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Mountain Railways of India

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India
Date of Inscription: 1999
Extension: 2005
Criteria: (ii)(iv)
Core zone: 4.59 ha
Buffer zone: 500 ha
States of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu
N11 30 37.0 E76 56 09.0
Ref: 944bis

Brief Description

The site includes the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, inscribed in 1999. The site now encompasses the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 46 km long metre-gauge single-track railway in Tamil Nadu State. Its construction was first proposed in 1854, but due to the difficulty of the mountainous location the work only started in 1891 and was completed in 1908. This railway, scaling an elevation of 326 m to 2,203 m and still in use today, represented the latest technology of the time. It was highly significant in facilitating population movement and socio-economic development in the British colonial era.

Justification for Inscription

Criterion (ii): The mountain railways of India are outstanding examples of the interchange of values on developments in technology, and the impact of innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multicultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

Criterion (iv): The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. The Mountain Railways of India are outstanding examples of a technological ensemble, representing different phases of the development in high mountain areas.

Notes

  • The “Darjeeling Himalayan Railway” which was previously inscribed on the World Heritage List, is part of the “Mountain Railways of India”.

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