Train engine on Kalka-Shimla track catches fire

Shimla, Jan 8 (IANS) A fire broke on Tuesday in the engine of a Shimla-bound train on the Kalka-Shimla track, a world heritage site, triggering panic among passengers.However, no one was injured in the accident.Engine of Himalayan Queen caught fire near Patta Ka Mor in Solan district."The fire broke out owing to some technical snag. The fire was brought under control within 15 minutes. No one was injured," a senior railway official told IANS.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he added.The train resumed its journey after another engine was attached to the wagons.Toy trains -- as they are popularly called -- run on the century-old Kalka-Shimla rail line. Each train has seven coaches and can accommodate nearly 200 passengers.The 96-km narrow-gauge railroad -- originally built to ferry Europeans to Shimla, then summer capital of British India -- was chosen by the UNESCO as a world heritage site in 2008.
--IANS vg/nir