A part of Indiaonline network empowering local businesses

Editor's Choice:

Home about transport

Share this on Facebook!

Transport in Himachal Pradesh

Indiaonline
Close

Want more stories like this?

Like us on Facebook to get more!
Close

Transport in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is one of the most visited tourist spots of India. Over the last few decades the state is also doing very well in industries and business. People from the cities of nearby states as well as far off places keep coming to Himachal Pradesh very often. Throughout the year tourists from all over the world come here to enjoy the panoramic beauty and the various tourist spots of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh has got tough terrain in many parts especially the hilly areas.

Roads have been built and many bridges have been constructed to make communication possible to even the remotest part of the state. The state has well developed roads to ensure seamless road transport. During extreme weather, air transport is the only way. Read this article to know about various modes of transport in Himachal Pradesh.

Road Transport in Himachal Pradesh

Road Transport in Himachal Pradesh is responsible for keeping the state moving in all fields. Whether it is tourism, business or the economic development of the state, well built road network and active bus services has helped people a lot in intra-state and inter-state communication.

National Highways in Himachal

1. National Highway No. 1A passes through Sahapur.
2. National Highway No. 20 connects places Chakki, Pathankot, Mandi, Palampur and Nurpur.
3. National Highway No. 21 connects
Manali and Chandigarh and passes through Mandi.
4. National Highway No. 22 connects Jaurik and Ambala and passes through
Shimla , Kalka and Wangtoo.
5. National Highway 21 A originates at Pinjore (Haryana) and it goes through Nalagarh to reach Swarghat. At Swarghat it gets connected with National Highway 21.
6. National Highway 88 connects Kangra and
Shimla and passes through Nadaun and Hamirpur.
7. National Highway No 70 goes through
Hamirpur, Amb, Mubarakpur and Nadaun.
8. National Highway 72 connects Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and Ambala and gets Paunta Sahib and Amb of Himachal Pradesh District in between.
Apart from the national highways, the state has got well built and well maintained state highways and village roadways. State Highways of Himachal Pradesh help in connecting various cities and towns. Important places of the state like Manali, Shimla, Dharamsala, Dalhousie etc. are connected through road. During extreme winters or during heavy rainfall, roads remained closed temporarily. The road connecting Manali and Leh is closed during winter due to heavy snowfall. Buses run by the government organizations as well as the private operators connected various parts of Himachal Pradesh very well.

Tunnels
Himachal Pradesh is famous for its road tunnels. The Aut Road tunnel located on National Highway No. 21 in Mandi District is about 3 KM long. Rohtang Tunnel is getting constructed and it would help in keeping the link between Lahaul Valley and Manali even during the winters as the Manali Leh Road remains closed during winters.

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Buses

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation buses are also available for touring across Himachal Pradesh. Travelers can book luxury buses to various destinations like Shimla, Manali, Kullu, Dalhousie, Dharamsala and it is possible to book seats online through the website of this corporation. HPTDC luxury buses run from New Delhi to all the important cities and towns of Himachal Pradesh. HPTDC buses are also available for local sightseeing.

Transport in Himachal Pradesh


Online booking of tickets is done till 2 hours before the departure time of the bus. But seats can always be booked from the respective HPTDC ticket counters. HPTDC has buses of different types e.g. Volvo AC buses, deluxe AC and non-AC buses.

Contact Information
Dharamsala- 01892 224 212
Manali- 01902 252 116
Shimla- 0177 289 9973
New Delhi- 011 2371 7473, 011 2332 5320, 0177 265 2561
Email Id.: shimla@hptdc.in, tpthptdc@hptdc.in

Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation Buses

Major Routes of HRTC Bus Service

Kullu - Chandigarh
Kangra - Chandigarh
Dharamsala - Chandigarh
Shimla - Hamirpur
Kullu - Ambala
Dharamsala - Shimla
Shimla - Bilaspur
Kangra - Shimla
Manali - Ambala
Kullu - Pathankot
Dharamsala - Pathankot
Shimla - Kullu
Chandigarh - Kullu
Shimla - Bilaspur
Manali - Pathankot
Pathankot - Chandigarh
The credit of making the road transport very easy and enjoyable for the travelers must also be given to the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation Buses. Buses of HRTC ply between cities of Himachal Pradesh and other cities like Jaipur, Delhi, Panipat, Karnal, Chandigarh, Jammu, Haridwar, Jalandhar and others.

Buses of HRTC are of various types e.g. ordinary, deluxe, and sleeper buses. Online booking is possible for HRTC buses too. Volvo buses of HRTC offer the ultimate luxury travelling for the passengers. HRTC buses run in thirty five routes and there are about 281 buses running every day.

Booking of tickets can be done one month in advance from the HRTC bus stands located at these places- Shimla, Dharamsala, Hamirpur, Kullu, Manali, Kangra, Haridwar, New Delhi and Chandigarh. Shimla has HRTC advance reservation counter at Inter State Bus Terminus. This counter remains open from 8 AM to 8 PM. Another reservation counter at Shimla is at the Mall.

HRTC
-ISBT
Shimla
Phone No.: 0177 265 8765

HRTC

Near Scandal Point
The Mall
Phone No.: 0177 265 8765

Also Read: Buses from Manali | Roadways in Manali | Buses from Kullu | Roadways in Kullu | Roadways in Shimla | Buses from Shimla

Rail Transport in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh has two rail tracks of narrow gauge. They are Kangra Valley Railway and the Kalka Shimla Railway. Both these railway tracks depict the engineering excellence of the Colonial India. There is a broad railway line connecting Una of Himachal Pradesh and Nangal Dam of Punjab.

Transport in Himachal Pradesh


Himachal Express and Shatabdi Express are the two trains that connect Delhi and Una. Find here the information about two major railway routes of Himachal Pradesh.

Kangra Valley Railway

Kangra Valley Railway has taken the rail transport standards of Himachal Pradesh to a special height. This railway got opened for the public in the year 1929. This total distance of this railway is about 100 miles long and it passes through 20 railway stations. There are about 970 bridges that are to be covered in the entire distance. The journey of Kangra Valley Railway starts from Pathankot Station.

The next station is Nurpur which is located at an altitude of 400 m. The other journey ends at Joginder Nagar Railway Station. The stations in between are Bagrota, Lunsu, Bharmar and Palampur. The highest railway station of Kangra Valley Railway is Ahju which is located at an altitude of 1210 m. two tunnels, one of 1000 ft long and another of 250 ft long have to be passed during the journey.

Trains passing through or terminating at Joginder Nagar:-

Train No.:
52471
Train Name: Kangra Valley Rail Passenger
Source: Pathankot Junction
Arrival at Joginder Nagar: 11:25

Train No.:
52472
Days: All days of the week
Train Name: Kangra Valley Rail Passenger
Source: Joginder Nagar
Departure from Joginder Nagar: 7:20
Days: All days of the week

Train No.: 52473
Train Name: Kangra Valley Rail Passenger
Source: Pathankot Junction
Arrival at Joginder Nagar: 19:45
Days: All days of the week

Train No.: 52474
Train Name: Kangra Valley Rail Passenger
Source: Joginder Nagar
Departure from Joginder Nagar: 12:20
Days: All days of the week

Kalka Shimla Railway

Kalka Shimla Railway was opened in 1903 by the then Viceroy of India Lord Curzon. Now this railway station is considered as one of the heritage railway routes of the world. The entire journey from Kalka to Shimla takes about 5 hours and travelers could get to see some of the most beautiful sights of the Himalayan region. Journey of Kalka-Shimla Toy Train starts at Kalka Station that is located about 650 m high from the sea level.

Transport in Himachal Pradesh


During the entire journey, the train has to pass through 100 tunnels and about 860 bridges. The train covers 20 stations. In between stations are Barog, Solan, Kandaghat, Taradevi Station and Summer Hill. During journey, travelers can enjoy utmost comfort. There are different types of compartments like deluxe, honeymoon special, rail car and chair car compartments. List of Trains

Train No.: 52457
Train Name: Kalka Shimla NG Passenger
Train Type: Toy Train
Source: Kalka
Departure from Source: 4:00
Destination: Shimla
Arrival at Destination: 9:20
Days: All Days of the week

Train No.: 72451
Train Name: Kalka Shimla Rail Motor
Train Type: Toy Train
Source: Kalka
Departure from Source: 5:10
Destination: Shimla
Arrival at Destination: 9:50
Days: All days of the week
Train No.: 52451

Train Name: Shivalik Deluxe Express
Train Type: Toy Train
Source: Kalka
Departure from Source: 5:30
Destination: Shimla
Arrival at Destination: 10:15
Days: All days of the week

Train No.: 52453
Train Name: Kalka Shimla NG Express
Train Type: Toy Train
Source: Kalka
Departure from Source: 6:00
Destination: Shimla
Arrival at Destination: 11:05
Days: All days of the week

Train No.: 52455
Train Name: Himalayan Queen
Train Type: Toy Train
Source: Kalka
Departure from Source: 12:10
Destination: Shimla
Arrival at Destination: 17:20
Days:  All days of the week

Also Read: Shimla Railway Station

Air Transport in Himachal Pradesh

Being a favorite tourist destination of domestic and the international tourists throughout the year, Himachal Pradesh gets thousands of visitors every year. Many parts of the state have high mountain ranges and rough terrain and traveling by road or rail may not be possible in many places. Air transport has become the only way to reach some places of Himachal Pradesh. The state has many border regions under the control of security forces and most of the nearby airports and helipads are used for the security forces of India and also for the civilians.

Transport in Himachal Pradesh


The state does not have any international airport. Those who plan to reach Himachal Pradesh by flight take flight up to Chandigarh Airport from where buses, taxis and private cars can be taken to reach cities of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh has helipads at many places like Sirmour, Kinnaur, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti. Banikhet in Chamba and Rangrik in Spiti may have airports in future. Dornier (18 seater) and ATR (42 seater) are the aircrafts that are used for the runways of Himachal Pradesh. Find here the information about the airports in Himachal Pradesh.

Jubbarhatti Airport

This airport is the used by thousands of tourists who come to Shimla. The airport is located at a distance of 23 KM from Shimla Town. Aircrafts of Jagson Airlines and Air Deccan operate here.


Gaggal Airport

Gaggal Airport is located in Dharamsala Town and it is about 13 KM away from Dharamsala. Air Deccan runs flights from Gaggal Airport. The flights are there from Pathankot to Delhi and vice versa.


Bhuntar Airport

For the travelers who want to reach Manali and Kullu by air from other parts of the country, the nearest airport is the Bhuntar Airport. Jagson Airlines has flights running between Delhi and Shimla on regular basis from this airport. 

Local Transport in Himachal Pradesh

For local transport within Himachal Pradesh, plenty of local buses are available. Taxis and jeeps are also used for travelling locally from one city to another within the state. Travelers who want to enjoy enthralling traveling experience during their visit to Himachal Pradesh hire bikes to go for adventure trips.

Transport in Himachal Pradesh


Over the period of time, roads, bridges and rail tracks have been built in Himachal Pradesh State which has made many places of the state easily accessible.

Also Read: Transport in Hamirpur | Transport in Kullu | Transport in Manali | Transport in Shimla

Travel Agents of Himachal Pradesh

Rail, air and bus tickets can be booked through authorized travel agents in the state. These agents get tickets for their customers in lieu of some nominal charges. Find below the names of a few travel agents:

Himalaya Travels
Shop No. 171
Ward No.: 8
New Road Dev Pal Chowk
Shimla-Kangra Road
Phone No.: 94185 84047

Yogindra Tours and Travels
Bawa Market
Near AG Office
Shimla
Phone no.: 94180 65360
Website: www.yogitravelsshimla.com

Kaushal Travel Services

Shop No.: 41
Near Bus Stand
Dharamsala Road
Opposite Hotel Grand Raj
Kangra
Phone No.: 98160 20725

Sunrise Travels

Anandpur Road
Near Rail Under-Bridge
Shoghi
Shimla
Phone No.: 0177 329 0075
Website: www.sunrisetravels.in

Also See: Travel Agents in Manali | Travel Agents in Kullu | Travel Agents in Shimla
15769
Major Cities You Must Know

Are you a Business Owner?

Add the products or services you offer

Promote your business on your local city site and get instant enquiries

+ LIST YOUR BUSINESS FOR FREE