railway trip to Indian hill station

http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3431/co ... india.html

Well , eventually . a trip i have wanted to make , if i ever make it back to India .
The references to Wellington , are to New Zealand's capital city . renowned for its wind .

The toy train up to Matheran (hill station in Maharashta state) looks like great fun. Unfortunately, it's out of service due to the 2005 monsoon flooding. I have pictures of the damage on my blog at http://blog.russnelson.com/railroads/ne ... ilway.html

Nice photos Russ .
Any idea on the status of the darjelling toy train . i did get to ride that one .

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to my land of ancestry. Darjelling is in Assam (Northeastern India), and is therefore typically not drastically affected by monsoons like Maharashtra.

If you ever return to India, you may want to consider taking a trip on the Shatabdi services. These are fully airconditioned, comfortable trains (Like many other IR trains) with all the amenities you'll need. However, unlike other routes, history and attractions in the various destinations stopped at are explained in English. Just be careful not to ride the Jan-Shatabdi, because these trains are mirrors of the Shatabdi, but lack the refuge of air-conditioning.

Thanks Yoshi . I enjoyed the atmosphere of second class on the indian trains when i was there , so that wouldnt put me off . Nowdays , been the ripe old age of 41 , i might go for the comfort .
A friend of mine is heading for southern india in a month or two .