Tourists to enjoy Railways' first hop-on-hop-off service on Kalka-Shimla route
(Sourced from PTI)
A train journey in the hilly areas makes the moments memorable. The new service by Indian Railways will give another level of excitement to tourists visiting Shimla. The Railways' first-ever hop-on-hop-off service will kick off this tourist season on the Kalka-Shimla route. The service, common in Eurorail, allows tourists to travel without making bookings months in advance. Pretty relaxing, right? Read the details here.
This is the first time such a service will be operational in the UNESCO world heritage line of the Indian Railways. "We introduced this a month back, but it will actually kick off in the coming tourist season between December 15 and February 15 when the tickets will be bought in large numbers," said Divisional Railway Manager (Ambala Division) DC Sharma.
This is the first time that Railways has introduced the 'HOHO' (hop-on-hop-off) concept. According to the rules for the hop-on, hop-off service, a passenger can board any coach of any train subject to the availability of seats and can board or de-board any train at any station. However, such passengers are not entitled to avail other value-added services on the train.
The tickets are priced as per their validity-period. For a validity of one day, the charges will be Rs. 500 for an adult and Rs. 250 for a child. For a validity of two days, Rs. 800 for an adult and Rs. 400 for a child and for three days, charges will be Rs. 1,000 for an adult and Rs. 500 for a child.
These tickets will be non-transferable, non-refundable and at the time of booking, a passenger has to submit a photocopy of an ID proof which will be attached to his ticket. The original ID, a copy of which is submitted at the time of booking, has to be produced by the passenger on demand. Further, no concession is allowed on these tickets.
Tickets can be purchased from booking-offices of any station on the Kalka-Shimla section. "This will be of great help to the tourist who can now visit any area of his interest on a single ticket. Foreigners really want these kinds of flexible services," said Sharma.
