Raj on a Roll

Thanks to the ever-on-the-move British, who built rail networks all over Africa and Asia, India remains the world's largest railway system under one management - Indian Railways -- with some 40,000 miles of track, 6,867 stations, and 1.6 million staff - all combining to do something that rail companies cannot seem to do in the U.S.: make a huge profit.

And you can hop aboard the Darjeeling Limited with a couple of challenged siblings and a laminating machine in tow; or enjoy it with a significant other passing mighty palaces of Rajasthan and rolling along India's majestic planes. Either way there is no better, nor more romantic way to experience ancient India than through the decked out cabins of a luxury train.

India by rail may be the most efficient and cost-effective way of touring the country. The Palace on Wheels and the Deccan Odyssey rail tours are well known to purveyors of tourism on the sub-continent. The land/rail journeys are unsurpassed when it comes to offering a complete experience of India's royal wonders with an expansive view to its historical roots and cultural treasures.

But few travelers know about the Fairy Queen, the Darjeeling "Toy Train" (part of the Hill Train options), the Buddhist Train, Heritage on Wheels and the Bharat Darshan. These are overnight to weeklong excursions that allow visitors to take advantage of the sprawling rail lines while getting a full immersion in the lore of the land.

The Hill trains of India operate through five rail networks - the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Kangra Valley Railway, the Kalka Shimla Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, the Matheran Light Railway, and were all designed and constructed at the turn of last century, preserving much of the ambiance of that former era for today's passenger. They ply the hill stations, many located in the foothills of the Himalayas that provide an escape from India's hot climes, if not unparalleled beauty.

The most notable of these is the Toy Train or the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: is a steam-fueled narrow-gauge railway that runs from Siliguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal. The train was built between 1879 and 1881 and the journey is about 51 miles long with an ascent of about 6,000 feet to Darjeeling. Since 1999 the train has been a World Heritage Site as listed in UNESCO.

The train can be accessed at New Jalpaiguri where the narrow gauge line meets the broad gauge line from Assam. The train journey wheezes and coughs in a series of switchbacks and zigzags on a slow 5-hr uphill ride through scenic tea plantations, rainforests and gentle plateaus to Darjeeling, a colorful town steeped in a confluence of Buddhist, Hindu and British inspiration. Most visitors travel from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) to pick up this day tour. But many tour operators add the Toy Train excursion as a treat to take in during an extended tour of the sub-continent. Abercrombie & Kent, for instance, adds the Darjeeling excursion as part of its two-week Temple & Dragons tour to Bhutan and Darjeeling since the mountain village borders Bhutan in the northeast corner of India.

Other toy trains to consider may be less legendary but just as thrilling and historic. In Shimla, a little more than halfway between Delhi and Dharamasala in Himichal Predesh , a fun toy train journey from Kalka to Shimla passes through 107 tunnels and a series of arched bridges, with stops at such picturesque hill stations as Dharmpore, Taksal, Gamma and Solan. The Kalka-Shimla Railway was built to connect Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British Raj, with the Indian rail system. Now, Shimla is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. The cars are made for foreign tourists and dignitaries with wide glass windows, ergonomically designed reversible cushioned chairs, carpeting, modern toilet amenities, exclusive cabins, and customized on-board catering services.

Visitors heading to the southeastern city of Chennai (formerly Madras) can try the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. It starts from the town of Mettupalayam, about an hour by regular broad gauge service from Chennai, and journeys in twists and turns toward the hill resort at Ooty at a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour crossing plains, plantations and jungle-covered hills.

The Fairy Queen may be the most easily accessible of these scenic hill station railways. It is a three-day tour that starts at the train station in Delhi and hits Alwar, Sariska and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Among the highlights is a sunrise jeep safari in Sariska, the home of Indian tiger. The town also contains ruins of 9th and 10th century temples. Located right next to the tiger reserve is the Sariska Palace where train passengers stay. It offers 49 rooms with modern amenities and old world ambience, not excluding the occasional outside intrusion of roaring tigers. The trip is aboard a locomotive that made her maiden trip in 1885 and is now considered the world's oldest working train.

The final stop in Jaisalmer brings stunning landscapes of royal Indo British architecture against a vast and dusty desert expanse, one of the most exotic cities of the Orient that has weathered the vicissitudes of fortune and trade with the onslaughts of nature and politics. Plenty to see here in preserved byways of houses selling colorful Indian textiles and crafts. Along the cobbled stone streets of Jaisalmer, visitors also see the havelis--the mansions of the Jain merchants who were the powerbrokers of the time. Their homes remain a symphony of sandstone, carved and wrought in mazes of detailed patterns that keep the eye transfixed.

Jaisalmer is also a city that is part and parcel of a tour on the Palace on Wheels. That trip remains one of the country's finest with a start in New Delhi and stops in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Madhopur, Udaipur, Bharatpur and Agra on a crowded eight-day schedule.

The seven-night Buddhist Train itinerary offered by the Indian Railways brings a more intimate encounter with India as it travels to out of the way places revered by local countrymen. It brings a local experience of pampering - quite comfortable with good service, clean compartments and air conditioning. The trains starts in Delhi and makes stops in the northern towns of Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Varanasi, Sarnath, Gorakhpur, Khusinagar, Lumbini, Gonda, Sravasti, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri (ending in Delhi), touring holy sites and temples along the way. All tours, onboard meals, transfers and entrance fees are included in the tariff.

The Heritage on Wheels is a relatively new itinerary that provides luxury train accommodations on a four-day excursion that starts and ends in Jaipur and stops in Bikaner and Shekhawati. Bikaner, a medieval palace city on the edge of the Thar Desert comes with a camel safari and tours of the palace. Shekhawati offers a city of fresco-covered havelis and is dubbed an "Open Air Gallery" by tourist guides. Nearby, a visit to Tal Chappar brings a wild life sanctuary and wonderland for lovers of migratory fowl.

Heading west to Gujarat, visitors can take an eight-day journey on the Royal Orient. Like the Palace on Wheels, the service, decor and layout of the train hark back to the time of the rajas. All cabins are comfortable and fitted with modern conveniences as the trains 13 coaches chug through such locations as Udaipur, Junagarh/Verava, Sasangir, Palitana/Sarkhej, Ahmedabad and Jaipur from Delhi.

Finally, the Deccan Odyssey, which rumbles from Mumbai to Goa and Pune, is well known to luxury packagers of India who find the product to be both popular and convenient sell. The cabins and coaches are comfortable and full of ambiance, the itinerary - convenient from Mumbai - brings some scenic and somewhat less traveled experiences of west central India, and the train brings some extras that other trains do not: namely, a spa room, where passengers can sample local ayurvedic massage and steam baths as the train rolls on.

The newest train journey in India is aboard the Golden Chariot, a seven-day journey from Goa to Bangalore via Mysore, Hassan, Hampi and Gadag. The train scheduled to launch early this year and is slated to be the country's most luxurious offering with handpicked art pieces decorating the saloons and decor based on the rich architecture of the Vijayanagar Dynasty and Mysore Palace.

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