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UNESCO inspects Shimla Toy Train

          Shimla: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) team of officials has completed the evaluation of Kalka-Shimla 'toy train' to include it in the World Heritage list. The officials said they were impressed by the British colonial-era train system, considered the greatest narrow gauge engineering feat in the country. "The railway is in excellent condition. It is quite an engineering achievement. So, I'm very pleased with what I've seen but I can't tell you if it will be inscribed or not on the World Heritage list," said Robert Lee, head of the UNESCO team. During the last two-days of their evaluation, the team inspected the railway line between Kaithlighat and Shimla. The final verdict is expected by July next year. The toy train, so called because of its miniature size and its movement at a snail's pace, hark back to an old-world charm.

          Introduced in 1903, the train has chugged along to the present times. Olga Leped, a foreign tourist said she enjoyed the journey very much. "It was great to see such a toy train. And, it was a pleasure trip to Shimla. We admire all the nature around and everything," she said. The toy train would have been a strong contender, but for a nearly six-year-old decision to replace classic steam engines with diesel versions after a fire mishap during a film shoot by a Canadian crew in December 2001. In 2004, the Indian Railways shelved a similar move to replace the steam locomotive with a diesel engine on the Darjeeling toy train after the UNESCO threatened to withdraw its World Heritage status. The six-hour journey from Kalka to Shimla takes the train through 107 tunnels and connects to a number of hill resorts, including Dharampore, Taksal, Gamma and Solan. The journey offers the passengers a picturesque view of the Himalayan range.
- September 15,  2007