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DARJEELING RAILWAY
Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway |
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Route:
New Jalpaiguri - Tindharia
- Sukna - Rangtong - Chunbati
- Ghum - Darjeeling
The
Darjeeling Railway
 The
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway,
is also known as "Toy
Train", is a 2 ft
(610 mm) gauge narrow-gauge
railway from Siliguri
to Darjeeling in the Indian
state of West Bengal,
run by the Indian Railways.
It is one of the most
well known hill railways
in the world.
It was
built between 1879 and
1881 and is about 86 km
long. The elevation level
is from about 100 m at
Siliguri to about 2,200
m at Darjeeling. It is
still powered by a steam
engine. A modern diesel
engine is used for Darjeeling’s
mail.
Since
1999 the train has been
a World Heritage Site
as listed by UNESCO. On
the way it passes the
most breathtaking scenery
and climbs to a height
of 7400 feet at Ghum (the
highest station on IR
& the 2nd highest
station in the world),
where on a clear day views
of Mt. Kanchenchunga can
be had.
A ride
on the DHR is not for
the hurried and hassled
traveller who is impatient
to reach his destination.
It’s for those who believe
the journey is the destination.
Much like a toy train
strung together from match-boxes,
the DHR balances on two-feet
tracks moving at a maximum
speed of 15-km an hour.
It takes all of nine hours
to reach Darjeeling from
Siliguri and at quite
a reasonable sum.
History
 Franklin
Prestage, an agent of
Eastern Bengal Railway
Company approached the
government with a proposal
of laying a steam tramway
from Siliguri to Darjeeling.
The proposal was accepted
in 1879 following the
positive report of a committee
formed by Sir Ashley Eden,
the Lieutenant Governor
of Bengal. Construction
started the same year.Gillander
Arbuthnot & Co. constructed
the railway. The stretch
from Siliguri to Kurseong
was opened on 23 August
1880, while the official
opening of the line up
to Darjeeling was on 4
July 1881.
After the independence
of India, DHR was absorbed
in the Indian Railway,
and became a part of the
Northeast Frontier Railway
zone in 1958. DHR was
declared a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO in 1999,
only the second railway
to have this honour bestowed
upon it, the first
one being Semmering Railway
of Austria in 1998.
Write
to Us for a Joy ride to
Darjeeling, West Bengal
on The Darjeeling Railway»» |
