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NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 4 Travel (poem) — Let us explore

Book page 165 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
The Mountain Railways of India are outstanding examples of hill railways and they are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Mountain Railways of India. These three railways are the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and the Kalka–Shimla Railway. The Matheran Hill Railway and Kangra Valley Railway are on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They are still fully operational as living examples of the ingenious engineering enterprise of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The owner of the three properties is the Railway Ministry of the Indian Government. In groups of four, find out more about these heritage trains and make a presentation in the class.
Answer

Divide the work: one railway per member, and the fourth prepares the map and the introduction.

RailwayStatePoints to research
Darjeeling Himalayan RailwayWest BengalThe famous “toy train”; the Batasia Loop; Ghum, one of the highest railway stations in India; inscribed by UNESCO in 1999.
Nilgiri Mountain RailwayTamil NaduMettupalayam to Udagamandalam (Ooty); India's only rack-and-pinion railway, which grips a toothed rail to climb the steepest gradients.
Kalka–Shimla RailwayHimachal PradeshOver 100 tunnels and more than 800 bridges in 96 km; the Barog tunnel; the arched Kanoh viaduct.
Matheran Hill Railway (tentative list)MaharashtraNeral to Matheran; Matheran allows no motor vehicles at all.
Kangra Valley Railway (tentative list)Himachal PradeshPathankot to Joginder Nagar, running below the Dhauladhar range.
Presentation plan (10 minutes): 1 slide — what “World Heritage Site” means and why a railway can be one; 3 slides — one per railway, with a photograph, the route, the year it opened and one engineering marvel; 1 slide — the two railways on the tentative list; 1 slide — why these lines must be preserved. End with the group's own question for the class.
The link with the tunnel: The Kalka–Shimla line alone has more than a hundred tunnels. Every one of them once needed a Sunder Singh to walk its length before a train came through.
Q2.
As an excellent example of the ‘Make in India' success story, the Indian Railways launched India's first indigenous semi-high-speed train, Vande Bharat Express. It has become a symbol of India's aspirations for modern, efficient, and comfortable rail travel. The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on 15 February 2019, on the New Delhi–Kanpur–Allahabad–Varanasi route, running at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour. (Courtesy PIB) In groups of four, find out more about these trains and make a presentation in the class.
Answer
FactDetail from the text
NameVande Bharat Express
What is specialIndia's first indigenous semi-high-speed train — designed and built in India
Flagged off15 February 2019
First routeNew Delhi – Kanpur – Allahabad – Varanasi
Speed160 kilometres per hour
Points to add through your own research: where the coaches are built (Integral Coach Factory, Chennai); what “semi-high-speed” means and how it differs from a bullet train; why the train has no separate engine (self-propelled coaches, like a metro); which Vande Bharat route is closest to your own town; and what the words Vande Bharat mean.
A good comparison for your presentation: put the steam engine of The Tunnel and the Vande Bharat side by side — fuel, speed, noise, smoke, who drives it and who keeps the line safe. It shows how far Indian Railways has travelled in one lifetime.
Q3.
Some of the underwater rail tunnels are the Thames Tunnel in London, the Seikan Tunnel in Japan and the Channel Tunnel between England and France. India's first underwater metro route in Kolkata started in March 2024. A part of this special metro line runs beneath the Hooghly River.
Answer
TunnelWhereWorth noting
Thames TunnelLondon, U.K.Runs under the River Thames; one of the earliest tunnels ever built under a river.
Seikan TunnelJapanJoins the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido beneath the Tsugaru Strait.
Channel TunnelEngland – FranceRuns under the English Channel and links two countries by rail.
Kolkata East–West MetroWest Bengal, IndiaIndia's first underwater metro route, opened in March 2024; part of it runs beneath the Hooghly river.
Find out: How long does a metro take to cross beneath the Hooghly? How do engineers stop water from entering while a tunnel is being bored under a river? Which two stations does the under-river stretch join?
Think about it: A tunnel through a hill goes through rock that is already holding itself up. A tunnel under a river must hold back the water above it for every metre of its length — which is why so few of them exist.
Q4.
Which of these trains do you think would be adventurous to travel in? Discuss among yourselves.
Answer

There is no single right answer. Take a position and defend it — and be ready to disagree politely with your partner.

TrainThe case for calling it adventurous
Darjeeling Himalayan RailwayOpen windows, a loop that turns the train right around, and the track running through the middle of a market street.
Nilgiri Mountain RailwayThe steepest climb of any Indian railway; the train is pushed uphill and holds on with a toothed rail.
Kalka–Shimla RailwayMore than a hundred tunnels — you spend the journey shooting in and out of darkness, exactly as Suraj did.
Vande Bharat ExpressSpeed — 160 km/h with the landscape blurring past the window.
Kolkata under-river metroThe strangeness of knowing a whole river is flowing above your head.
Sample answer: I would find the Kalka–Shimla Railway the most adventurous. Speed is exciting for a few minutes, but a hundred tunnels and eight hundred bridges in ninety-six kilometres means the journey keeps surprising you all day. And after reading The Tunnel, I would spend the whole trip watching for a watchman's hut beside the line.
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