Khyber train safari
Encyclopedia
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The colonial era railway route has been described as "a journey into time and history". It consists of a train pulled by two vintage steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s built in 1920s that takes passengers through breathtaking and rugged mountainous terrain. The train covers a total of 42 kilometres (26.1 mi) through 34 tunnels and 92 bridges and culverts. The local tribesmen are still allowed a free ride on the train, in line with the agreement reached between them and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the colonial era
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and which is still honoured by the Pakistan government.
The 1920s model vintage oil-fired steam engines, which push and pull the carriages from the rear and front, were built by Vulcan Foundry and by Kitson & Co., in the United Kingdom. The inaugural journey between Jamrud
Jamrud
Jamrud , is a town located in the Khyber Agency, one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The town is the doorway to the Khyber pass, part of the Hindu Kush range...
, near Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, and Landi Kotal
Landi Kotal
Landi Kotal or Landikotal is a town of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It is located at 34°6'4N 71°8'44E and lies on the Khyber Pass in the Khyber Agency. At 1,072 metres above sea level it is the highest point on the Khyber Pass and is the route across the mountains to the...
was made on 4 November 1925. The wife of Victor Bailey, the engineer who was assigned the construction of the line, drove the first train on the Khyber Pass Railway into Landi Kotal.. The steam safari carriage climbs more than 1200 m (3,937 ft) through 34 tunnels and 92 bridges, and culverts to reach Landi Kotal.
"The Khyber Railway has experienced the ups-and-downs of the times: train operations were stopped in 1982, as the railway was not commercially viable. However, in the 1990s, the KSS was launched by a private enterprise in collaboration with Pakistan Railways. The steam-operated carriage covers about 50 km (31.1 mi) in almost five hours to reach Landi Kotal, located in the historical Khyber Agency, from Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. The parlour of the train comprises 75 seats, including 28 window seats, with onboard kitchenette, service counter and two toilet facilities. One of the unique features of this train journey is that its path passes through the Peshawar Airport runway–making it one of the only airport runways in the world through which a railway line passes." As other examples can be found at Manakara Airport
Manakara Airport
Manakara Airport is an airport in Manakara, Vatovavy-Fitovinany Region, Madagascar .Located on the east coast on the island. It is one of only a few airports in the world that crosses a live railway line, the other two airports being Peshawar Airport in Pakistan and Gisborne Airport in New...
(Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
) and Gisborne Airport
Gisborne Airport
Gisborne Airport is a regional airport on the outskirts of Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Gisborne Airport is one of the few airports in the world that has a railway line, the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line, crossing the main runway.-Eastland Group Management:On...
(New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
).