Kalka, Jan 22: It's a stately journey through green hills and quaint tunnels, a ride that has changed little over the last 105 years and perhaps belongs to a yester-age where people had time to stop and smell the roses. Perhaps the reason why the train from north India's Kalka to Shimla has been given World Heritage status by Unesco.
Slow and steady always wins the race. The proverb could have been coined with the Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR) system -- once a lifeline and now enjoyed by millions -- in mind.
Those who have not taken this train ride, which completed 105 years of operation this November, on grounds that it was "too slow" or that "the journey takes a lifetime to end" have missed out on one of life's beautiful journeys.
The virtual toy train that meanders its uphill journey on a narrow gauge (2 feet six inches wide) does its 96-km journey from the Kalka railway station at an altitude of 656 metres and climbs up to the hill resort and one-time summer capital of British India, Shimla, at 2,076 metres. On the way are 102 tunnels.
For the statistically inclined, the KSR passes through 20 stations, 102 tunnels, 800 bridges and 900 curves - the sharpest one being 48 degrees. There is a tunnel after every 941 metres - a feat of sorts for the human mind and engineering. The longest of the tunnels, at the beautiful station of Barog, is over one-and-a-half kilometres long.
Legend has it that a certain British engineer called Mr Barog committed suicide after he made a mistake while drafting its design.
"Many passengers have claimed to have seen the ghost of that engineer named Mr Barog, sitting beside the railway track while crossing that tunnel. This is the longest tunnel on this route," claimed Jasbir Singh, a technician who has been working at the Kalka Railway Station since 1979.
The KSR line was built in 1898 by the British to connect their summer capital to other parts of the country. Four arduous years later, the railway line officially opened for traffic Nov 9, 1903.
"The railway line actually deserves its World Heritage status and everyone here is happy on achieving this feat. Besides the fact that it is more than 100 years old, there are many things that reinforced our claim for this status," said Ajay Kochhar, station superintendent at the Kalka station.
"We have a good collection of old wheels, jack, various mechanical tools that you will not find anywhere in the world; rare wall-clocks and steam engines. All these things have been now preserved at the museum in Shimla," he added.
As India makes newer attempts to reach the Moon, the still running KSR relies on the age-old communication and track control system called the Neals Token Instrument System.
The system involves a unique exchange of tokens at all the stations on the route to get the line clearance. This old system exists nowhere in the country except on this track.
The Unesco heritage status for the KSR is the fourth in line for any railway system in India. Earlier, the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway in eastern India, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in the financial capital Mumbai and the Nilgiri Mountain railway in the south were declared World Heritage tags.
The KSR still carries 1,000 visitors a day, with five regular trains on most days of the week.
Ved Parkash, who had the honour of running the steam engine on the Kalka-Shimla railway track in the late 1960s, said: "I am working here for the last 40 years and not a single day has passed when I have not seen huge rush of tourists thronging the train. Moreover, the old architecture of the station and its serene beauty are still intact."
He doesn't quite understand what the heritage site means but is sure that it is something that is good.
"I do not know the meaning of the World Heritage tag, but I think that it will improve the financial status of labourers and technicians working here," said the 56-year-old technician.
Added Akash Negi, a cloth merchant in Kalka: "The name of Kalka town has been flashed on the global map now. Not only domestic tourists but more foreign visitors will come to see this place in the future."
People in the area are hopeful of a better future and more recognition after the Unesco honour. The KSR itself has been given a new lease of life. For another 100 years and counting.
IANS