Himachal Pradesh - Transport

Transport

• Road: Roads are the major mode of transport in the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh. The state has road network of 28,208 km (17,528 mi), including eight national highways (NH) that constitute 1,234 km (767 mi) and 19 state highways with total length of 1,625 km. Some roads get closed during winter and monsoon seasons due to snowfall and landslides. Regular bus services connect Shimla with Chandigarh, Kullu, Manali, Delhi, Mandi, Pathankot, Ambala, Chail and Dehradun. Local taxis are the major local transport here. District Hamirpur has got the highest road density in the country.

• Railway: Railway track is accessible only to a few places in Himachal Pradesh. The Pathankot–Jogindernagar line connects Punjab with Himachal Pradesh. The other railway tracks pass through Shimla, Solan and Una. Shimla is connected with Kalka by a narrow gauge railway line, which in turn is connected with the major cities in India. Himachal has two narrow gauge rail tracks. The Kalka-Shimla Railway track has a length of 96 kilometres. It passes through 102 tunnels and crosses 864 bridges. Bilaspur-Mandi-Leh Railway is a proposed railway project which will be longest in Himachal Pradesh and it is expect to be highest railway track in the world.

• Air: There are three domestic airports in the state—Shimla Airport, Bhuntar Airport serving Kullu and Manali, and Gaggal Airport serving Kangra and Dharamsala. The air routes connect the state with Delhi and Chandigarh. There are no international airports in Himachal Pradesh. Deccan, Air India, MDLR has flights from Delhi, Chandigarh to Kullu and back. Jagson Airlines has flights from Delhi to Shimla.