Kangra Valley Railway

In 1925,the Punjab government started the Uhl hydroelectric project of constructing a dam across Uhl river at Barot. To transport heavy plant and machinery for the project,a metre gauge tramway from Mukerian to Shanan was proposed. This was changed to a two-feet six-inch gauge by the Railway Board and construction by the Lahore division of the North Western Railway began in 1926. The 165-km Pathankot- Joginder Nagar Kangra Valley Railway (KVR) line was opened to traffic on April 1,1929. During the Second World War,a number of uneconomic lines were dismantled and material was shipped for British operations in the Middle East. The Nagrota-Joginder Nagar section was dismantled and operations were closed in 1942. After Independence,KVR came under the Firozpur division of the Northern Railway. Bowing to public demand,new rails were laid and the closed section was again reopened on April 15,1954. Later in 1973,due to construction of the Pong Dam,the Jawanwala Shahar-Guler section was dismantled and line reopened after new alignment three years later.

The journey begins from Pathankot at 333 metre above mean sea level (MSL) in Punjab and 10km later enters the first station,Dalhousie Road,which is in Himachal Pradesh. After this the train climbs 70 metre till Nurpur Road station. This station,named after Shah Jahan’s wife Noor Jahan,is close to a delapidated fort of the Mughal era. The next stretch of the journey till Jawanwala Shahr is not very steep. Of the total 993 bridges on KVR,two magnificent bridges are there between Jawanwala Shahr and Guler station,27 kms away. The first one,Dehar Bridge,over the Dehar Khud (Bridge no-203) consists of one span of 60 feet and nine spans of 150 feet. The other is New Gaj Bridge over Gaj Khud (Bridge no 254) and consists of eleven spans of 150 feet. The Gaj Bridge holds the record for the longest narrow gauge bridge in India. Guler is close to the heritage village of Pragpur,14 kms away. Established around the 16th Century in the honour of Princess Prag of the Jaswan royal family,this is the first village in the country to be given heritage status. Even today,one can see beautifully restored havelis and water tanks,walking on the village’s cobbled streets.

The route beyond Guler is a scenic route as one gets the first glimpses of the snow-covered Dhauladhar ranges. Between the Tripal halt and Lunsu halt at 77.1 km is the famous Banganga Bridge. Some parts from the dismantled Adamwahan Bridge in Pakistan were used during its construction. The train then enters Jwalamukhi Road station. This is the nearest rail head for the sacred Jwalamukhi temple,one of the 51 shakti peeths in the country. After this the train passes through the only two tunnels on KVR,the first being the 250-feet long Dhundni tunnel and then 1075-feet long Daulatpur tunnel. Nearing Kangra station,the train passes over the Reond Bridge. Constructed by Braithwaite and Co,it was the first and is perhaps the only steel arch bridge on the Indian Railways. Kangra is famous for the Brajeshwari Devi temple and the Nagarkot Fort. It is also the nearest rail head for the Dharamsala and Mcleodganj hill stations.

From Kangra,the journey starts for Palampur,33 kms away. Palampur is famous for its tea estates. The first tea estate in India,the Wah tea estate was established here in 1857. The estate still produces one of the finest Kangra teas. After Palampur,the train negotiates a steep climb before reaching Baijnath Paprola at 948 MSL. The station is close to the 13th Century Shiva temple. Just after the station,KVR has the steepest gradient for any adhesion line on the Indian Railways,1 in 19. Only the Nilgiri Rack railway,with 1 in 12.5,is steeper than this. The next station Ahju,at 1,289 MSL,is a small and picturesque railway station. It is close to the Tibetan settlement of Bir,equally famous for paragliding.

After Ahju the train goes downhill till its last stop at Joginder Nagar (1,139 MSL). The entire journey takes around 9 hours and there are 31 stations enroute. ZDM3 locomotives haul seven pairs of passenger trains every day on the longest narrow gauge hill railway in India.

— VIKAS SINGH,RAIL ENTHUSIAST
Courtesy National Rail Museum