3 Indian trains

·         In January 2008 three heritage trains of Indian Railways - The Palace on Wheels, The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway or the Toy Train and the Deccan Odyssey -got listed among the top 25 iconic rail adventures in world.

·         The two other trains from the Asian region to feature in the coveted list are Eastern & Oriental Express (South East Asia) and Shangri-La Express (China).

·         The list of these celebrated trains has been published by a US-based Society of International Railway Travellers (SIRT) in a special edition of its magazine to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

·         SIRT chief Eleanor Hardy said the 25 trains chosen represented the group’s best-loved railway journeys.

·         The Palace on Wheels, comprising 14 air-conditioned deluxe saloons and equipped with world-class amenities, is the flagship train of Indian Railways in luxurious travelling and travels between New Delhi and Rajasthan.

o        All the coaches of this resplendent train are named after former Rajput states matching the aesthetics and interiors of the royal past. Each saloon has a mini pantry, packed with hot and cold beverages and refreshments, and a place to relax and get together.

·         The second Indian train to figure on the global list is the Toy Train or The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which is a narrow gauge railway that runs from Siliguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal.

o        The train, built between 1879 and 1881, is still powered by a steam engine. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.

·         Deccan Odyssey, the third train from India that has made the global list, is a luxury train that travels through Central India over a period of eight days, and has stopovers in Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Sawantwadi, Goa, Pune, Aurangabad and Nasik.

o        This train has 21 coaches, out of which 11 are passenger cars and two presidential suite cars. It also has a conference car, which can be doubled as dance floor in the night and two restaurant cars.