Memorable train journeys

I like train travel.  From sweaty climes with open windows that bring in diesel soot and clicking sounds to dry fish smells in India to cool, superfast and whisper quiet gliders of Japan the charm of a railway journey has to be experienced to be enjoyed.  Or not.

As I remember it here are some that I have been on that were unique in their own way.

1. The Indian Railways Deccan Queen -  An Express train service from Pune to Bombay via the Bhor Ghats, descending less than half a kilometer in altitude from the Peshwa capital on the Deccan plateau to the nation's commercial capital by the Arabian sea coast.  190 km in about four hours.  28 tunnels and about five stops from start to finish.  The 'ghat' is a mountainous region that was alive with wildlife not seen in the city and during the monsoon was awash with impromptu waterfalls along the track.  You could stick your arm out and touch the cooling water as it raced down the hillside.  The snack from the train's buffet car was a cheesy bread sandwich that to this day is a unique flavor all its own followed by a steaming potato wada at Karjat (the station at the bottom of the hill at about the two hour mark) served with a red garlic chutney on a green broad leaf (that served as a biodegradable container).  Followed by a cold Thums up - the cola that had a fan following all its own.  The Queen of the Deccan was my favorite mode of travel during my engineering school days.  I could shunt myself over the weekend to eat home cooked food and do a load of laundry before taking the train back to Pune.  
2. JR Shinkansen - Tokyo to Osaka  - which is little over 540 km that a Hikari class bullet train covered in three hours which averages around 180 km per hour.  On a Japan Rail pass good only for visiting tourists from outside Japan it was the perfect getaway vehicle, literally and figuratively to enjoy the many vistas and countryside culture that Japan has to offer.  On the way west if you are lucky (and we were) one catches the glimpse of the perfect conical projection toward the north in the form of Mt. Fuji. Fujisan as it is known to the locals is a well visited UNESCO site and was covered in snow when we saw it during the cherry blossom spring week.  
   
   The train system as a whole is a marvel of six sigma in action.  Process and engineering come together with human diligence to form a well run machine the likes I have not witnessed anywhere.  From arriving at the station to boarding to on board service and the ride itself you can take cues from pictographs and not speak a word of Japanese.  Safe (no accidental death in its over 50 years of operation) and reliable and clean it is train travel as unique as Japan.
3. Jungfraubahn in Switzerland - Climbing almost 4,500 feet from a midway point in the Bernese Oberland region of the Alps this is a true Swiss engineering marvel.  Cog rail in the middle of the tracks allow for the rakes to chew into the rack as the train navigates some high grades climbing to a peak altitude of just over 11,000 feet.  
   
   From there you can take an easy hike to see the Aletch glacier and summit Jungfrau peak.  There is even (or maybe now not) a Bollywood restaurant on top.  In summer the valleys and green grassland form a Kodak contrast with the light snow at high altitude and the bright red coaches that climb and turn every 50 meters.
4. Kiwi Rail Coastal Pacific - On New Zealand's south island this cute meter gage track from the northern tip of Picton railway station runs along the eastern coast all the way to Christchurch about 350 km away.  
   
   The views of the south Pacific are simply awe inspiring as the train reaching max cruising speeds of well over 100 kmph hugs the edge of the rocky slope skirting lazy seals and sand bars that dot the black and brown beaches of the island.  It is currently out of service due to earthquakes in 2016 that destroyed some track.
5. Peru Rail from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu in the Andean mountains - Another grand experience awaits who has wanted to visit the sacred Inca site 10,000 feet in the sky.  The train journey is a deluxe travel mode wherein you experience the sights and sounds of the roaring Urubamba river as you climb from the low valley into the mystical and fog filled Andes.
   
    Visiting the Inca city on top of the mountain was a treat unto itself and arriving by train to the base camp is surely the way to go.  There is an additional 30 min bus ride to reach the park gates.