Narrow Gauge Railways in Northern India 2027

India

is one of the most fascinating countries in the world. Hardly any other country displays such stark contrasts between rich and poor, between ancient production methods and high technology, between splendour and squalor. India is on the move. The old is rapidly disappearing, motorways and airports are being built at a breathtaking pace, and the state railway has converted almost all its lines to broad gauge, 99.6% of which are now electrified!

On our journey through India, we will experience much of this as we travel through the foothills of the Himalayas. Our route takes us through the state of West Bengal, with its bustling city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), where only two short tram lines have been spared by the metro, on to Siliguri and from there to Darjeeling in the Himalayas, via the small town of Kalka in Haryana into the state of Himachal Pradesh, where the Kalka–Shimla Railway leads to the state capital. We then stay in Himachal Pradesh and visit the Kangra Valley Railway.

Indian Railways ended the regular use of steam locomotives in March 2000. The only two exceptions to this are the Darjeeling Railway in the Himalayas and the rack railway in the Nilgiri Mountains. With the exception of a few trains on the upper section, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has converted almost all its trains to diesel traction, and in Ooty there is no one left who is familiar with the coal-fired steam locomotives. Trains are now operated by oil-fired engines, which have a saddle-tank oil reservoir on top of the boiler and a diesel engine in the bunker to power the oil burner. For this reason, this railway is not included in the itinerary.

In Darjeeling, we will of course travel by steam; in Kalka, we have chartered two of their railcars from the 1930s; and on the Kangra Valley Railway, we will experience a fairly extensive narrow-gauge operation using diesel locomotives.

The trip is designed for photographers and videographers. However, there is the option to travel on the trains themselves throughout the journey.

Reiseplan

Date	Itinerary
12.02.	Departure from Europe
13.02.	Arrival in Kolkata (Calcutta) in the morning. We tried to obtain permission to visit the last two remaining tram depots (no satisfying answer yet), Gariahat and Shyambazar. Only two courses are still served by trams: line 25, Gariahat – Esplanade (9 km), and line 5, Esplanade – Shyambazar (5 km). Hotel in Kolkata
14.02.	Flight from Kolkata to Bagdogra, chartered coach to visit the small depot of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) in Siliguri. After a visit to the depot in Siliguri, we have chartered a dinner train, on which we will travel on 610 mm gauge track from Siliguri Jn. to Rongtong. We’ll depart around 5 pm. It will be hauled by a Class B steam locomotive, one of those typical 0-4-0 saddle-tank locomotives. From Rongtong we’ll return to our hotel in Siliguri by charter bus.
15.02.	Authentic chartered steam train with covered wagons from Siliguri to Kurseong. We will make a longer stop in Tindaria to visit the workshop there. We will follow the train in our chartered bus to get some good shots. Hotel in Kurseong
16.02.	We continue from Kurseong to Darjeeling on our tea wagon train and from there back to Ghoom. Once again, we follow our train in a chartered bus, which will also take us back to our hotel in Kurseong.
17.02.	When you’re in Darjeeling, you really should treat yourself to the experience of a train ride. To do this, we’ve booked tickets for the steam train from Darjeeling to Kurseong and back. If you rather want to photograph it, you can follow it by road. Hotel in Kurseong.
18.02.	We’ll take aur charter bus back to Bagdogra and fly from there via Kolkata or Delhi to Chandigarh. Charter bus to our hotel in Kalka.
19.02.	We will spend the whole day photographing the regular trains and both operational railcars from the 1930s on the 762 mm mountain line. The latter two we’ve chartered for our tour. We will follow the small railcar by a charter bus to ensure good photographic results. However, you can also travel the whole line in one of the railcars itself, though you will then only be able to take photos of the stations, with one exception: we will travel by train to Kanoh. There we find the highly photogenic and most photographed viaduct on the railway line. Departure today is very early to make the most out of the day. Hotel in Shimla.
20.02.	Our charter railcar is returning to Kalka today, and we’ll follow the same plan as yesterday. Hotel in Kalka
21.02.	In the morning, we have a long bus journey (around seven hours) ahead of us. We’ll travel by charter buy from Kalka to Pathankot, where we’ll be photographing regular services in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, we’ll then continue on to our hotel in Kangra or Palampur.
22.02.	Our charter bus will bring us to the railway bridges and mountain viewpoints to photograph scheduled trains. Hotel in Kangra or Palampur
23.02.	In the morning, we’ll take a few more shots of the railway and then head to Kangra Regional Airport. We’ve booked a flight to Delhi, from where you can fly back home. Flights departing from 8 pm onwards can be reached.
24.02.	Return flight from Delhi, arriving in Europe around midday on the same day

Line description

Kolkata operates

India

’s only tram network. Visitors are never ceased to be amazed at how, in such a bustling, congested city, a reasonably continuous service can be maintained on such dilapidated tracks and with such trams. Although the route across the impressive Howrah Bridge was closed decades ago, the city centre of Kolkata offers unique photo opportunities in a unique city. Furthermore, subject to permission being granted, we will visit a depot where we will find the trams, some of which are over 70 years old. The gauge of the system is also unusual for

India

: 1435 mm. The city council wants the tram system to disappear. They have already made significant progress, and only lines 5 and 25 remain in operation. We must certainly expect operations to cease entirely. It is difficult to estimate when this will happen. We assume that operations will still be running at the beginning of 2027.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 88-kilometre-long 2 ft (610 mm) gauge line was completed in 1881 and climbs over two kilometres in altitude. On the lower section, only diesel locomotives are now used as standard, whilst on the spectacular mountain section, the 0-4-0 saddle-tank locomotives – some of which are over 100 years old – can still be seen in action. There are plenty of photo opportunities, such as the world-famous loops, the zigzag sections and the view from the train of the world’s third-highest mountain, Kanchenjunga. The road runs largely parallel to the railway, so you can reach many beautiful photo spots. As the railway has been completely converted to fully refurbished-to-death passenger carriages with huge plastic windows, we have chartered an authentic tea train, which will consist of two-axle covered carriages. The locomotives are no longer in good condition today and can therefore only haul short trains uphill. However, these were also used in the past, so it looks authentic. Class B steam locomotives have been confirmed for our charter trains; all other trains may also be hauled by diesel locomotives. In regular service, however, steam locomotives are still used on the upper section of the line. The travel time for the entire line is approximately 8 hours, although delays may occur. Our charter train takes considerably longer.

The 96-kilometre 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) line from Kalka to Shimla is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was opened in 1903. Whilst the DHR was originally intended to transport British government officials from Calcutta to their summer retreats, the line to Shimla was designed for government officials from Delhi to continue their official business in the cooler mountain resorts during the hot summer months. The line is a masterpiece of British engineering and features 864 bridges, including many stone viaducts, as well as 102 tunnels, and climbs a total of 4,659 ft (1,420 metres). The journey on a regular service (hauled by a diesel locomotive) takes around five and a half hours. There are seven pairs of trains operating with ZDM 3 diesel locomotives, which makes it difficult to arrange photo stops on the line. We have therefore decided to follow our railcar, built in the 1930s, by our charter bus. However, anyone who wishes to do so can also travel on the railcar. To reach the famous viaduct near Kanoh, however, we will travel by train. A bus cannot reach this location by road.

The Kangra Valley Railway also has a gauge of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm). The Indian government has applied for the railway line to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It has around 900 bridges, some of which are large viaducts or steel truss structures, but only two tunnels. Over a length of 164 (+2) km, the line climbs 2,260 ft (689 metres) in altitude. The railway was only opened at the end of 1928. It runs from Pathankot (Punjab) via Kangra to Joginder Nagar, and then continues for a further two kilometres to connect with the funicular railway serving the pressure pipe system at Shanan Power House.

Seven pairs of trains run daily, of which one pair goes only as far as Jawalamukhi Road, four pairs to Baijnath Paprola (km 141) and two pairs to the terminus for passenger services at Joginder Nagar. ZDM 3 and ZDM 4 diesel locomotives are used.

Unlike the other two lines, this one is used mainly by local residents rather than tourists. The trains can sometimes get very crowded.

Small Print

India

requires you to observe a few rules of conduct. The most important guideline is that unpeeled (or even unwashed) fruit, uncooked food and drinking water of unknown origin are strictly off-limits if you wish to avoid serious stomach or intestinal upsets. This also includes salad, however delicious it may look. Drinking water is available everywhere for a small price and tap water is under no circumstances ever to be recommended as drinking water. Your first-aid kit should definitely contain highly effective medication for diarrhoea. Dishes can often be prepared with very hot spices and if you not sure if you can tolerate spicy food, you should proceed with caution by trying small amounts.

We have booked half-board, but will also arrange lunch if the opportunity arises (particularly in terms of time). Eating in restaurants without a prior reservation is usually very cheap in

India

Road traffic can seem chaotic. Always take care when getting off a bus or tram, look carefully before crossing the road, and always prioritise your safety when using roads and railways.

We are travelling through

India

during the dry season. The Malaria season runs from around July to November, yet one should not underestimate the risk of contracting Malaria. At least the German Foreign Office does not recommend prophylaxis for our type of trip, but merely that you carry medication such as Atovaquone/Proguanil as an emergency treatment. The most effective protection against Malaria, however, remains wearing long clothing in the evening and using a secure mosquito net at night.

Although we can expect temperatures of around 25 degrees in Kolkata and Delhi, it is essential to pack warm clothing as well. In the mornings, it can get quite chilly in the higher elevations of the Himalayas, with temperatures dropping below zero. It may even snow.

We will be booking good mid-range hotels (which, unfortunately, are by Indian standards quite expensive). Nevertheless, in some places you may need to accept local standards that differ from Western hygiene standards, especially in smaller local restaurants.

India belongs to a completely different cultural sphere to Central Europe, North America or Australia/New Zealand. It is therefore recommended that you familiarise yourself with the situation in advance. If you have not yet been to India (nor Pakistan, Bangladesh or

Nepal

, you can look forward to one of the most exciting tours you have ever undertaken.

The trip is specifically designed for photographers and videographers. As such, a good haul of photos takes precedence over elaborate four-course meals. You should always carry a bottle of drinking water and a few snacks with you on the tour.

Although all services have been confirmed, it cannot be ruled out that not all planned events will go exactly as booked and paid for. In

India

, people have a different concept of time and, in particular, of what is worth seeing. Old railways are hardly part of that. A stern warning to anyone who believes

India

runs like Swiss clockwork. It most certainly does not! A calm attitude and the ability to improvise are essential. All three railways we are visiting have been partially suspended for years in some cases. In the Himalayas, the forces of nature (even just one day after the journey begins) can devastate the lines and render them impassable. In addition to flash floods, there are also earthquakes in the region. There is therefore a risk that a section of a railway may be partially or completely impassable. Other operational obstacles, such as derailments, should also not be underestimated. In the event of such or similar incidents, no financial or other compensation is usually to be expected. Anyone booking the trip accepts these and similar risks of real life outside the Western comprehensive insurance bubble.

Please note that the hotels, buses, trains – in fact, everything we will encounter – are by no means up to EU/US/Canadian or Australian standards. That is precisely why we are travelling there. We will be travelling to a country where environmental and accident protection is underdeveloped. We would like to expressly draw your attention to the dangers that may arise from using vehicles, being in the vicinity of railways, and participating in road traffic. We recommend taking out international accident insurance and the essential (and usually very affordable) international health insurance. Neither FarRail Tours, the local organiser nor the railway company shall be liable for any kind of cancellations, accidents, damage, loss, and inconveniences caused by delays, etc.

India
Narrow Gauge Hill Railways in India	25 to 29 participants	£3,060
13.02.2027 – 24.02.2027	19 to 24 participants	£3,310
	Single room surcharge	£485
Registration Deadline: 10.10.2026

Narrow Gauge Hill Railways in India

Steam- and diesel trains in India: 13.02. – 24.02.2027

Reiseplan

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