Technical Glitches Delay Rollout of Panoramic Coaches on Kalka-Shimla Railway

Passengers hoping for a more comfortable and scenic ride on the historic Kalka-Shimla railway will have to wait a little longer. The introduction of 28 new panoramic coaches on the UNESCO World Heritage route has been delayed after technical shortcomings were detected during inspections.

The coaches, which had reached the Kalka railway yard ahead of their planned rollout, are now being sent back to the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala for repairs. The process has already begun, with the coaches being transported by road on specialised trucks.

According to railway sources, five of the 28 coaches have so far been dispatched to Kapurthala, while arrangements are being made to send the remaining coaches to the factory.

The setback follows an inspection by the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS), during which several shortcomings were reportedly identified. These include concerns over the cooling capacity of the air-conditioning system as well as other passenger amenities.

The new panoramic coaches have been designed to make the journey along the narrow-gauge Kalka-Shimla railway more comfortable while offering passengers wider views of the surrounding Himalayan landscape. The famous railway route, known for its tunnels, bridges and picturesque hill stations, is among Himachal Pradesh’s most popular heritage attractions.

However, passengers will have to wait before experiencing the upgraded coaches. Railway authorities will consider them for passenger operations only after the identified defects are rectified and the coaches successfully clear the required testing and safety inspections.

What I changed: I gave the story a sharper news-style opening, removed repetitive wording, improved sentence flow and kept the focus on the key development: the technical issues delaying the rollout of the 28 panoramic coaches.