Barog railway station is a small hill railway station on the Kalka–Shimla narrow-gauge line, located at Barog in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, India. The station serves the small settlement of Barog and is one of the better-known stops on the route, primarily because trains traditionally halt here for breakfast and because it stands at the southern portal of the longest tunnel on the line.
| Name | Barog railway station |
|---|---|
| Location | Barog, Solan district, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Line | Kalka–Shimla Railway |
| Gauge | Narrow gauge (2 ft 6 in / 762 mm) |
| Operator | Northern Railway zone, Indian Railways |
| Adjacent feature | Barog Tunnel (Tunnel No. 33) |
| Heritage status | Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Mountain Railways of India" (inscribed 2008) |
The Kalka–Shimla Railway was built by the Delhi–Ambala–Kalka Railway Company and opened to traffic on 9 November 1903, connecting Kalka in the Shivalik foothills to Shimla, the summer capital of British India. The line climbs from about 656 m at Kalka to about 2,076 m at Shimla over a distance of roughly 96 km, passing through more than 100 tunnels and over 800 bridges. Barog station lies along this stretch, in the wooded hills south of Solan.
The station is best known for its association with Barog Tunnel, the longest tunnel on the Kalka–Shimla Railway, with a length of approximately 1,143.61 m. The tunnel is named after Colonel Barog, a British engineer who was assigned to construct it. According to the widely repeated local account, his initial attempt to bore the tunnel from both ends failed because the alignments did not meet; he was fined a token amount by the colonial administration and is said to have taken his own life nearby. The tunnel was subsequently completed by H. S. Harrington, with assistance attributed to a local sadhu, Bhalku, who is also remembered for guiding engineers through the difficult Himalayan terrain.
Barog has a single platform with a small heritage-style station building characteristic of the Kalka–Shimla line, set among deodar and pine forests. The station is a scheduled halt for most services on the route, including the Shivalik Deluxe Express, Himalayan Queen, the Kalka–Shimla Express and the rail motor car service. Many trains stop at Barog long enough for passengers to take refreshments at the platform, and the station has a small refreshment room that is among the oldest on the line.
Barog is significant for three principal reasons:
The station lies at an elevation of roughly 1,500 m above mean sea level in the lower Himalayas. It is situated between Solan and Kumarhatti on National Highway 5, and is connected by road to Shimla (about 60 km north) and Chandigarh (about 80 km south).