India is not only the land of diverse languages and cultures but also terrains. She is blessed with many picturesque mountains, most notably the Himalayas. The mountains are adorned with diverse flora and fauna. Some of the places are accessible with some mode of transportation such as railways.

Today, I would like to present you some of the famous mountain trains operating in India. These trains offer a wonderful traveling experience as they pass through numerous tunnels, over bridges, roll over curly tracks amid spectacular scenery. Some of the these railways which offer mountain trains are:

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway offers a toy train which rolls way over the steep and difficult foothills of the Himalayas. This train is very famous among tourists. The total time of journey is around six hours which includes a route of 83 km distance from the cities of New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling. This route was completed in 1883 and now is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The railway employs an unique way to navigate the steep climb. This includes traveling in loops like a snake, gradually climbing a hill. One of the best part of entire route is Batasia Loop, located at a tor point near Darjeeling near the town of Ghoom as it offers some spectacular views.

Kalka-Shimla Railway
Kalka – Simla Railway provides a total route of 93 km. The route offers some of the breathtaking scenery of Shivalik Hills, which offers a combination of valleys and high mountains. The train passes through 107 tunnels and 864 Roman viaducts like stone bridges! This route was completed in 1903 and now is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It was used by British to travel to Shimla. In pre-independence times, Shimla was the capital of India in summers.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway
Nilgiri Mountain Railway is the steepest mountain railway in India. The train climbs about 6159 feet from the cities of Mettupalayam to Udhagmandalam over a distance of 46 km. The gradient in some of stretches are as high as 1:12. This is the only railways in India which use a rack and pinion system to climb the steep slopes. The train passes through 16 tunnels, over 250 bridges and around 205 sharp curves, with the magnificent scenery of the Nilgiri Hills along the way. It was completed in 1899 and is also one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.