Location: India
UNESCO World Heritage Site 1999
The Mountain Railways of India are three fully operational railway tracks that are fine examples of 19th century technology and the changes they brought with them. These railways built during the British colonial period stimulated population movements between the plains and the mountains.
The site includes the following 3 railway systems:
- Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: the first of the railways to become a WHS; it is a 86 km long narrow gauge railway from Siliguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, built 1879-1881. It uses zigzags, with traction reversal and spirals.
- Nilgiri Mountain Railway: a rack railway of 46 km long between Mettupalayam and Ooty in Tamil Nadu; it includes original stations, rolling stock and steam locs.
- Kalka-Shimla Railway: a narrow gauge railway from Kalka to Shimla in North-West India. It uses very heavy and complex engineering, including multi-arch viaducts, tunnels, retaining walls and a very large number of curves, in order to overcome the mountain conditions.
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