Mountain Railways of India

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The construction and infrastructure of Darjeeling Mountain Railways (DHR) are simply stupendous. The engineers have done a splendid job on these lines, especially on the complex tracks. The DHR, when it was started in full form, proved to be a huge factor influencing the social and economic development of a place. Due to the incredible growth of this line, it was recognised as a World Heritage Site during 1999. It was the first time in India that a railway line was given this prestigious status. DHR was the second railways in the world after Austria’s Semmering Railways to be given this honour.

History

Until 1878, travellers could travel to Darjeeling from Siliguri (at the foothills of the Himalayas) only through horse carts. One of the agents from the Eastern Bengal Railway Company, Franklin Prestage presented a proposal for laying a steam tramway in this sector to the committee headed by Sir Ashley Eden. Once the committee accepted the proposal, Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. was commissioned for starting the work on this line. It was during the 4th of July 1881 that the railway line until Darjeeling became operational. The lines were constructed with great precision that severe natural calamities that affected Kolkata during the latter half of 18th century.  The setting up of this line proved vital for transporting personnel and weapons during World War II. Once India got Independence, like all other railways, the Darjeeling Mountain Railways was acquired by the Indian Railways and is currently being managed by the North East Frontier Railway zone.

Route

The route that the Darjeeling Mountain Railway follows is almost the same route that is taken by the National Highway No.55. Hill Card Road that goes up through a brilliant trekking trail up to the Himalayas is the same way which is taken by this mountain railway line. All along the route of this line, there are enough reverses and loops. Some of the important railway stations here are Siliguri Town, Siliguri Junction, Sukna, Rangtong, Tindharia, Mahanadi, Kurseong, Tung, Dilaram, Sonada, Rangbul, Jorebungalow, Ghum and Darjeeling.

Services

Currently, there are many steam locomotives running on the trains of DHR. These B class locomotives were designed by Sharp, Stewart and Company in the time period between 1899 and 1925. This company designed 34 coaches originally, out of which about 12 are being used now.  Inspired by the model of locomotives used in the Nilgiri Mountain Railways, the locomotives were supported by generators operating on diesel and the braking system of the locomotives was powered by a compressor operating on diesel. While this changed the appearance of the locomotive to a great extent, it didn’t improve the efficiency of the operations as the trails of this line were complex and far different from what existed on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. At present, the Darjeeling Mountain railway operates the toy train services that enjoyed immensely by Indian and foreign tourists. These toy trains are operated regularly and it plies between the Darjeeling and Ghum railway stations. Ghum is the tallest station on this line at about 7407 feet above sea level. The toy train stops here for half an hour so that tourists can visit the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Museum. There are also some holiday special and jungle safari trains that are operated by the Darjeeling Himalayan Mountain Railway Line.

Time Table

The toy train operates between the New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling stations. It starts from the former at 9AM and arrives at the latter by 4.15 PM.  During peak tourist season, an additional train operates from New Jalpaiguri at 8.30 AM. Another toy train that starts from Kurseong at 3 PM arrives at Darjeeling at 8 PM. The joy rides that these trains offer lasts for 2 hours and start from Darjeeling junction at 10.40 AM & 1.20 PM and from Siliguri junction at 10.30 AM. The Jungle Safari trains take the tourists through to a world of experience through the dense forests of the sector. The frequency of the jungle safari lasts for about five and a half hours and they are operated during weekends and public holidays when tourist inflow is at a peak. These trains start from Siliguri at 11.15 AM.

Cost

A one-way train fare in these toy trains costs 247 INR in first class and 47 INR in second class compartments. A two-way trip in first class compartment on the joyrides cost 240 INR.

Reservations

Seats on these toy trains and joy rides fill up very quickly, therefore, tourists have to book tickets on these trains well-in-advance in order to reserve their seats. Passengers can log on to the official portal of the Indian railways in order to book their tickets. The station codes for Darjeeling and New Jalpaiguri are DJ and NJP respectively. Using these codes, one can book tickets through this website. Tickets for holiday and Jungle safari trains can be purchased from the ticket counter at Siliguri junction.

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