Mountain railways of India

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Mountain Railways of India
Kalka–Shimla Railway
CriteriaCultural: (ii), (iv)
Reference944ter
Inscription1999 (23rd Session)
Extensions2005, 2008
Area89 ha (0.34 sq mi)
Buffer zone645 ha (2.49 sq mi)
Mountain railways of India is located in India
Darjeeling
Darjeeling
Nilgiri
Nilgiri
Shimla

The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountainous regions of

broad-gauge
railways.

Three of the lines, the

rack and pinion railway
in India.

Mountain railways, such as the

Chota Char Dham Railway, are currently under construction, and others are in the planning stage, such as the Srinagar–Leh line and the Bhanupli–Leh line
. All the mountain railways constructed in recent times use broad-gauge.

World Heritage Sites

Three railways, the

Asia-Pacific region. The Matheran Hill Railway, a fourth mountain line, has been nominated and is pending approval by the international body.[3][4]

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

A train on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
A Z reverse on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The

Ghoom station, 2,300 m (7,500 ft).[5][6]

The town of Siliguri, the start of the railway route, was connected with

tongas (horse-driven carts) along a dust track. On the recommendations of a committee appointed by Sir Ashley Eden, work on the route began in 1879 and was completed by July 1881.[5][7] The line underwent several improvements such as making its gradients more gradual over the years to increase its manoeuvrability. By 1909–1910, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was carrying roughly 174,000 passengers and 47,000 tons of goods annually.[6]

Important features incorporated in the line include four loops (

World Heritage List. A condition of being placed upon the list was that steam locomotives would continue to be used along the route.[3]

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

A train on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The

special steam locomotives. The line contains 208 curves, 16 tunnels, and 250 bridges, causing the uphill journey along the route to take about 290 min (4.8 h), while the downhill journey takes 215 min (3.6 h).[9][10][11] The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2005. Initially, the town of Coonoor was the final station on the line, but in September 1908 it was extended to Fernhill followed by Udagmandalam by October 15, 1908. The system was described by Guilford Lindsey Molesworth in a report from 1886:[12]

Two distinct functions – first that of traction by adhesion as in an ordinary loco; second that of traction by pinions acting on the track bars. The brakes are four in number – two handbrakes, acting by friction; and two acting by preventing the free escape of air from cylinder and thus using compressed air in retarding the progress of the engine. The former are used for shunting while the later for descending steep gradients. One of the handbrakes acts on the tyres of the wheels in the ordinary manner and the second acts on grooved surfaces of the pinion axle, but can be used in those places where the rack is laid.[12]

A unique feature of the line, which is still fully operational, is that its oldest and steepest track uses rack and pinion technology. Currently, the line runs for 7.2 km (4.5 mi), up to the foothill station of Kallar, where the rack rail portion begins. The rack rail portion ends at Coonoor railway station. The longest tunnel of this section measures 97 m (318 ft). The route has a gradient of 1:12.5 up to Coonoor, and past Coonoor to the final station the track has a ruling gradient of 1:23.[9][13]

Kalka–Shimla Railway

Shivalik Deluxe Express on the Kalka–Shimla Railway

The

Siwalik Hills, and was completed in 1903. The Kalka–Shimla Railway joined the Nilgiri and Darjeeling lines as a World Heritage Site in 2008.[3]

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.[9]

Others

Matheran Hill Railway

A train on the Matheran Hill Railway

The

Central Railways.[9]

A unique feature of the line is its horseshoe embankments. Notable features of the route include Neral Station, the first on the route; the Herdal Hill section; the steep grade of Bhekra Khud; the One Kiss Tunnel (the only tunnel on the route, which earned its nickname because the tunnel is just long enough to exchange a kiss with one's partner); a water pipe station, which is no longer in operation; Mountain Berry, which features two sharp zigzags; Panorama Point; and finally, the end of the route at Matheran Bazaar.[9] Its ruling gradient is 1:20 (5%), and its tight curves require a speed limit of 20 km/h (12 mph).

Kangra Valley Railway

A train on the Kangra Valley Railway

The

shrines, in the sub-Himalayan region. The highest point on this line is at Ahju station at an elevation of 1,291 m (4,236 ft), and the terminus at Joginder Nagar is at 1,189 m (3,901 ft).[15]

The line, which is part of the

Banganga River. Though the gradient of the line is generally gentle, the critical reach with steep slopes is at the 142 km (88 mi) stretch, which is 210 m (690 ft) wide and has a slope of 1:19 and approach slopes of 1:31 and 1:25. The terminus stretch between Baijnath and Jogindernagar has a slope of 1:25.[16][9][17]

Jammu–Baramulla line

The Jammu–Baramulla line is a 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) railway line being built in India to connect the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. The railway starts from Jammu and will travel to Baramulla. The route crosses major earthquake zones and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain, making it a challenging engineering project. The railway line has been under construction since 2002, when it was declared a national project. It will link the state's winter capital, Jammu, with the summer capital, Srinagar, and beyond until Baramulla. The railway line has been built from Jammu to Katra, and the line from Katra to Banihal may be completed by 2020.[18][19]

Proposed railways

The Srinagar–Leh line is a proposed

railway line to run from Srinagar station via the town of Kargil to Leh to be operated by Indian Railways. The line was designated a national project on February 26, 2013.[20]

The Bhanupli–Leh line is a proposed railway line that is planned to connect Bhanupli in Punjab to Leh in Ladakh region in India. The Bhanupli–Leh line is expected to become the highest railway track in the world by its completion, overtaking the current record of China's Qinghai–Tibet railway.[21]

The

Rishikesh–Karnaprayag Railway, also an under construction, is a new railway link extension from the existing Rishikesh railway station to Karnaprayag of the above system.[22]

The Sivok–Rangpo line is a proposed railway line planned to connect the towns of Sevoke in West Bengal and Rangpo in Sikkim and also link Sikkim with the Indian Railway network. It is planned to be extended to Gangtok and the India-China border in the future.[23]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Mountain Railways of India". whc.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  2. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Mountain Railways of India (Extension)". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  3. ^ a b c d "Mountain Railways of India". World Heritage:UNESCO. Archived from the original on 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  4. ISBN 81-7596-330-1
    . Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  5. ^ a b c Whittle, Paul; Terry Martin. "A Brief History of the DHR". History and A Trip Up the Line. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2007.
  6. ^ a b "History of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
  7. ^ a b "DHr History". Darjeeling.net. Archived from the original on 2003-12-13. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  8. ^ "The Loop, Agony Point, Darjeeling [Hill Railway]". British Library Online Gallery. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  9. ^
    ISBN 81-7387-135-3. Archived
    from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
  10. ^ Krishnan, Govind. V.M. NMR Nilgiri Mountain Railway:From Life Line to Oblivion. krishnantech.net. Archived from the original on 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  11. ^ "Cultural Sites inscribed on UNESCO's World heritage List". India-Mountains railways of India. World Heritage List;UNESCO. 2005-06-15. Archived from the original on 2006-08-13. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
  12. ^ a b Kholi p.104
  13. ^ a b "Mountain Railways of India – Chugging and romancing the hills". Northern Voices Online. Retrieved 2017-03-20.[dead link]
  14. ^ a b "HP declares Kalka–Shimla railway as 'heritage' property". The Hindu. 2010-02-21. Archived from the original on 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  15. ^ "Trains to Ahju Station – 4 Arrivals NR/Northern Zone – Railway Enquiry". indiarailinfo.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  16. ISBN 1-84353-089-9
    . Retrieved 2010-02-20.
  17. ^ "Luxury Trains of India". Archived from the original on January 3, 2004. Retrieved 2010-02-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ^ "Kashmir Rail Link to be Completed by 2020. Will Have World's Highest Railway Bridge". NDTV.com. 4 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  19. ^ "Kashmir rail link project to be completed by 2030: Railway officials". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2019-09-07. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  20. ^ "Srinagar part of Railways skill dev program Lastupdate:- Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:30:00 GMT GreaterKashmir.com". Archived from the original on 2013-07-16. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  21. ^ "When men defies his limits: Living in the altitude : Articles". SummitPost. Archived from the original on 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  22. ^ "Coming soon: India's longest railway tunnel on Rishikesh-Karnprayag route". Hindustan Times. September 19, 2016. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "Sivok-Rangpo railway: Soon, travel from Bengal to Sikkim in 2 hrs". East Mojo. 21 September 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.

Bibliography

  • Wallace, Richard (2021). Hill Railways of the Indian Subcontinent. Ramsbury, Marlborough, UK: The Crowood Press.
    ISBN 9781785008085
    .

External links

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