Landslides snap rail traffic in Himachal
By IANSThursday, September 23, 2010
SHIMLA - Traffic on the Kalka-Shimla railway line was snapped Thursday following massive landslides on the track triggered by heavy rainfall in the region in the past few days, an official said here.
“The traffic was closed down in the morning due to massive landslips on the track at various locations. No train is running between Shimla and Kalka,” Shimla Station Superintendent G.S. Rajput told IANS.
He said men and machinery have been deployed to reopen the rail line.
Another rail official said it might take one or two days to normalise the traffic as the track between Solan and Shimla towns was damaged badly.
Five train services run daily on the 96-km century-old Kalka-Shimla railroad.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) included the 30-inch gauge Kalka-Shimla rail line in the list of world heritage sites in July 2008. The scenic journey along the rail line from 640 metres above sea level at Kalka to Shimla at 2,060 metres attracts a large number of tourists.
