Now Get A Panoramic Experience Of Scenic Kalka-Shimla Route: Railways Launches Made-In-India Vistadome Coaches

Tourists can now experience the scenic Kalka-Shimla after Indian Railways introduced Vistadome coaches which allow a 360 degree view of surroundings, Times of India has reported. A Vadodara-based firm, Hindustan Fibre Glass Works designed and developed coaches to run on the narrow gauge section on the route.

“The vistadome coach has a glass ceiling, and the visibility can be electronically controlled,” the CEO of Hindustan Fibre Glass Works, Ashish Patel said. The coach was developed at a manufacturing facility in Port GIDC industrial estate.

“It also has features of LED lights and a GPS based information system,” Patel said while adding that the passengers can see a panoramic view of the sites through the large glass windows and the observation lounge.

The specially-designed coach will run 92 km on the route of Shimla to Kalka. “For now, only one coach will be attached to the train, but more will be soon added,” Patel said. Not to forget, the Kalka-Shimla railway was added to the mountain railways of India, World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008.

Other routes like the broad gauge networks of Mumbai-Goa and Visakhapatnam-Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh currently run on coaches that has transparent roofs, allowing travellers to enjoy the scenic beauty outside.

The Indian Railways also is planning to induct 100 super-luxury glass-roofed vistadome coaches in trains on various routes all around the country to attract more passengers as well as promote tourism.