Kangra Valley Railway

Pathankot – Joginder Nagar
Kangra Valley Railway
Route length:	164 km
Gauge :	762 mm ( narrow gauge )
Maximum slope :	40  ‰
Minimum radius :	58.4 m
Legend 0 Pathankot Junction 330 m 4th Dalhousie Road Chakki Bridge, Chakki 13 Kandwal stop 20th Nurpur Road 524 m 29 Talara 37 Bharmar 44 Jawan Wala Shehar old route (until 1971) Dehar Bridge (No. 205), Dehar Khud 52 Harsar Dehri New Gaj Bridge (No. 254), Gaj Khud 62 Nagrota Surian 66 Baryal Himachal 69 Nandpur Bhatauli 73 Guler 77 Lunsu stop Reond Steel Arch Bridge 81 Tripal stop 83 Jwalamukhi Road 598 m Bathu Khad Bridge Dhudni Tunnel (76 m) 90 Koparlahar Daulatpur Tunnel (305 m) 94 Kangra 98 Kangra Mandir 104 Samloti 109 Nagrota 127 Palampur 141 Baijnath paprola 954 m 145 Baijnath Mandir 982 m 152 Ahju 1290 m 157 Chauntra Bhater 164 Joginder Nagar 1186 m

The Kangra Valley Railway (KVR) is a narrow-gauge railway on the southern slopes of the Himalayas in India . Their track width is 762 mm (2  feet  6  inches ). Over a length of 164 km, it overcomes an altitude difference of 689 meters from Pathankot to Joginder Nagar . It has two tunnels and more than 900 bridges.

history

In 1925, planning began for a system of five hydropower plants near the village of Sukrahatti, today's Joginder Nagar. The Shanan Power House was to be built as the first power plant. To handle the extensive transport of materials, a meter-gauge connecting railway was planned, which was to lead from Mukerian to the power plant construction site.

The Ministry of Railways approved the construction under extensive conditions. So the starting point of the railway was moved to Pathankot and the gauge was set at 2 feet 6 inches (analogous to the Kalka-Shimla Railway ). The prescribed route led to a connection to the railroad for mountain resorts used by the British and important pilgrimage sites in the Kangra Valley .

Construction work began at the beginning of May 1926. On December 1, 1928, the line was ready to the point that freight traffic could begin. The line was opened for passenger traffic on April 1, 1929. The total cost of building the railway was 29,600,000 rupees . After the region was devastated by a severe earthquake in 1905, special emphasis was placed on earthquake safety when planning the buildings. Among the numerous bridges is the Reond Arch , the first steel arch bridge in India.

In 1942, the Nagrota – Joginder Nagar section was shut down as a result of the Second World War and dismantled to obtain track material for military purposes. After India gained independence, the section was rebuilt and reopened on April 15, 1954.

With the progress of the construction work on the Pong Dam , operations had to be interrupted for three years from 1973 and the line in the Jawanwala Shahr – Guler section dismantled and redrawn over a length of 25 km.

Kangra Valley Railway

The illegal mining of sand and gravel in the Chakki river bed causes erosion damage that endangers the foundations of the bridges over the river. On July 9, 2007, the collapse of the neighboring road bridge caused damage to the KVR bridge, which had to be closed. On September 9 of the same year, a ban of several days was again required.

On the night of August 13, 2011, the route was interrupted by landslides as a result of severe storms at Dalhousie Road and between Baijnath and Palampur. A tidal wave from the Chakki River undermined Pillar No. 4 and caused it to collapse. After a seven-month break, the bridge was navigable again, so operations could resume on April 1, 2012. In the subsequent court proceedings it was found that the reason for the collapse was not poor maintenance, but the ongoing illegal sand and gravel mining near the bridge.

Routing

Baijnath Paprola - exit in the direction of Jogindestagar

The railway begins in Pathankot in the state of Punjab and runs 164 km to Joginder Nagar in the state of Himachal Pradesh . The line continues as a siding approx. 2 km further uphill to the Shanan Power House. There is a connection to a funicular that runs along the penstocks to an altitude of 2,400 m.

Plant machine service

Diesel locomotive ZDM-3 178 in Baijnath Paprola

All locomotives for the operation of the KVR are stationed in Loco Shed Pathankot. In 2012, 10 four-axle diesel locomotives of class ZDM-3 and 4 locomotives of largely identical class ZDM-4 were in use. All vehicles on the Kangra Valley Railway are equipped with a suction air brake.

In Pathankot there is a locomotive shed, a water tower, inspection pits and a turntable for the narrow-gauge railway that can be used for wide and narrow-gauge vehicles. The diesel locomotives are rotated in Pathankot and Baijnath so that the shorter front end in the direction of travel is in each case on the route. The locomotives with the longer front end drive between Joginder Nagar and Baijnath.

In Baijnath Paprola there is a locomotive shed and an inspection pit that is now used by overnight vehicles. During steam operation, a push locomotive was stationed here because of the subsequent incline to Ahju.

Freight transport

From the opening of the railway to the completion of the Shanan Power House in 1932, all building materials, machinery and power station equipment imported from Great Britain were transported.

Agricultural products were an important mode of transport for the KVR from the start. The potato harvest from the surrounding valleys was brought by mules to Joginder Nagar, where it was loaded onto the train and transported to the sales markets in West Bengal . Joginder Nagar thus developed into the most important potato market in northern India at times. Palampur was the loading station for the Kangra tea grown here.

passenger traffic

Passenger train in the Baijnath Paprola Station

Four of the seven trains that start daily in Pathankot only go to Baijnath Paprola (km 141), a fifth ends in Jawalamukhi Road (km 83). Seat reservations are not possible. From August 1, 1999, the Kangra Queen luxury train ran between Panakoth and Palampur . The connection was discontinued in 2003 due to low demand.

future

The Kangra Valley Railway is on the list of applicants as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . In contrast, the Ministry of Railways is planning to replace the Kangra Valley Railway with a broad-gauge railway in order to extend 48 km to Mandi and connect there to the Bilaspur - Manali - Leh line, which is also planned . The cost of the line extension is estimated at 130 million rupees, the cost estimate for the replacement of the narrow-gauge railway is 28.88 million rupees for diesel operation and 32.79 million rupees for electrical operation.

See also

• Kalka-Shimla Railway
• Matheran Hill Railway

Individual evidence

1. ^ Report of the Kangra Valley Railway. at: ptmcindiavacations.com , accessed June 18, 2012.
2. ^ Hill Lines Of India report in Railway Wonders Of The World at www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com , accessed June 30, 2017.
3. ^ Newspaper article in the Indian Express of September 17, 2007, accessed on September 21, 2011
4. ↑ Traffic suspended on Pathankot-Jogindestagar rail line. from: himvani.com , August 13, 2011, accessed June 18, 2012
5. ↑ Joginder Nagar. ( Memento of March 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) from: jogindestagar.com , accessed on June 18, 2012
6. ^ Kangra Valley Railway. at: indianrailways.gov.in , accessed on June 14, 2012
7. ↑ DuMont Travel Guide Travel Guide India, The North on Google Books , accessed on July 1, 2017
8. ^ The Kangra Valley Railway - Extension to the Mountain Railways of India. at: whc.unesco.org , January 28, 2009, accessed on June 14, 2012
9. ^ Converting Pathankot-JoginderNagar rail line to Broad gauge under Consideration: says CM Dhumal. ( Memento of the original from March 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from: orissadiary.com , accessed June 20, 2012