Hello there,

I have an amazing trip to share with you. If you are a train lover bring your headphones, as the blog mainly includes videos. I was returning from my vacation and the city which I was going had a railway-line section which is as old as 150 years! The plan for this railway line was visualized in the 1850s during the British Empire in India.

The route was 32 Kilometres (i.e. 20 miles) long passing through various mountains, plateaus, hills, and tunnels. This historical importance and beauty of the terrains made me pin this route to the Pinmapple map!

History Of This Railway Section

When you want to reach Mumbai from the northern direction, you have to cross a mountain range. Harishchandra mountain range extends in the northern part. During the British Empire, Mumbai was their economic and trading center. However, to connect Mumbai with the other parts, one had to cross this mountain range. Imperial British Empire in the 1850s laid the plans to develop railway lines in this mountain range.

To get a clear idea here is a satellite map of the route and the terrain map to show how crowded the mountains are in this region.

A note for the readers

I divided this journey into seven phases as the train was required to stop at least 5-6 times during the hike and slide movement. Most of the videos are recorded from the gate of the coach. All the videos are recorded in 1080p resolution. Please select the video quality in the YouTube videos below to get a clear view. I was in an AC coach hence to capture the audio I had to move to the gate. Few videos are recorded from the inside of the coach through windows but most of them are recorded from the gate.

I took proper precautions to record it from the gate as at certain times the train was too fast and balancing my feet became a little difficult. Please avoid taking such risks and take proper precautions while shooting from the moving train.

The images that belong to BBC / UK TV and used in this blog (Black and White pictures) represent the then scene of this rail line.

The first two videos are the special videos of the last episode - Beyond Ghats of Benaras

The Magnificent Ganga River Rail Bridge

Before we start from the Igatpuri railway route. Let's have a look at the Ganga River through the railway bridge built over it. The location is Benaras or Varanasi.

The Ganga Plains in Prayagraj

One of the most fertile plains in India. It is formed of alluvial soil brought from the Himalayas via rivers and streams.

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IGATPURI RAILWAY SECTION

THE HISTORICAL RAILWAY PASS

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Phase 1 - Entering Igatpuri Station

Igatpuri Railway Station is the starting point from where the mountain passes starts. It stretches to the Kasara Railway Station. It was the toughest challenge for the British Empire to build the railway line through valleys.

Phase 1 - Exiting Igatpuri Station

Igatpuri station is now modernized and houses many rail engines to help passenger and goods trains move through the mountain pass. Each passenger train requires 3 or 4 train engines at least to move on this rail line.

Phase 1 - The First Hike

The first hike is the least steep and this is where the steepness starts increasing little by little. Passing this phase is the easiest.

Phase 1 - The First Slide

If you are wearing headphones or earphones you can listen to how the train is sliding on this section. The loco pilot is applying slight brakes to reduce the speed. Within a few seconds of sliding train acquires a good speed due to gravity and slantness.

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Phase 2 - The Story of the Top Bridge

At this point, the two lines get separated. One line passes through the newly built railway bridge and my train passes through the old ground tracks.

Image Source - BBC / UK TV

The top bridge was built by the Britishers first and now it is replaced by the metal bridge. However, the pillars are still the same as the old bridge. Only the metal part of the bridge is recent.

Many bridges were built during the 19th Century. 45,000 workers were working on the bridge. Similar bridges were also built in other mountain ranges near Pune City. It was one of the few mega projects in the world during that era.

Phase 2 - The Slide

Many small metal rooms are built for the workers to keep their gear and tools. The rainy season is the roughest period for the workers. Heavy rain and wind gusts test the strength of the rail workers to this day.

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Phase 3 - The Halt

After a rigorous hike and slide, engines and brakes are given some time to cool down. As said before, during this 32-kilometer journey, the train halts 6-8 times at the plain or plateau.

Image Source - BBC / UK TV

Cutting through mountains was not an easy task. Many rail accidents occurred and it was scary to travel through tunnels in that period. The debris swept away many trains during the rainy season or the heavy rain downpour. Hence it was decided to build most of the section of the rail line on the top of the mountain instead of cutting the edges of the mountain.

Phase 3 - The Great Sister Tunnels

It was technically difficult for me to record the videos in this section. The main reason was the centrifugal force that I was experiencing and the train was sliding through the tunnels. In 2-3 minutes I crossed 4 tunnels.

Kids usually shout and due to echoing in the tunnel, the sound becomes a spooky screaming sound. They generally do this to scare off their siblings by telling them that there is a ghost in the tunnel and the sound is of the ghost.

I was scared of these tunnels too but now I know the truth.

Image Source - BBC / UK TV

The interesting fact about these tunnels is that snatchers used to occupy these tunnels and when train breaks they often loot the passengers. This happened till the 1990s and after the modernization of tracks and electrical lines in tunnels to light them, such cases reduced to 0 at present.

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Phase 4 - The hike

By now we came down from a few of the highest mountains. The train was moving at a slower pace to maintain the friction with the tracks. By the way, all the phases are the point where the train stopped to cool off before moving further.

Phase 4 - The Slide

The train was traveling through the round routes. It was like descending from the several mountains through curvy rail lines.

Phase 4 - The Remains of British Rail Line

In the image below you can see the tracks going up steeply. This was built by the Britisher and the tracks at the top are still of that era and have not been replaced.

These steep lines were built to safeguard the train which lost the friction and moved rapidly down the slope.

Image Source - BBC / UK TV

The above pic will give you a clear idea. Such sections are called Catch Siding. Previously it was used to get down from the mountains but now used as a safeguarding mechanism.

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Phase 5 - The Loop

In this section, the train takes an almost round-like route around the mountain while getting down.

The big curvy section that you can see is from where the train is passing through.

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Phase 6 - The Final Hike

This is the last hike and afterward, we will descend to the plain region. The train here halted for 30 minutes. I was standing for 10 minutes but later I sat on the gate waiting for the train to start moving again. You can hear the gentle break sounds.

As I was waiting I captured this ambiance video for the people who love ASMR or Ambience sounds.

This is where I took a few selfies too. That baby behind me was staring at the camera as well.

I enjoyed the peace as the slow winds came towards me from the valleys.

Phase 6 - The Valley Slide

Soon the train started its final descent. The speed was increasing and I came to see a few valleys as well. Imagine these valleys and landscapes in the rainy season.

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Phase 7 - The End

In this phase, the train was the fastest. As the train passed through the Kasara Railway Station, it paced up and I felt that it was the time that I should step behind from the recording. I could feel the centrifugal force as the train was taking a turn. It was hard to stand as well. I moved back to my seat in the coach.

These were the mountains we passed through.

Soon I came down to the mean sea level. From the top of the mountains to the sea level that is the beauty of this historic railway line.

I started packing my accessories as I entered the city.

Namaste, See you in the next blog!

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Note:

• All the content is mine unless otherwise stated.
• Banner created using Canva.
• Photos were taken from my phone
• Text dividers are from @cryptosharan.

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