistadome coaches in J and K, but security issues have kept the plans on hold.
• The fare of the vistadome coach, which is the first train on the route to have air-conditioning, is likely to be more than Rs 500.