A railway communication between a hill of high altitude and plain is a challenging task for engineers. In the year 1878, Franklin Prestage of the Eastern Bengal Railway, foresaw the necessity of a rail link between the hills of Darjeeling and the plains at Siliguri in India and submitted a scheme for the construction of a two feet gauge railway line from Siliguri to Darjeeling to the British Government.
Prestage received sanction for his project on April 8, 1879 and formed the Darjeeling Steam Tramway Co. On September 15, 1881, the company adopted the designation of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Co. (DHR), which remained effective until it was taken over by the Government of India on October 20, 1948 after its independence .
DHR , commonly known as Toy train of Darjeeling, travels 88 km (55 mile) from New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to Darjeeling — climbs from 100 m (328 ft) above sea level at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 m (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling, using six zig zags and five loops to gain altitude. On 5 December 1999, UNESCO declared the DHR as a World Heritage Site.
DHR is one of the most attractive tourist sites of the world. Common people and tourists used this service to reach Darjeeling from NJP or Siliguri enjoying the beautiful views of Himalayas. Nowadays this service is not operational for the entire stretch—only service from Kurseong to Darjeeling is available. Joy ride services are available for tourists.
We were eagerly waiting for the joy ride on this toy train. After booking tickets we were roaming on the platforms on Darjeeling station which looks also like a toy station – small platforms with all facilities of a railway station. We saw the views of hills and the city from the station and waited for our train to arrive. Some trains and engines were halted at the station. A toy train with classic steam engine came and we boarded the train. The joy ride route is Darjeeling – Ghum- Darjeeling, covering a total distance of 15 km. As the train started, we passed through the main Hill cart road– with the cars moving parallel to our train. We could see the amazing views of mountains, busy streets, houses on mountains through our window.
After 15 minutes we reached Batasia Loop. The Batasia Loop is a spiral railway created to lower the gradient of ascent of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in Darjeeling district. At this point, the track spirals around over itself through a tunnel and over a hilltop. It was commissioned in 1919.The train stopped here for 15 minutes and we got down from the train to take snaps at this nice location.
After another 15 minutes journey we reached Ghum station. Ghum railway station is the highest railway station in the India. It is situated at an altitude of 2,258 metres (7,407 ft).The train halted here for half an hour .We visited the rail museum at the station. This halting time did not permit us to visit the Monastery .
The train started for its return trip to Darjeeling following the same route. We enjoyed this two hours joy ride on Toy train. Every one can enjoy this joy ride. But the cost of ticket is very high—INR 1500/ per head for steam engine and INR 1000/ per head for diesel engine for only 15 km journey. The first class coaches could be improved as they are old enough , less spacious and not properly cleaned .
Travels by Arnab De 