Kalka-Shimla heritage route rail motor car to run as train service: Ministry of Railways

The Ministry of Railways on Sunday announced that the Kalka-Shimla heritage rail motor car operations will run as a regular train service from March 18. In a post on the official Twitter handle, Indian Railways welcomed the passengers to “experience the bliss” of travelling on the Kalka Shimla route which is declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world heritage. The UN agency had listed the Kalka Shimla railway line as a heritage site in 2008 and was even placed under “Mountain Railways of India.” Since then, it has been one of the greatest tourist attractions.

With the latest announcement by Indian Railways about the iconic railway line, several internet users celebrated the “superb” news. As COVID-19 vaccinations have begun with full swing in the country and people are slowly coming back to the pre-coronavirus times, Indian Railways has introduced a number of facilities to boost the travel industry. Earlier, in a bid to make travel easier for its passengers, the Ministry of Railways on February 25 came up with the facility to book the unreserved tickets through the UTS ON MOBILE app to decongest ticket booking counters and ensure smooth compliance with social distancing norms.

Platform ticket prices raised to avoid overcrowding

With masks still being compulsory along with other precautions in order to encourage social distancing, the Ministry of Railways announced the hike in platform ticket prices to avoid overcrowding at the stations amid the pandemic. Terming it a “temporary measure”, the Ministry of Railways said that the move has been announced to ensure the “safety of passengers”. Further explaining the action, the Railway Ministry said that it is the responsibility of the Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) to maintain regulation and controlling of the crowd at stations. 

"It is a temporary measure and field activity undertaken by the railway administration in the interest of the safety of passengers and to prevent overcrowding at stations," the Ministry said in an official statement. "Deterring more persons to visit the station, the platform ticket charges are increased from time to time after assessing the ground situation. The power to change charges of platform tickets has been delegated to DRMs due to field management requirements."