The service had been suspended for over a week after torrential rain caused a landslide near Parwanoo in Solan district, washing away soil beneath a section of the track.

Although direct trains from Kalka remain halted due to ongoing repairs on the damaged section, railway authorities authorised the partial service after confirming the safety of the route from Dharampur onwards. The initial suspension led to the cancellation of six passenger train services, significantly affecting regional travel and businesses dependent on tourism.

Tourists expressed enthusiasm at the renewal of services despite the need to travel by road between Kalka and Dharampur. Sarvesh Yadav, a tourist from Delhi, remarked, “I had long planned to enjoy this toy train ride. But then we received a message stating that we could continue our journey and that the train would be available from Dharampur to Shimla. So, we came to Kalka, took a bus from there to Dharampur, and continued the journey from that point… It was quite an adventure… The view is magnificent. I’d give it a ten out of ten. I used to visit Uttarakhand before, but seeing this, I feel like I’ll keep coming back…”

Another traveller, Deepak, who had booked his tickets a month in advance, said, “The track damage caused us some inconvenience because we couldn’t go directly from Kalka. We had to travel to Dharampur first. However, we got a bus conveniently from there, so that wasn’t an issue, and the journey from Dharampur to here was completely smooth. Everything went just as we had hoped and expected. Since childhood, we had always wanted to take this trip, it was a long-held wish, so travelling on it for the first time felt like quite an adventure…”

The partial resumption has brought relief to local vendors and transport operators who faced a week of lost earnings. Bhanu Gautam, a taxi operator, explained the community’s reliance on the heritage line: “We operate taxis from here, sir. This track has been closed for about seven to eight days, due to which we have become completely idle. Currently, we have no work, nor are we able to drive our taxis. Because of this railway track being damaged, we now hope that since the train has arrived today and reached Shimla, business might open up. So all of us operators here hope for the arrival of this train. From next month, the tourist season is also starting; about 15 days are left for it to begin because foreign tourists now start coming to Shimla. We hope that the repair work ongoing on this track moves a bit faster, and the train service continues uninterrupted.”

Railway authorities are continuing repair efforts on the Parwanoo stretch to fully restore services from Kalka ahead of the upcoming peak tourist season.