I am planning a trip by rail to Turkey, and am keen to ride on the narrow gauge railway line from Patras to Corinth in Greece. The line was mentioned briefly in The Sunday Times last October 9, but I am stuck in trying to find any details. J H Brooks, Colwyn Bay

Doc Holiday responds: In fact, the line you are looking for is one of the most spectacular branch lines in the world. It runs due south from the town of Diakofto, on the line from Patras to Corinth, to the hill town of Kalavryta.

It was completed in 1895, and using a rack and pinion system for the steepest parts of track, manages to haul its little carriages up 700m in 22 kilometres length. You'll leave the town through orchards and fields, but soon the train precariously makes its way up the sides of the Vouraikos gorge. Where the gorge narrows, the train enters a curving tunnel, and emerges on a narrow ledge, perched high above the river.

This stretch to the picturesque town of Zahlorou is the most thrilling, after which the train chugs over the plain to Kalavryta, a cool maintain resort etched into the national psyche by two events. It was here that the 1821 war of independence was proclaimed, and this was the reason for the railway's construction, so that ordinary Greeks could be transported all the way to the site by train. The second event was a grizzly massacre of 1943. The clock in the cathedral tower still shows the time as 2:34, exactly when the Nazi forces began a massacre all of all males in the town over 15 years old.

The journey from Diakofto to Kalavryta takes just over an hour, and costs about £2 in Second Class, and about £2.50 in First. It's worth splashing out on First Class, as the carriages are at the front and rear of the train and have even better views.

Filoxenia (01653 617755, www.filoxenia.co.uk) are a tour operator that specialise in tailor made itineraries in the Peloponnese. Or try Great Rail Journeys (01904 521980 or visit www.greatrail.com), who feature the trip through the Vouraikos Gorge in their Greece and the Peloponnese.

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