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The '''Kangra Valley Railway''' was a 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge([[Rail_gauge#Narrow_Gauge|NG]]) mountain railway branch of [[North Western Railway]](NWR), climbing from the [[Punjab]] plains up into hills of [[Mandi State]] . The [[Pathankot]] to [[Nagrota]] section, 68 miles(108 km) opened in 1928 and [[Nagrota]] to [[Joginder Nagar]] section, 36 miles(57 km) in 1929.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangra_Valley_Railway Wikipedia "Kangra Valley Railway"]; Retrieved 12 Dec 201518 Feb 2017</ref><refname=Express>[http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/kangra-valley-railway/463168/ Indian Express Newspaper "Kangra Valley Railway" Thu May 21 2009]; Retrieved 12 Dec 2015Feb 2017</ref> In 1925, the Punjab government started the ‘Uhl River Hydro Electric Project’ of constructing a dam across Uhl river at Barot. To transport heavy plant and machinery for the project, a metre gauge tramway from Mukerian to Shanan was proposed. This was changed to a two-feet six-inch gauge by the Railway Board and construction by the Lahore division of the North Western Railway began in 1926 <ref name=Express/> . See [[Shaman Hydro Electric Construction Transportation]] for details of the vital role performed by the ‘Kangra Valley Railway’.
The gauge is 2 ft. 6 in., and, though the ruling grade over a part of its length is 1 in 50, it has a final ascent of some miles at 1 in 25. The principal feature of this line is the heavy bridging involved almost throughout ; the aggregate length of the steel girder bridges is 11,000 ft. Among other bridges is the first steel arch in India, known as the Reond Arch. It bridges a cleft in the hills 200 ft. deep with two 40-ft. approach spans and a single main span, with a steel arch, 180 ft. long. This arch was made entirely in India. The delicate operation of erection was successfully carried out by the Bridge Department of the [[North Western Railway]].
Temporary tramways were used during the construction, 7½ miles(12km) were used for the cuttings at Banganga, Nagrota Pass, Paror and Bir Kand <ref name =darvill>“Industrial Railways and Locomotives of India and South Asia” compliled by Simon Darvill. Published by ‘The Industrial Railway Society’ 2013. ISBN 978 1 901556 82-7. Available at http://irsshop.co.uk/India. Reference: Entry RC23 </ref>.
During the Second World War, a number of uneconomic lines were dismantled and material was shipped for British operations in the Middle East. The Nagrota to Joginder Nagar section was dismantled and operations were closed in 1942. (Reopened 1954)
