Scenic route
Araku Vistadome
Visakhapatnam → Araku Valley · India
India’s first Vistadome coach (2017) climbs the Eastern Ghats to Shimiliguda, long the country’s highest broad-gauge station at 996 m.
When Indian Railways trialled its first glass-roofed Vistadome coach in 2017, it chose this ghat climb on the 1960s Kothavalasa–Kirandul ore line. From the coast at Visakhapatnam the train winds through dozens of tunnels into the Eastern Ghats, pausing at Borra Guhalu for its vast limestone caves before topping out near Shimiliguda, long India’s highest broad-gauge station. Araku’s cool coffee terraces wait at the end.
Along the way
- Dawn over Visakhapatnam harbour
- Ghat climb from Kothavalasa
- Borra Guhalu limestone caves
- Shimiliguda summit station
- Araku coffee plantations
How this line was checked
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 m from it
- The operator publishes this line's timetable: Indian Railways — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
Questions and answers
How long is the Araku Vistadome?
The Araku Vistadome runs 115 km from Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley.
How long does the Araku Vistadome take?
The fastest scheduled journey is 4 h 10 min for the 115 km. That is an average of 28 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 60 km/h.
Who runs the Araku Vistadome?
Indian Railways (East Coast Railway), with Glass-roofed Vistadome coach on the Visakhapatnam–Kirandul train.
How old is the Araku Vistadome?
The line has been in service since 2017. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
How high does the Araku Vistadome climb?
996 m above sea level at its highest point.
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