Shimla, Oct 14 With the festive season drawing tourists to Shimla, the suspension of rail services on a stretch of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shimla-Kalka railway line for nearly a month has dealt a blow to the hill town’s tourism industry, with stakeholders warning that the slow pace of repair work could prolong their woes.
The disruption has particularly affected tourists from West Bengal, who throng Shimla during the Durga Puja holidays and often travel by train. The festive spirit is palpable at the Kali Bari temple, which turns into a mini Bengal during Navratri, with Durga Puja celebrations followed by cultural programmes every evening.
Frequent heavy rainfall has triggered landslides along the railway track, disrupting services. The stretch between Koti and Gumma railway stations has emerged as a major bottleneck, with the soil beneath the track washed away completely this year as well.
According to the Railways, train services are currently operating only between Shimla and Dharampur. One train departs from Dharampur for Shimla at around 5.45 pm, while another runs from Dharampur to Shimla at around 7.50 am the following day.
Rail services on the Dharampur-Kalka section have reportedly been suspended until November 30 due to construction work on bridges along the stretch, official sources said.
Local taxi operator Rajiv Sharma said that while multiple trains used to operate daily on the Shimla-Kalka route, only one train has been running to and from Dharampur for the past month, severely affecting the livelihoods of taxi drivers, shopkeepers, hoteliers and other tourism stakeholders.
“The festive season has begun, and large numbers of domestic and international tourists visit Shimla and travel along this historic rail route during Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas and New Year. But the disruption of rail services during this period has adversely affected the tourism business,” he said.
Sharma urged the government and the concerned department to expedite repair work and restore full train operations at the earliest.
Local traders have also expressed concern over the lack of definite information on when rail services will be restored. They fear that if repairs continue at the current pace, it could take a long time for normal operations to resume.
Considered an engineering marvel, the Shimla-Kalka railway line traverses challenging mountainous terrain and features 102 tunnels, approximately 800 bridges and 919 curves.
(PTI News)
