3 of the best train journeys in India

If you are among those who slugs it out for the window seat while on a train ride, you probably know the pleasures of being on a train. The pleasure, they say, is not in arriving but being, and being on these three journeys, even more so

Inside one of the rooms of the Maharajas' Express

Maharajas' express
The Maharajas' Express promises to make you feel like royalty. Provided you have the kind of money that kings usually do. Shell out Rs 2 lakh (this is just the base price) and you can get a ride aboard a decadent train that takes three sorts of journeys: the 8-day Princely India (Mumbai to Delhi with pit-stops at Vadodara, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur, Ranthambhore and Agra), the 8-day Royal India (Delhi to Mumbai with similar pit-tops as the previous tour) and the 7-day Classical India (round trip to Delhi via Agra, Gwalior, Khajuraho, Bandhavgarh, Varanasi and Lucknow), each journey promises to 'unravel the varied tapestry of this majestic landscape', the website promises. What makes this trip worth the moolah? Two fine dining restaurants, an exotic bar, a lounge, guided off-train excursions and a fab Presidential suite, if you have more money to blow.
Log pn tou00a0www.rirtl.com for more details

The Konkan Railway promises breathtaking scenery

Kalka to shimla
The Kalka to Shimla train route is one of the most picturesque routes in the country. The majestic route takes you through 102 tunnels, 864 bridges and 919 curves. Built to connect Shimla, the refuge of the English to escape from the cruel Indian heat, in 1903, today it's taken over by locals who do the commute for work or to sell their wares up and down the mountainside. Don't forget to spot the pine and deodar trees, post-monsoon rivulets, the many flowers that bloom all around especially near Shimla,the Gothic-style bridges and viaducts and cattle grazing around the track. The narrow gauge rail route will hopefully take you back to the days when taking time out to wait and stare was a rewarding experience.

Konkan railway
If you have been travelling to the beachy paradise of Goa by an overnight bus, you do not know what you are missing out on. Hailed as an engineering marvel, the route includes 2,000 bridges and 92 tunnels. The Konkan Railway connects the states ofu00a0 Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, crisscrossing its way through valleys and rivers, and scenery that can inspire fist fights to decide who gets to sit by the window. With the Western Ghats to the east and the Arabian Sea on the west, the varying terrain and topography is best enjoyed while sitting at the door, sipping chai and watching the world rush past.