India's hill railways
Four heritage lines climbing into India's hills. They share a heritage story but differ sharply in length, gradient and how the day unfolds.
The distinction
Unlike the global heritage guide, this page compares only India's mountain railways. The choice is mostly regional: which hills you are visiting and how long you want to spend climbing.
Choose by commitment
Compare time aboard for the climb, booking complexity for how much planning a seat needs, and journey character for steam, engineering and scenery.
01
The northern climbs to Darjeeling and Shimla.
Indian Railways
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway climbs from the plains toward Darjeeling on a two-foot-gauge UNESCO line, using loops and zigzags to thread tea gardens, villages and Himalayan foothills via Ghoom and Batasia.
Scenic · Heritage · Steam
Indian Railways
Kalka–Shimla Railway climbs from the north Indian plains to Shimla on a narrow-gauge UNESCO route packed with tunnels, multi-arch bridges and tight curves.
Scenic · Heritage · Engineering
02
Southern and western hill lines, one long and one short.
Indian Railways
The Matheran Hill Railway climbs roughly twenty kilometres of two-foot narrow gauge from Neral, on the Mumbai–Pune main line, to Matheran, a Western Ghats hill station where motor vehicles are not allowed. The ascent takes about two hours through Jummapatti, Waterpipe and Aman Lodge. Central Railway suspends the line each monsoon because of landslide risk, typically from June until early November.
Heritage · Scenic · Excursion
Indian Railways
Nilgiri Mountain Railway runs from Mettupalayam to Ooty on a UNESCO metre-gauge line, using the Abt rack system on its steep lower mountain section before continuing through forest and highland towns.
Scenic · Heritage · Steam
Continue into the wider catalogue
All rail journeys in India