Parliament Question: Kangra Valley Railway Line

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4270 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026 KANGRA VALLEY RAILWAY LINE 4270. SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the present operational status of Kangra Valley Railway line including the total route length, number of stations covered; (b) whether the said line has suffered damages during the recent flash floods and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh and if so, the details of specific sections affected, extent of damages to tracks, bridges, tunnels, signalling infrastructure, cost/amount spent on restoration; (c) the details of the timeline and progress of restoration and repair works undertaken by the Railways to ensure full resumption of services end- to-end; (d) the details of the steps taken by the Government for conversion of said Railway line into broad gauge; (e) the details of the number of trains that run in this line including new train sets being ordered from ICF (Integral Coach Factory) considering the ageing of current sets; and (f) whether Government proposes to pursue recognition of Kangra Valley Railway as UNESCO World Heritage Site in line with the Kalka-Shimla Railway and Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and if so, the details thereof and the steps being taken in this regard? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (f) Due to unprecedented rains and consequent washing away of piers of Chakki Khad Bridge No. 32 between Dalhousie Road and Nurpur Road stations on 20.08.2022, train services were discontinued between §Pathankot to Nurpur Road. Reconstruction of Bridge No. 32 has been completed and track is fit for train operation from Pathankot to Joginder Nagar. Other long-term strengthening works are in progress. At present, the following 03 pairs of train services are being operated on the Kangra Valley Railway line: SN Train no. and name 1 52472/52473 Bajinath Paprola - Joginder Nagar Passenger 2 52465/52466 Bajinath Paprola - Kangra Passenger 3 52475/52476 Bajinath Paprola - Kangra Passenger Survey of Gauge Conversion of existing Pathankot - Joginder Nagar narrow gauge section (200 Km) has been sanctioned and field survey has been taken up for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR). Currently, UNESCO accredited Mountain Railways of India consists of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Kalka - Shimla Railway and Nilgiri Mountain Railway based on their unique engineering and Outstanding Universal Values (OUVs). The Kangra Valley Railway has been kept by UNESCO in the tentative Heritage list of extension to the Mountain Railways of India. *****