Pakistan - Your Travel Destination in 2019: Part V - The Train Wading through Sea of Snow (Balochistan)

There are many videos on the social media networks showing trains passing through heaps of snow, shoveling away showers of snow to the sideways as the travel through tons of snow stacked on the railway tracks. It is really fascinating to watch such videos.

The Quetta section of the railway in Balochistan province of Pakistan passes through very high elevations including one Kan Mehtarzai once again. The place between Kuchlag and Muslimbagh became the highest railway station of Asia, located at a height of 2,224 metres (7,295 feet). I wrote about Kan Mehtarzai in one of my earlier posts. and it too gets covered in snow during winters.

Many years ago, I had a chance to travel by train to Quetta in winters and saw snow covered surroundings as the train moved on. In those days there were no cell phones, what to talk of camera phones so that I could take videos or even still photos of the area. I regretted to even not having my camera with me.

But recently I came across a video on Facebook which brought back the nostalgia of my earlier visit to Quetta by train. And this video by someone lucky enough to have preserved a beautiful scene of train wading through a sea of snow at Kolpur railway station near Quetta. It is really amazing scene and I must appreciate the train drivers who drive their trains through the severely cold regions in trains that are not even air conditioned engines.Even most of the train is not air conditioned and one can imagine the plight of passengers inside. However, despite all odds, the travel goes on and people keep moving and train drivers continue to brave through the seas of snow everyday, every winter, each year.

Watch the beautiful video below showing the train braving through enormous sea of snow:

If you happen to be visiting Pakistan in winters, do take a ride to Quetta by train - you will simply love it.

Also read my posts: Breakfast at Kan Mehtarzai

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Train to Amsterdam

I have been sharing my photo travelogue of my visit to some of the Schengen countries in some of my previous posts. I have not been following a chronological sequence so as not to make it a time table run travelogue. 

However, this post is in continuation to my visit to Holland (although called the Netherlands - but I love it being called Holland). And you must have read how Holland became my first Schengen destination in my post "To Netherlands - Meeting a friend after 43 years."

While I had my day -2 at Groningen, my Day-3 and 4 were outside Groningen. And this post is about a train trip to Amsterdam. Although we were travelling by road, my friend advised us not to go in car to Amsterdam and instead take a train. And that advice was for a reason - he wanted us not to be hit by a tram that came unannounced from the direction least expected. So heeding to his advice, we took the train and spent the day in Amsterdam. In the short time available, we went around many places and even met America's president Barack Obama "in person." I will talk about these in detail in my coming posts.

Starting from Groningen railway station, as can be seen above, we headed for Amsterdam by train with a change over midway to the second train. The following photos show the train we boarded and some of the photos captured from the train windows.

My son was quick to shoot a slefie to make it a memorable journey

My younger son 

Some more photos follow herein under.

Our journey ended at Amsterdam Centrum at main railway station.

Announcement for a train to Netherlander's capital The Hague

Above is the main building of the Amsterdam central railway station - a great architectural marvel indeed. Outside, Amsterdam thrived with countless tourists from across the globe - some going for the city centre on foot, some embarking on blue and white trams, or some straightaway starting their Amsterdam tour in the boat. We too were in the last category and bought tickets for a boat ride around the city.

I will share the photos of the boat ride and a slide show in my next post, besides that of other places we visted. But for now, some of the photos with us in front of the Amsterdam central railway station:

Me and my wife

All photos above are mine and accordingly copy righted.

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Khyber Steam Safari - a once inviting tourist attraction

Posing with Khyber Steam Safari - Photo: René Julie

Pakistan is God gifted country, blessed with numerous tourist attractions and sites that have been a source of intense and immense tourist activity for years. One of these tourist attractions was the Khyber Steam Safari - a travel into a two bogies train, hauled by two vintage 1920 steam engines ( HGS 2-8-OS ), built by the Valcon Foundry Kingston and Company, the United Kingdom, from Peeshawar Railway Station to Landi Kotal near the Pakistan - Afghanistan border, through the famous Khyber Pass.

One of the 34 tunnels en route Khyber Steam Safari's journey from Peshawar to Landi Kotal [ Photo: Sarfaraz Hayat ]

The railway line from Peshawar to Landi Kotal was laid in the 1920s by the British in order to build up their forces along the Afghanistan to thwart any possible Russian aggression. The railway line passed through one of the most difficult mountainous areas of the world, for which the British constructed 34 tunnels and 92 bridges and culverts. 

The W - turning of Khyber Steam Safari from Bagiari to Shaggi [Sketch: Pakistanpaedia ]

The gradient of the railway line was continously increasing and at one point, At one point the track climbs to 130 meters within a distance of 1.4 kilometers,  and the train had to be hauled by means of the famous Shagai Spur, a section of the track shaped like a 'W' with two reversing stations.

HG/S 2-8-0 #2306 - HG/S 2-8-0 #2216 dep Medanak (1st Reverse) Khyber Pass - [see the sketch above ] - Photo: Lindsay

Like the famous Zulu Turn that the aircraft landing at Skardu airport had to negotiate, there is a Whisky Turn or a 'W' shaped turn that the train from Peshawar to Landi Kotal had to negotiate. The turnings were so difficult and straining, that the two engines, one from the front and the other from the rear had to pull and push the train labouring with all their power, lest the train started to 'stall' and roll backwards.

The labouring 1920 vintage steam engines pulling and pushing the train on the treacherous mountains of Khyber Pass

As can be seen from the sketch above, the railway track twists over the Kyber Pass with gradients as steep as 1 in 33 near the summit at Landi Kotal. And the steam engine really has to pull hard to take the coaches atop the summit.

When the train was commissoned, the local tribal people were allowed travel free as part of the contract agreed upon when they allowed the British to build the railway through their territory and this rule continued tyo be honoured while the steam engines emitted black smoke on the Peshawar-landi Kotal route.


The train comprised of 75 seats, including 28 window seats, with onboard kitchenette, service counter and two toilet facilities and travelled through 42 kilometers of breathtaking mountainous region of the
legendary Khyber Pass. 

Happy tourists aboard the Khyber Steam Safari [ Photo: Pushtoon Forums ]

The train left Peshawar at 07:00 early morning and reached Landi Kotal around 11:30. From here the tourists were taken by road to the Michni Frontier Constabulary Post at the Torkham Border from where they were shown the Torkham border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Steam Safari at its final destination - Landi Kotal [Photo: Gulshan Azeez Azeez ]

Upon return journey, they were to have lunch at the famous Khyber Rifles' Mess. Many old British Army Officers found it amusing to see the old photographs hung on walls in the corridors of the mess and reminisced memories of the days when they served here. Not only that, on many stations, the bands played for the tourists and Khyber Rifles' men amused the tourists with famous Khatak Dance.

The drum major of the Pakistan Army band lining up his band for the tourists at Jamrud  [ Photo: Mary Loosemore ]

And the band plays..

[ Photo: Mary Loosemore ]

The train service that commenced in 1925 continued unhindered til 1982 as Khyber Train Safari, when it was stopped due to financial constraints of Pakistan Railways. However, in 190s, the Pakistan Railways, in collaboration with a local tour operator, commenced the service as Khyber Steam Safari. With the efforts of the tour operator, the additional add-ons like the band and dance displays and luncheon at Khyber Rigfles' Mess were added.

Days when smiling tourists from around the world traveled the Khyber Steam Safari

Steam and Safaris Ltd North-West Frontier Explorer Tour Group is one such group of enthusiasts that travel around the world and find pleasure in riding trains pulled by the steam locomotives such as HGS 2-8-0s, CWD, SPS 4-4-0s, and Metre-gauge MS, YD & YE classes. In 1997-98, the Steam & Safaris Ltd North-West Frontier Explorer Tour Group toured Pakistan and had a rollicking time travelling in steam engine pulled trains.

HG/S 2-8-0 #2216 - HG/S 2-8-0 #2306 between Changai & Landi Kotal - Photo: Lindsay

The S&S group's main attraction had been their journey from Rawalpindi to Landi Kotal, just short of the Khyber Pass, through Peshawar and Jamrud as part of the famous Khyber Steam Safari. I have myself traveled on this Safari many years ago from Peshawar to Landi Kotal and can still feel the adventurous journey. 

The Khyber Steam Safari or the KSS ran another two decades till its the last of KSS left Peshawar May 14, 2007, with some 15 ambassadors and high commissioners of European Union countries on board. Since then, due to militancy in the area and the floods that ravaged Pakistan in 2010 and uprooted the railway track from many a places, the KSS remains suspended , indefinitely for the time being. May be some day, when militancy is finally defeated and life return to normal, the KSS steam engines's whistles and billowing black and white smoke are again heard and seen on the Peshawar-Landi Kotal Section, bringing back tourism to this remote, treacherous, yet exotically beautiful area. 

Khyber Steam Safari [Pakistanpaedia]
Lindsay's Steam Safari Adventure [JahoJalal]
Derailed Safari Tran [Pak News]

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