British 'rail motor car' facing final journey in India

The train – one of four – which has plied the railway which once spirited colonial officials and their families away from the heat of India's northern plains to the summer capital Shimla in the pine forests foothills, was suspended last month.

Its suspension and likely retirement brought pangs of regret throughout India on Monday where it is warmly remembered not only by those who have made the five hour crawling rail journey to Shimla but by millions of Bollywood film fans who have seen the train star in countless romantic classics.

The train was built in 1927, 24 years after the Kalka-Shimla railway was opened as one of the world's most ambitious engineering projects. It has been built to dramatically reduce the travel time to the British summer capital from several days by elephant, horseback and hand-pulled rickshaw to a humane four and a half hours.

Its 60 miles of track cross more than 800 bridges and viaducts, some of which are five tiers deep to span steep valleys. It has more than 900 switchback hairpin bends to make the climb from just over 2000 feet to just below 7000 and passes through more than 100 tunnels to offer clear views of the Himalayan snow caps above grassy meadows.

The train itself has featured in a number of Bollywood films, including the 2007 hit Jab We Met (When we met), and also in Michael Palin's acclaimed television series Himalaya. The train played a part in India's successful campaign for the railway to be declared a Unesco World Heritage Site along with the countries other mountain toy-train lines in Darjeeling and the Nilgiri Hills in 2008.

But according to railway officials the celebrated train has finally run out of puff with no manufacturers able to supply key parts for its maintenance.

Indian Railways divisional manager for Ambala, P K Sanghi, told The Daily Telegraph the train was suspended three weeks ago on safety grounds after wear and tear on its wheels could no longer be overlooked. "The wheels are not in shape to be in service,' he said.

He and his colleagues have been searching for steel manufacturers to make new cast iron for several months and have issued a tender but former suppliers have moved on to higher technology manufacturing, he said.

"The wheels or steel tyres are made of special cast steel and we have difficulty in getting them. We are changing the 'tyres' for the first time after its inception. The rail technology has changed drastically and manufacturers are not making spare parts for heritage trains," he explained.