Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/after-118-yrs-indian-railways-set-to-add-three-new-toy-trains-in-himachal-pradesh-11650856818350.html
Publisher: Live Mint
For the first time in 118 years, Indian Railways is set to deploy three new toy trains in Himachal Pradesh. According to a report by Hindustan Times, Livemint’s sister publication, the trains will be deployed on the Shimla-Kalka route by the end of this year. The coaches of Kalka-Shimla toy trains are being made in the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, a railway official told the daily.
Design: The coaches of the new train are designed by German manufacturer Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB). There will be a total of 30 new-generation LHB coaches for the toy trains that use a 765 mm narrow gauge.
Facilities:Â The new trains will be equipped with 180 degrees rotatable chair seats in AC coaches and flip-type seating arrangements in GS coaches. The train will have CCTVs, two emergency alarm push buttons per coach, a passenger announcement system, a passenger information system, WiFi for infotainment and a sink-in LED destination board, an official told the daily.
Coaches: The new Kalka-Shimla toy trains will allow modification in seating patterns, in case of private or group bookings. The coaches will be Vistadome coaches, providing a wider panoramic view, windows with a visible light transmission of glazing (VLT) controllable curved glass in the roof, bodyside bi-foldable doors, sound, and vibration damp floating floor, and LED-based lighting.
The new toy trains will operate on the 96.6-km narrow-gauge tracks, built by the British in 1903.
Apart from Kalka-Shimla, India operates toy trains such as Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain railway (Tamil Nadu), Matheran Hill railway, and Kangra Valley railway (Himachal Pradesh).
