Read bout train journeys in India. From luxury trains to legendary mountain railways, from backpack travels to pan subcontinent sagas: "A beginner’s Guide to Train Journeys in India" is the one-stop help desk on the century old Indian Railways.
It’s a gloomy afternoon and the cable is gone. Your next door neighbors are touring Europe on the Eurail and you are frustratingly jealous. Had it not been for the pile of unpaid bills on your table, you too would have joined them on a weeklong vacation in the Alps.
Well, here’s a chance for you to have some great time with your family at a cost that would leave you within your budget. Train journeys in India are not only cheap and all inclusive, they are also the best way to get a taste of the diversity that India has always been known for.
From luxury trains to legendary mountain railways, from backpack travels to pan subcontinent sagas, with train journeys in India you are in for a roller-coaster ride through one of the most picturesque countries in the world.
Read on to find out more about train journeys in India that would get your friends and neighbors to say: “Why didn’t I think of it before!”
Trains in India
Nearly a century and half after the first passenger train was flagged off from Mumbai to Thane, Indian railways have become the lifeline of the Indian subcontinent. Train journeys are still considered the best way to explore the “real India”, beyond the symbols of mysticism - snake charmers and cow-worshippers; Taj Mahal and Khajuraho; saints and their bizarre rituals.
Variety
Train journeys through India have inspired many writers and wannabe artists since time immemorial. It is only here that you find narrow gauge co-existing with broad and meter gauge tracks. Feats of engineering are for all to see on a spiraling journey through the raw Himalayas; or on a passage back in time to the Thar Desert. Or, in the densely forested Konkan belt where mobile service is yet to take hold.
Sightseeing
Through the tea estates, over the colonial bridges, past the mist that gets you breathing easy, trains take you to the soul of India. The trains stop occasionally at scenic spots for you take a whiff of the scents that drift through the woods and plantations. You can enjoy a wealth of visual stimuli from the steps of the moving trains and taste the changing flavors of local dishes and tea. Alternatively, you can enjoy the refreshing view from the comforts of your cabin on a luxury train.
Facilities
While the refreshing trails form the highlight of train journeys in India, the lack of basic modern facilities can put off any seasoned traveler. Precisely why Indian Railways offers the following services:
Air-conditioning
Toilet facilities
First-class restaurant cars
Pantry cars
Stopovers for sightseeing
Online reservations
Medial assistance
Waiting rooms at stations
Retiring Rooms, Dormitories, and Rail Yatri Niwas for accommodation
Cloak Room for luggage storage and safekeeping
Self-help trolleys at the stations for shuttling luggage
Stretchers and wheelchairs available at major stations or on request
Book shops, Chemists, Eateries at the stations
Tourist Information Centers and Post Offices at the stations
Classes
For ease of selection and planning, trains in India can be classified under the broader headlines - Luxury Trains, Mountain Trains, Cross-Country Trains, Heritage Trains and City Trains.
Luxury Train Journeys in India
Ever gushed over the stately bearings of Princess Di, or crooned over a TV interview of Monaco's prince? Luxury trains in India are then your mode of choice. It is your turn now to travel like a royal personage with the luxuries and entourage befitting a pompous Indian Maharaja.
Palace on Wheels
Trace the route that led to the establishment of the many fort cities and lake palaces in the arid landscape of Rajasthan with the Palace of Wheels. With an exhaustive itinerary that packs in seven days of sightseeing, cultural performances and activities that are distinct to the region (such as camel safaris and Rajasthani folkdance), Palace of Wheels is also full of surprises when on board.
The decor of the bedroom coaches resembles the local motifs and architecture of the major tourist destinations in Rajasthan. The grand scale of furnishing and attendants who materialize from nowhere further accentuate the romantic ambience typical of a desert city in Rajasthan. The two Restaurant cars serve Continental, Indian and Rajasthani cuisine while the Lounge car with its exotic drinks and service is apt for evening sojourns that is nothing short of the royal treatment.
Deccan Odyssey offers luxurious comforts and facilities in line with those offered by the Palace of Wheels. However, its journey begins from Mumbai, the commercial gateway of India, which continues through the forts, palaces, hill stations, beach resorts, prehistoric caves and orange orchards strew over the Maharashtra and Goa landscape.
This two day journey on the world’s oldest running locomotive has its perks. The Fairy Queen, brought out from anonymity of the National Railway Museum in Delhi in 1971, offers a weekend full of adventure, game viewing and heritage tours.
While the jeep safaris in the Sariska Tiger Reserve, stay at the Sariska Palace, cultural performances, theme dinners, and all inclusive packages are its major draw, the journey on this historic steam engine that began its course in 1855 is in itself a pleasure for the eyes and the ears.
Route: Delhi – Alwar – Delhi
Departures: Weekends in winter season
Mountain Train Journeys in India
To boldly go where countless men have already gone before but to do so in a way that can only be described as adventurous. Mountain trains in India take you on such a journey through the hill stations and towns in the Himalayan belt that would otherwise be a challenge to reach.
Kalka - Shimla Railway
Kalka – Shimla Railway offers a porthole back in time when Shimla was a newly found summer resort for the British officers and their families. These tracks are over a century old but they still ply through the beautiful landscape untouched by greed or lust. The Deodar trees rise on one side and the ridge drops to a pleasant valley floor on the other.
Famous for its u-turns taking you from one hill to another, the 102 tunnels (some 3 minutes long) and the 887 colonial styled bridges are worth every penny spent. With two scenic stopovers, this six-hour journey at a neck-breaking pace of 25 km / hour (that’s right, your granny moves faster than that!) is a study in the long forgotten art of leisure. You can choose between the Passenger Trains and mail coaches, or travel in style and old-fashioned luxury on the Himalayan Queen and the Shivalik Deluxe Express.
Route: Shimla – Barog – Solan – Shimla
Departures: Daily
Matheran Light Railway
Set on the Mumbai – Pune rail route, Matheran is a hill resort in Maharashtra that can only be reached by pedestrians. Being one of its sorts in the Asian continent, Matheran is also a favorite for the treks, horse rides and cart rides that are the usual means of reaching the summit.
These modes of travel to one of the most untainted hill destinations in the world are adventures in themselves, albeit a bit on the slower side. The Neral – Matheran toy train on the other hand takes you through the same picturesque landscapes on its 21 km route in under 2 hours. The ride is still quiet slow for the number of zigzags, u-turns and twists that run around the Matheran Hill, leaving you breathless as each turn reveals a treasure trove of sceneries.
Route: Neral – Matheran
Departures: Daily
Kangra Valley Railway
One of the most picturesque dales in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, the Kangra valley can scare you with its sheer drops and at the same time stunt you with its raw beauty preserved from the ravages of time and tourist influx. Take a journey through the famous hill stations and ethnic villages set along the Kangra Valley route and return home with cheerful memories of a burst of yellow in the acres of mustard fields, and the waves and toothy smiles from kids playing on the streets.
The pine and deodar forests, native to the region, take you by surprise too. If in the right season, preferably March to May or October to December, you can also catch the cherry groves in their live performance titled: The Colors of Nature. The tea plantations, as before, are an integral part of train journeys in the Indian mountains, as are the views that can only be done justice by the pen of a true romantic.
Ooty, the short name for the tongue twister Udhangamandalam, has been one of the most popular hill stations of India from the colonial times. In an otherwise arid region, this hill station set on the Nilgiri Hills comes as a breath of fresh air. The train journey from Mettupalayam to Ooty can then be described as the air-freshener. This four and half hour journey on the Niligiri Mountain Railway, at a turtle’s pace of 33 km / hour, takes you through the most delightful and lesser known hill stations in Tamil Nadu, South India.
The train twists and turns to take you from the plains to the upper reaches of the Nilgiri Hills. While the 16 pitch-black tunnels may be enough to incite playful shrills, the rest of the route seems straight out of a coffee table book. The train basks in the soft sunlight, chugs through the old-fashioned girder bridges, through the evergreen forests and tea plantations lining the slopes of Ooty hills on its 46 km journey. Once there, only a few can resist the temptation of not repeating the journey soon.
Route: Mettupalayam – Coonoor – Ooty
Departures: Daily
Cross-Country Train Journeys in India
Travel to a country that can easily wrap the moon three times over may come across as a formidable challenge. Many people choose to travel to a single or a couple of well known places instead. On the contrary, train journeys through the Indian subcontinent are the best way to see India in one go.
Himsagar Express
Brace yourself for the journey of your life. This weeklong meandering on the longest train route in India takes you from Jammu in the far north to the last point on Indian mainland, Kanyakumari. On Himsagar Express, you get to travel through 11 Indian states - their hill stations, plains, forests, and trendy cities, and stopover at 75 stations. What better way to get a feel of the eclectic Indian culture!
Departures: Mondays from Jammu; Fridays from Kanyakumari
Konkan Railway
Declared as a feat of modern engineering, the route of Konkan Railway cuts through the most inaccessible and gorgeous landscapes in the coastal states of India viz. Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. The trains on the Konkan route pass over 174 major bridges, 1679 minor bridges, and a number of tunnels that’ll even give a tambola pro thrills at the sound of the words: two fat ladies.
The 760 km of route is flanked by rugged Western Ghats dressed in evergreen forests, cultivated lands flanked by swaying palms, and rivers that create an intricate array of backwaters in the coastal states of Goa and Kerala. Honestly, there is no better way to get acquainted with the legendary Kerala monsoons than journeying on the Konkan Railway.
Once you are airborne, the feeling of freedom and the thrill of unexpected encounters is an unparalleled one. So is it with the heritage train travels in India. Nostalgia attacks you first, till you get lost in the mists of time as the train chugs its way through the hills that once had stood guard against the countless invaders before finally succumbing to the charms of the East India Company.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has earned the status of the first and only World Heritage train in India for its charms and style that date back to 1881. Though the romance of steam drifting past has come to an end with the train running on diesel, the route it follows has many coming back for more. On this 87.5 km of journey, this tiny train cruises through the mint green plains to the cloud-covered tea-gardens on the hills of Darjeeling. The journey leaves you spellbound with Rabindranath Tagore’s words churning in your head.
The Ghum station, the second last stop on the Jalpaiguri – Darjeeling route, is also the second highest train station in the world. From here, you can choose to continue on the diesel train or change to a steam toy train that stops at Batasia Loop for a photo session with the epic Kanchenjunga range.
Whether you are researching for a book on the Indian metropolitan cities or simply holidaying in one of them, a ride on the local transport system will give you a far greater insight into the lives of its people than an up market shopping district is ever likely to give. Try out the newly inaugurated Metro in Delhi, the electric local trains of Mumbai or the classic trams of Calcutta. After all, this is the way the great middle class travels.