The picturesque Kangra Valley is one of the most beautiful regions of the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The narrow gauge Kangra Valley Railway (KVR) was built between 1926-29. It cuts across the mountainsides crossing masonry bridges across narrow gorges. Roughly speaking, it is a slim rectangular belt running ninety miles in length and thirty miles in breadth through the mountains. The rail offers a sweeping view of the quiet scenic mountains while stopping at small stations that also serve as starting points for road travel to further destinations-specially to ancient Hindu shrines tucked away in the valley.
The passenger trains are evenly spaced throughout the day with some trains terminating at Baijnath Paprola and a couple carrying on till Joginder Nagar, covering a total distance of 164 kilometres in about nine hours. A group of frequent travelers are often seen meeting up with great enthusiasm in this small family of the KVR.
The journey starts at Pathankot, a town in northeastern Punjab that stands at a height of 333 metres where the main board gauge line runs through, on its way up north to Jammu. From Pathankot, the KVR takes off eastwards and starts climbing soon after as the train chugs over plate girder bridges across river beds that fill up during the monsoons. Within an hour it reaches the first station, Nurpur Road, at a height of 402 meters. The line then swerves southeast; the stations of the next phase of the railway are Bharmar (472 meters), Nandpur Bhitali (411 meters), Guler (472 meter) Lunsu and Jwalamukhi Road (579 meters). The station buildings are simple sloping-roofed structures with much greenery around.
The line then veers northwards heading towards the Kangra Station. It runs across the Bathu Bridge and then crosses the two tunnels of the KVR, the first called Dhaundni tunnel being 250 feet long and the second, called the Daulatpur tunnel being 1,070 feet long. On coming out of the tunnel, the train reaches a slope before arriving at the Kangra Station (686 metres).
The line now moves eastwards and then gradually southwards. The subsequent stations are Nagrota (684 metres), Paror Halt (975 metres) and Palampur-which are frequently visited by tourists during the summer.
The line now steadily ascends and ventures close to the Dhauladhar range, which is about 15 kilometres away en route to Baijnath Paprola (943 metres). The train takes a long scheduled halt of forty-five minutes at Baijnath Paprola for the arduous gradient ahead. Here onwards, the locomotive can only pull a maximum of four coaches.
The train bravely pulls across the scenic Bhir gorge to reach Ahju Station, which, at 1,210 meters, is the highest point of the line. Two slip sidings have been provided at Ahju station. The train then comfortably chugs on to Joginder Nagar at 1,139 meters.
The Northern Railway has introduced a new train, the Kangra Queen, between Pathankot and Palampur from August 1, 1999. This luxury narrow gauge train covers a distance of 128 km in 4 hours and 25 minutes with two stoppages at Jwalamukhi and Kangra. There are four coaches. Newspaper, mineral water, tea snacks, food are provided on board.
The journey starts at Pathankot, a town in northeastern Punjab that stands at a height of 333 metres where the main board gauge line runs through, on its way up north to Jammu. From Pathankot, the KVR takes off eastwards and starts climbing soon after as the train chugs over plate girder bridges across river beds that fill up during the monsoons. Within an hour it reaches the first station, Nurpur Road, at a height of 402 meters. The line then swerves southeast; the stations of the next phase of the railway are Bharmar (472 meters), Nandpur Bhitali (411 meters), Guler (472 meter) Lunsu and Jwalamukhi Road (579 meters). The station buildings are simple sloping-roofed structures with much greenery around.
The line then veers northwards heading towards the Kangra Station. It runs across the Bathu Bridge and then crosses the two tunnels of the KVR, the first called Dhaundni tunnel being 250 feet long and the second, called the Daulatpur tunnel being 1,070 feet long. On coming out of the tunnel, the train reaches a slope before arriving at the Kangra Station (686 metres).
The line now moves eastwards and then gradually southwards. The subsequent stations are Nagrota (684 metres), Paror Halt (975 metres) and Palampur-which are frequently visited by tourists during the summer.
The line now steadily ascends and ventures close to the Dhauladhar range, which is about 15 kilometres away en route to Baijnath Paprola (943 metres). The train takes a long scheduled halt of forty-five minutes at Baijnath Paprola for the arduous gradient ahead. Here onwards, the locomotive can only pull a maximum of four coaches.
The train bravely pulls across the scenic Bhir gorge to reach Ahju Station, which, at 1,210 meters, is the highest point of the line. Two slip sidings have been provided at Ahju station. The train then comfortably chugs on to Joginder Nagar at 1,139 meters.
The Northern Railway has introduced a new train, the Kangra Queen, between Pathankot and Palampur from August 1, 1999. This luxury narrow gauge train covers a distance of 128 km in 4 hours and 25 minutes with two stoppages at Jwalamukhi and Kangra. There are four coaches. Newspaper, mineral water, tea snacks, food are provided on board.
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