Khyber train safari

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Khyber train safari is a journey into time and history through the the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. A train pulled by two vintage steam locomotives built in 1920's takes passengers through breathtaking and rugged mountainous terrain.

The train covers a total of 42 kilometers through 34 tunnels and 92 bridges and culverts. The local tribesmen are allowed a free ride on the train as per the agreement reached between them and the British back in the colonial era and which is still honoured by the Pakistan government.

The 1920s model vintage oil-fired steam engines, which push and pull the carriages from the rear and front, were built by the Valcon Foundry Kingston and Company, the United Kingdom, and it started moving between Peshawar and Landi Kotal on November 4, 1925. Victor Bailey, the wife of the engineer who was assigned the construction of the track, ran the first train on the Khyber Pass Railway. The steam safari carriage climbs more than 1,200 metres through 34 tunnels and 92 bridges, and culverts to reach Landi Kotal. ^[1]

Khyber Railway has experienced ups-and-downs of the time: the train's operations were stopped in 1982, as it was not viable commercially. However, in the 1990s, the KSS was launched by a private enterprise in collaboration with the Pakistan Railways. The steam-operated carriage covers about 50 kilometres in almost five hours to reach Landi Kotal, located in the historical Khyber Agency, from Peshawar. The parlour of the train comprises 75 seats, including 28 widow seats, with onboard kitchenette, service counter and two toilet facilities. One of the unique features of this train journey is that its path passes through the Peshawar Airport runway -- making it the only airport in the world through which a railway line passes.