Mountain Railways of India to have AC coaches soon

Travelling in a heritage railway line in Darjeeling will be cooler than ever as the railway authorities have decided to furnish train coaches with air conditioner soon. Chairman of Railway Board Ashwani Lohani told on Thursday that while the Toy train or the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has successfully run two air-conditioned narrow gauge coaches April 1 onwards, the authorities will now endow the other two heritage trains with AC coaches in the forthcoming 3-4 months.

Read More: Sikkim rail project – trains would soon be connecting the Himalayan state to the rest of India
The three hill railways comprise the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, and are jointly recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site accompanying the name ‘Mountain Railways of India.’
“Hill railways are very important. We are revamping the stations; we have given powers at the divisional level to fix rates for tourist charter and have also decided to appoint five directors for the five hill railways. This will greatly promote tourism in the area,” Lohani told the press, and added that these trains will be outfitted with one AC coach per train.

The fourth railway, the Neral-Matheran Railway, is on a tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the fifth is the Kangra Valley Railway. While, Neral-Matheran Hill Railways passes through the lush forests of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra, the Kangra Valley Railway is located in the sub-Himalayan region of Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh, covering a distance of 164 km from Pathankot in Punjab to Joginder Nagar in Himachal Pradesh.

The fourth railway, i.e. the Neral-Matheran Railway, and the fifth known as Kangra Valley Railway, are yet to enter the confirmed official list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Read More: Indian Railways heritage preservation plan to promote rail heritage
In March 2018, the railway ministry gave out orders across all divisions to review with IRCTC about offering commissions, while also providing rebates to tourists, and authorised travel agents.