Mountain railways of India

Mountain Railways of India

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Mountain Railways of India Darjeeling Kalka-Shimla Nilgiri
Location	India
Includes	Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Nilgiri Mountain Railway Kalka–Shimla Railway
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (iv)
Reference	944ter
Inscription	1999 (23rd Session)
Extensions	2005, 2008
Area	89 ha (0.34 sq mi)
Buffer zone	645 ha (2.49 sq mi)
Darjeeling Nilgiri Shimla Mountain railways of India

The Mountain railways of India are the railway lines that were built in the mountainous regions of India. The term mainly includes the narrow-gauge railways in these regions but may also include some broad-gauge railways.

Three of the lines, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and the Kalka–Shimla Railway, are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Mountain Railways of India". Two more, the Matheran Hill Railway and the Kangra Valley Railway, are on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[1][2] The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is also the only rack and pinion railway in India.

Mountain railways, such as the Jammu–Baramulla line and the Chota Char Dham Railway, are currently under construction, and others are in the planning stage, such as the Srinagar–Leh line and the Bhanupli–Leh line. All the mountain railways constructed in recent times use broad-gauge.