3 new engines to run on Kangra valley railway line

Our Correspondent
Palampur, March 5

The Indian Railways will introduce three latest engines on the 120 km narrow gauge Kangra valley rail line to improve its services. A trial run of these engines has already been conducted and these will start running in the next few days.

A Railways spokesman said here that 11 most modern engines had been sanctioned for this track and four engines had already reached Pathankot. After the commissioning of these engines, a remarkable improvement in the train services in the valley would be witnessed.

He said that most of the rail engines being run on this narrow gauge line were 30 years old and needed to be replaced. Therefore, the Railways had introduced new engines.

“The Kangra valley rail line will complete 100 years soon. Though there is a plan to declare this track as a heritage, the Railways is yet to get the nod from UNESCO. There is a big scope of creating a religious tourism circuit through the Kangra valley rail line, as it is connected with religious shrines such as Jwalamukhi, Kangra, Chamunda, Chintpurni and the ancient Shiva temple at Baijnath. The state Tourism Department should work on these lines and the Railways would extend it full support,” he added.

He said that on the directions of Union Railways Minister Piyush Goel, the authorities had taken up a new project for the face-lifting and overhauling of the Kangra valley rail line. He added that there was also a proposal to add new transparent coaches in seven trains running between Pathankot and Joginder Nagar, which covers 120 km in nine hours.

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