Rail Enthusiasts Gather to Celebrate Darjeeling Himalayan Railway’s Charm
The Rail Enthusiasts Society (RES), an assembly of individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, including retired railway personnel, advocated for a collaborative effort involving the railway authorities, tourists, and local residents of the hilly and lowland regions to preserve the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) on 10 September.
Sanjay Mukherjee, a retired railway worker, was heading a team of 30 members from the Railway Evaluation and Survey department. They were on a two-day trip to Darjeeling to inspect the current state of the hill railways.
Members of the RES group gathered for a conference about the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway’s past, present and future. The seminar took place at a tea estate near Siliguri on Sunday evening. Attendees included people from the DHR Lovers’ Society, tourism industry stakeholders, railway officials, tea industry representatives, and educators.
Sanjay Mukherjee said that the love for DHR among the common people in the hills and tourists is overwhelming. Even during the off-season, many joy rides of toy trains in Darjeeling are being organized. A collective approach is desired from the citizens here to preserve one of India’s world heritage sites of mountain railway. The world-renowned railway is our rich heritage, closely linked with the equally famous tea and tourism of the hills for nearly 150 years. Its preservation should be pursued by involving the locals, Mukherjee added.
The RES delegation during their trip visited the century-old DHR workshop at Tindharia. They also attended the technical sessions with the local residents of this place and suggested the introduction of more short distances services like Kurseong to Darjeeling and Siliguri to Sukna. They also suggested the infrastructure improvement of the Tindharia workshop.
The team also expressed the desire to make the toy train service eco-friendly by electrifying the tracks, as currently, it runs on steam and diesel. They plan to create a report with improvement suggestions for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) and present it to the railway board.
The recent gathering of the Rail Enthusiasts Society (RES) in Darjeeling was a significant step towards safeguarding this iconic world heritage site. The upcoming report with improvement suggestions, which the RES plans to present to the railway board, is a crucial step forward in this endeavor.
