Need Advice on Narrow Gauge @Kalka.

Hi all,

I and my better half are making a trip to Kasuali + Shimla this New Year.

2 days Kasauli (27, 28 December). I like peace and solitude and I have heard there is plenty here. I am putting up at RosCommon

3 days ( nights of 29,30,31st December) in Shimla. So going from solitude to a jam packed city.

I have two questions. It would be great help if you guys can help.

I do not want to go to Simla (from Kasauli) by bus as I hear the train journey should not be missed. So I will end up going to Kalka to grab the toy train. For this I have two options (the options where I can book my tickets in advance)
a) Shivalik Exp leaving at 5:30am
b) Himalayan Queen leaving at 12:10pm.

If I leave by Himalayan queen, I would be reaching at 5-6pm in Shimla effectively wasting a lot of time. Moreover, I hear Shivalik is one great experience.
Question (1) Is there a bus service from Kausali to Kalka (or a one stop journey) so that I can make it on time to catch Shivalik early in the morning? What time is best to leave RosCommon and what is the best means of transportation to get to Kalka on time? Remember I have 2 days at Kasauli so I can leave early as I would have seen a lot on 28th and 29th.

Question 2. On my way back I want to catch the Kalka Delhi train that is somewhere at 11pm in the night. In order to do that which Toy train from Simla should I catch so that I **do not** miss my connecting train. Is catching the Shivalik train from Shimla to Kalka cutting it too close??



Thanks a lot in advance.

[uestion 2. On my way back I want to catch the Kalka Delhi train that is somewhere at 11pm in the night. In order to do that which Toy train from Simla should I catch so that I **do not** miss my connecting train. Is catching the Shivalik train from Shimla to Kalka cutting it too close??



Thanks a lot in advance.[/QUOTE]

Take the shimla kalka mail( train no 2KS) leaves shimla at 2:15 in the afternoon and you get to kalka by 8 in the evening. so enough time for your train. also book your seats in advance but expect to share as more people will climb into the coach as the train travels further. We took this train in May 2006 with second seater tickets. alternative is the shivalik which leaves shimla at 5:40pm and reaches kalka at 10:20. this has only chair car accomodtaion, and the timings make it very iffy

enjoy
mani

You dont need to go all the way to Kalka, the nearest station from Kasauli is Dharampur.
The evening train from Shimla is a connecting train, that means the Kalka Howrah mail will depart after the arrival of this train.
You can stay at the state run Palace hotel in Chail, surrounded by thick pine forests & panaromic view of the mountains. Excellent value for money & real old world charm. The restaurant at the hotel serves very good food. You can visit Shimla from Chail.

Thanks so much Mani and Jyotirmoy. Your suggestions are very helpful.

I people at HPTDC also recommended that I catch the train from Dharampur. I also understand that the Himalayan queen can only be booked 30 days in advance. So just for trying out, I tried to see if a random booking (say on nov 15th) is allowed from Dharampur to Shimla. It turns out that the site gives me a "SORRY !!! No Matching Trains Found." error every time. However the same date works if the start station is Kalka. Does this mean that I can't book from Dharampur? If I can, then how do I go about doing this?

-mohit

I figured my last question on my own. I need to change the boarding point while booking the ticket online. This is cool and rocks!

-mohit

In order to go up to Shimla via the toy train you would need to backtrack to Kalka (which is a waste of time). My primary suggestion would be to carry on to shimla in a bus and then catch it on your way down instead. Alternatively, insdtead of going back to Kalka go to Dharamopur, its one of the places that the toy train stops and catch it from there.

Mind you the stop is barely 5 minutes so you need to corrdinate it down to the last second , and they start moving without asking anyone.