Indian Railways is the most preferred mode of transport as it is the most convenient, budget-friendly and gives the most scenic views of the country while travelling. Indian Railways excursions are an excellent way to learn more about the rich culture and heritage of the country. Though train journeys make passengers experience an amalgamation of multiple cultures rising from deep historical routes, these railway stations built years ago are no less than architectural marvels built years ago and add to the rich cultural heritage of the country. Four railway stations of Indian Railways are listed under UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
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Indian Railways has four UNESCO listed World Heritage Sites namely Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka-Shimla Railway & Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. pic.twitter.com/UR49a1q4Lo
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 9, 2022
These railway stations are Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka-Shimla Railway, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and Kalka-Shimla Railway come under the Mountain Railways of India and has breathtaking views. Meanwhile, the famous Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai stands as an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India.
Check out these architectural marvels of Indian Railways:
The Mountain Railways of India are outstanding examples of hill railways. Inaugurated between 1881 and 1908, they applied bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty. They are still fully operational as living examples of the engineering enterprise of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railways, and Kalka Shimla Railway lies under the Mountain Railways of India.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway consists of 88.48 kilometers of 2 feet (0.610 meters) gauge track that connects New Jalpaiguri with Darjeeling, passing through Ghoom at an altitude of 2,258 meters. The innovative design includes six zigzag reverses and three loops with a ruling gradient of 1:31. Six diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled train services, with daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum – India’s highest railway station – and the steam-hauled Red Panda service from Darjeeling to Kurseong.
On 2 December 1999, UNESCO declared the DHR a World Heritage Site.
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Nilgiri Mountain Railways
The construction of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 45.88-kilometer-long meter-gauge single-track railway was first proposed in 1854, but due to the difficulty of the mountainous location, the work only started in 1891 and was completed in 1908. This railway, scaling an elevation of 326 meters to 2,203 meters, represents the latest technology of the time and uses a unique rack and pinion traction arrangement to negotiate steep gradients. The Railway line from Mettupalayam to Ooty is 45.88 km. long and lies partly in Coimbatore District and partly in the Nilgiri District of Tamilnadu, on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. Mettupalayam is at the foothills with an elevation of about 330 meters and Udagamandalam (Ooty) is on the plateau with an elevation of 2200 meters. The average gradient of this line is about 1 in 24.5.
Kalka Shimla Railway
The Kalka Shimla Railway, a 96.6 kilometer long, single-track working rail link built in the mid-19th century to provide a service to the highland town of Shimla is emblematic of the technical and material efforts to disperse mountain populations through the railway. The world’s highest multi-arc gallery bridge and the world’s longest tunnel (at the time of construction) of the KSR were the testimony to the brilliance of engineering skills applied to make this dream a reality.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, formerly known as Victoria Terminus Station, in Mumbai, is an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture. The building, designed by the British architect became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India. The terminal was built over 10 years, starting in 1878, according to a High Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models. Its remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture. It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural tradition and idioms thus forging a new style unique to Bombay.