The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountainous regions of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The term mainly includes the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railways in these regions but may also include some

broad-gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union ( ...

railways. Three of the narrow gauge lines, the

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or the Toy Train, is a gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, it is about long. It climbs from ab ...

, the

Nilgiri Mountain Railway The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a railway in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India, built by the United Kingdom, British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway zone, Southern Railway and is the only rack railway in India. ...

, and the Kalka–Shimla Railway, are collectively designated as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

under the name "Mountain Railways of India". Two more, namely the

Matheran Hill Railway The Matheran Hill Railway (MHR) is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in Maharashtra, India, which is administered by the Central Railway. It covers a distance of , cutting a swathe through forest and connecting Neral to Matheran in the Western ...

and the

Kangra Valley Railway The Kangra Valley Railway is a gauge railway that runs from Pathankot, Punjab to Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh. It runs through the sub-Himalayan region of Kangra Valley and is long. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites tentative lis ...

, are on the tentative list of

s. All five are

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller struct ...

s, and the

is also the only

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with t ...

in India. Mountain railways, such as the

Jammu–Baramulla line The Jammu–Baramulla line is a railway track being laid to connect the Kashmir Valley in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with Jammu railway station and thence to the rest of the country. The 356 km railway track will sta ...

and the

Chota Char Dham Railway The Char Dham Railway, the Indian Railways's under construction twin railway lines, will complement the Char Dham Highway project by connecting the holiest places of Hinduism called Chota Char Dham, from the existing Doiwala railway station ...

, are currently under construction, and others are in the planning stage, such as the Srinagar–Leh line and the

Bilaspur–Leh line Bilaspur–Manali-Leh line is an under-construction high-elevation all-weather broad gauge railway track connecting Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh to Leh in Ladakh union territory of India. It will connect major hill towns of Bilaspur, Mandi, ...

. All the mountain railways constructed in recent times use broad-gauge.

World Heritage Sites

Three railways, the

, the

, and the Kalka–Shimla Railway, are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Mountain Railways of India. The

and Kangr Valley Railway are on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The basis of UNESCO's designation of the Mountain Railways of India as a World Heritage Site is "outstanding examples of bold, ingenious engineering solutions for the problem of establishing an effective rail link through rugged, mountainous terrain." The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway received the honor first in 1999 by UNESCO followed by the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in 2005. The Kalka–Shimla Railway received the designation in 2008. The three routes together have been titled the Mountain Railways of India under

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site criteria ii and iv, within the

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Paci ...

region. The Matheran Hill Railway, a fourth mountain line, has been nominated and is pending approval by the international body.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The

, with the nickname "the Toy Train," is a 610 mm (2 ft) narrow-gauge railway that links the between

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian state of West Bengal. Known as the ...

and

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nep ...

. The latter is a major summer hill station and the centre of a flourishing tea-growing district located in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. The route is operated by

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

., and its elevation starts at in Siliguri and rises to about at Darjeeling. The highest elevation is at Ghoom station, . The town of Siliguri, the start of the railway route, was connected with

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

(now Kolkata) via railway in 1878, while the additional journey to Darjeeling required the use of tongas (horse-driven carts) along a dust track. On the recommendations of a committee appointed by Sir

Ashley Eden Sir Ashley Eden (13 November 1831 – 8 July 1887) was an official and diplomat in British India. Background and education Eden was born at Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire, the third son of Robert Eden, 3rd Baron Auckland, Bishop of Bath ...

, work on the route began in 1879 and was completed by July 1881. The line underwent several improvements such as making its gradients more gradual over the years to increase its manoeuvrability. By 1909–1910, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was carrying roughly 174,000 passengers and 47,000 tons of goods annually. Important features incorporated in the line include four loops (

spirals In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:zigzags). The introduction of

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

carriages allowed for the replacement of the basic four wheel carriages formerly used for support and stability. In 1897, a major earthquake damaged the railway, requiring rebuilding of the route, including extensive improvements to the track and stations. Further modernization occurred as part of the

Northeast Frontier Railway Zone The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across No ...

. Most trains on the route are still powered by

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

s, but a modern diesel engine is used for the

Darjeeling Mail The 12343 / 12344 Sealdah-Haldibari-Sealdah Darjeeling Mail is one of the oldest running legendary trains in India that has been running from pre-independence days and is still in operation. It connects to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway at ...

train. The railway is notable for its

signage Signage is the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a message. A signage also means signs ''collectively'' or being considered as a group. The term ''signage'' is documented to have been popularized in 1975 to 1980. Signs are any ...

located at key vantage points, marking locations with titles such as Agony Point and Sensation Corner. Another feature are spirals on steep hills that provide scenic views of the valleys below. In 1999, the Darjeeling line was the first to be recognized by

and placed on the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. A condition of being placed upon the list was that steam locomotives would continue to be used along the route.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The

is a 46 km (29 mi)

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, ...

single-line railway. It connects the town of

Mettupalayam Mettupalayam may refer to: * Mettupalayam, Coimbatore Mettupalayam is a municipality town and taluk of the Coimbatore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in the Coimbatore District. It's located to the North ...

with the hill station of Udagamandalam (

Ootacamund Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and ...

). The route is located within the state of Tamil Nadu and travels through the

Nilgiri Hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

, which are popularly known as the Blue Mountains of

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

. The Nilgiri is the only

in India, and it uses an

Abt rack system A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with th ...

. The ABT system requires the use of special steam locomotives. The line contains 208 curves, 16 tunnels, and 250 bridges, causing the uphill journey along the route to take about 290min (4.8h), while the downhill journey takes 215min (3.6h). Initially, the town of

Coonoor Coonoor, natively spelt as Kunnur (), is a Taluk and a municipality of the Nilgiris district in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. Demographics According to 2011 census, Coonoor had a populatio ...

was the final station on the line, but in September 1908 it was extended to Fernhill followed by Udagmandalam by October15, 1908. The system was described by

Guilford Lindsey Molesworth Sir Guilford Lindsey Molesworth (1828–1925) was an English civil engineer. Biography Early years Molesworth was born in Millbrook, Hampshire and was the son of John Edward Nassau Molesworth, Vicar of Rochdale who was a great grandson of Rob ...

in a report from 1886:Kholi p.104 A unique feature of the line, which is still fully operational, is that its oldest and steepest track uses

rack and pinion A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the '' pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven ...

technology. Currently, the line runs for , up to the foothill station of Kallar, where the rack rail portion begins. The rack rail portion ends at

Coonoor railway station Coonoor railway station serves Coonoor, a municipality town and popular hill station in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. The train station is a part of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a World Heritage Site. The train station is an important r ...

. The longest tunnel of this section measures . The route has a gradient of 1:12.5 up to

, and past Coonoor to the final station the track has a ruling gradient of 1:23. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2005.

Kalka–Shimla Railway

KSR Steam special at Taradevi 05-02-13 56

The Kalka–Shimla Railway runs between Kalka and Shimla. The railway is long, and its gauge is narrow .

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, ...

is the modern capital of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

and is at an elevation of in the foothills of the Himalayas. It became the

summer capital A summer capital is a city used as an administrative capital during extended periods of particularly hot summer weather. The term is mostly of relevance in historical contexts of political systems with ruling classes that would migrate to a summe ...

of British India in 1864, and it also served as the headquarters of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

in India. Until the railway's construction, the only access to Shimla was by village cartway. The railway line was constructed by the Delhi–Ambala–Kalka Railway Company, beginning in 1898 in the

Siwalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

, and was completed in 1903. The Kalka–Shimla Railway has 103 tunnels and 864 bridges. Many of the bridges are multi-arched, reminiscent of

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

aqueducts, and one bridge, which spans , is made with plate girders and steel trusses. Its

ruling gradient The term ruling grade is usually used as a synonym for "steepest climb" between two points on a railroad. More simply, the steepest grade to be climbed dictates how powerful the motive power (or how light the train) must be in order for the run to ...

is 1:33 or 3%, and it features 919 curves, with the sharpest at 48 degrees (a radius of ). The tracks climb from to a peak elevation of at Shimla. The longest tunnel on the line is the Barog Tunnel (No.33), which is long, connecting

Dagshai Dagshai, also known as Daagh-e-Shahi, is one of the oldest cantonment towns in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is situated on top of a 5,689-foot (1,734-m) high hillock that stands sphinx-like astride the Kalka-Shimla Highway ...

and

Solan Solan is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of Solan district. It is located south of the state capital, Shimla. Solan has an average elevation of . The city is situated between Chandigarh (joint capi ...

. The loops at Taksal, Gumman, and Dharampur help to attain flatter gradients. The Kalka–Shimla Railway joined the Nilgiri and Darjeeling lines as a World Heritage Site in 2008.

Other mountain railways of India

Matheran Hill Railway

The

is a

railway and covers a distance of between Neral and

Matheran Matheran is an automobile-free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and one of the smallest hill ...

, in the Western Ghats. Its construction was led by Abdul Peerbhoy and financed by his father, Sir

Adamjee Peerbhoy Sir Adamji Peerbhoy (13 August 1845 — 11 August 1913) was an Indian business magnate, philanthropist and member of the Dawoodi Bohra community based at Bombay in British India. Adamji Peerbhoy was born in 1846 in Dhoraji, Princely State of Gon ...

, of the

Adamjee Group Adamjee Group of Companies is a conglomerate company based primarily in Karachi, Pakistan. The group was headed by Sir Adamjee Haji Dawood. As of 2007, it is unofficially estimated that the owners of Adamjee Group are among the top 40 wealthiest ...

. The route was designed in 1900, with construction beginning in 1904 and completed in 1907. The original tracks were built using 30 lb/yd

rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

but were later updated to 42 lb/yd rails. Until the 1980s, the railway was closed during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season (because of the increased risk of landslides) but is now open all year. It is administered by

Central Railways Central Railway (abbreviated CR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. It has the distinction of operating the first passenger railway line in India, which opened from M ...

. A unique feature of the line is its horseshoe embankments. Notable features of the route include Neral Station, the first on the route; the Herdal Hill section; the steep grade of Bhekra Khud; the One Kiss Tunnel (the only tunnel on the route, which earned its nickname because the tunnel is just long enough to exchange a kiss with one's partner); a water pipe station, which is no longer in operation; Mountain Berry, which features two sharp zigzags; Panorama Point; and finally, the end of the route at

Bazaar. Its ruling gradient is 1:20 (5%), and its tight curves require a speed limit of .

Kangra Valley Railway

The

railway and covers a distance of between

Pathankot Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal co ...

and

Joginder Nagar Jogindernagar, or Jogindar Nagar (Hindi: जोगिंदर नगर) (), is a municipality, and a sub district in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Named after Raja Joginder Sen, the hill station is the terminus of the ...

, an area known for its nature and ancient

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

shrines A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

, in the sub-Himalayan region. The highest point on this line is at Ahju station at an elevation of , and the terminus at Joginder Nagar is at . The line, which is part of the Northern Railway, was planned in May 1926 and commissioned in 1929. The line has 971 uniquely designed bridges and two tunnels. Two particularly important bridge structures are the steel arch bridge over the Reond nalah and the

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

over the Banganga River. Though the gradient of the line is generally gentle, the critical reach with steep slopes is at the stretch, which is wide and has a slope of 1:19 and approach slopes of 1:31 and 1:25. The terminus stretch between Baijnath and Jogindernagar has a slope of 1:25.

Jammu–Baramulla line

The

is a railway line being built in India to connect the state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

with the rest of the country. The railway starts from

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

and will travel to

Baramulla Baramulla (), also known as Varmul () in Kashmiri, is a town and a municipality in the Baramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Baramulla district. It is on the ...

. The route crosses major earthquake zones and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain, making it a challenging engineering project. The railway line has been under construction since 2002, when it was declared a national project. It will link the state's winter capital,

, with the summer capital,

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its ...

, and beyond until Baramulla. The railway line has been built from

to Katra, and the line from Katra to

Banihal Banihal () is a town and a notified area committee, near Ramban town in Ramban district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a rural and hilly area with Kamirwah being one of the most prominent hills. It is located about ...

may be completed by 2020.

Proposed railways

The Srinagar–Leh line is a proposed

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

to run from

station via the town of

Kargil Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in J ...

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...

to be operated by

. The line was designated a national project on February26, 2013. The

is a proposed railway line that is planned to connect Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh to

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

region in India. The Bilaspur–Leh line is expected to become the highest railway track in the world by its completion, overtaking the current record of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

's Qinghai–Tibet railway. The

has two different Y-shaped railways, comprising individual rail lines: the

Doiwala–Dehradun–Uttarkashi–Maneri Gangotri Railway The Doiwala–Dehradun–Uttarkashi–Maneri Gangotri Railway, notified as the project of national strategic importance, is Indian Railways's one of the four constituent routes of the proposed Char Dham Railway connecting the holiest Chota Cha ...

, a 131 km (81 mi) route; the

Uttarkashi–Palar Yamunotri Railway The Uttarkashi–Palar Yamunotri Railway, notified as the project of national strategic importance, is Indian Railways's one of the four constituent routes of the proposed Char Dham Railway connecting the holiest Chota Char Dham of Hinduism. ...

, a 22 km (14 mi) route with "Y" fork connection at

Uttarkashi Uttarkashi, meaning Varanasi, Kashi of the north, is a town located in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Uttarkashi town is headquarters of the district. Uttarkashi is also known as Somya Kashi. Uttarkashi is a religious place for spir ...

from the Gangotri railway above; the Karnaprayag–Saikot–Sonprayag Kedarnath Railway, a 99 km (60 mi) route; and Saikot–Joshimath Badrinath Railway, a 75 km (45 mi) with "Y" fork connection at

Saikot Saikot ( Garhwali: सैकोट) is a village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state in India. Situated on the banks of Alaknanda River, it is a proposed y-forked railway junction on Chota Char Dham Railway for two different railways g ...

from the

Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote of t ...

railway above. The Rishikesh–Karnaprayag Railway, also an under construction, is a new railway link extension from the existing

Rishikesh railway station Rishikesh railway station, station code RKSH, is a railway terminal station serving the city of Rishikesh in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It lies on Northern railway network zone of Indian Railways. It is no longer the only station in Rishike ...

to Karnaprayag of the above system. The

Sivok–Rangpo line Sivok-Rangpo Railway Line is a line currently under construction to connect the Indian states of West Bengal and Sikkim. It branches out from New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line at Sivok railway station, Sevoke Town near Siliguri i ...

is a proposed railway line planned to connect the towns of

Sevoke Sevoke (also Sevok or Sivok) is a small town near Siliguri in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal state of India near the border with Sikkim state. Situated in Dooars, Sevoke lies on the bank of River Teesta and has two bridges − namely C ...

in West Bengal and

Rangpo Rangpo is a Municipal town in Pakyong district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The town borders West Bengal's Kalimpong district and is situated along the Teesta river and Rangpo River. It is the first town of Sikkim lying on National Hig ...

in Sikkim and also link Sikkim with the Indian Railway network. It is planned to be extended to

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's populat ...

World Heritage Sites

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Kalka–Shimla Railway

Other mountain railways of India

Matheran Hill Railway

Kangra Valley Railway

Jammu–Baramulla line

Proposed railways

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links