Selfie with past on Himachal’s British-era rail track

Running through history, the British-era Kalka-Shimla railway track will now take tourists to the ‘glorious’ past for capturing the moments. Railway authorities installed a rail engine and a coach for the tourists at the Shogi railway station, some 13 km from the state capital, on Wednesday for the tourists to get themselves photographed with the stationary train in the background.

“The selfie point at Shogi will be inaugurated by mid of next month,” a railway official here told IANS. He said this is the lone selfie point on the 96-km-long Kalka-Shimla railway track. Even the onlookers can board the wagon to get themselves photographed. The idea to set up the selfie point was mooted by Railway Minister Piyush Goel to allure the tourists to the hill destination. 

The official said the Shimla railway station the refurbishing work is going on to give it a grand old look, nostalgic of the British India. Goel inspected the railway station in June and took a brief ride in a steam engine.He had directed the Railways to restore the railway station the way it looked prior to Independence. 

The century-old Kalka-Shimla rail line, a narrow-gauge railroad built to ferry Europeans to and from this hill town, then the summer capital of British India, was chosen by the UNESCO as a world heritage site in 2008. In 1903, the rail line was opened to traffic by Lord Curzon, the then viceroy of India. At that time, only Europeans were allowed to use the rail link.

The glorious journey along the rail line from 640 metres above sea level at Kalka in Haryana to the lofty heights of Shimla at 2,060 metres takes your breath away. Meandering through deep ravines, verdant forest of pines, alpines, deodars, oak and maples, magnificent scenery of the Shivaliks, a ride on the Kalka-Shimla train is memorable.