Railway authorities seem to be keen on increasing the speed of the toy train on the Kalka-Shimla section to reduce the travel time to three hours.

The present speed of 25 km/hour may be increased up to 45 km/hour. It is a three-hour journey by bus from Kalka to Shimla whereas the train takes almost five-and-a-half hours. In order to cover up the gap, the railway authorities are working to increase the speed. A team from the Research Design and Standards Organisation from Lucknow had surveyed the section and taken into consideration the possibilities of increasing the speed of the train. According to railway sources, it is a lengthy process and will take some time before it is finalised and implemented.

The distance from Kalka to Shimla by rail is 97 kilometres with several bends, 102 tunnels, 988 bridges and 917 sharp curves. Last year, the train had met with an accident near Dharampur while it was travelling at a speed of 28 km/hour. The driver was dismissed for speeding.