126 DHR anniversaries gets diesel engine

Darjeeling: DHR by name it is Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, but there was grand celebration of its 125 years of anniversary in Siliguri. This year too, 126 year of anniversary celebrated at Siliguri with the inauguration of “Himalayan Princess”, which was flagged off from Siliguri Junction to Rongton by general manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Ashutosh Swami. To the contrary, there was nothing in Darjeeling railway station.

 

The Unesco’s World Heritage Committee declared the DHR as a world heritage site on 5 December 1999. (More than a month old Land-slide at Darjeeling railway station - 24 Aug. 07)

“Himalayan Princess”, diesel-driven toy train, a pleasure-cum-travel train plying daily between New Jalpaiguri and Kurseong, new five coaches specially designed to give tourists the maximum possible view of the landscape.

In the same day, Elysia Bhawan in Kurseong was inaugurated as the headquarters of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and in-house museum inside Elysia Bhawan was also inaugurated by Mr. RK Rao, a member of Mechanical Railway Board, to mark the DHR’s 126th anniversary. The newly inaugurated museum would remain open to tourists between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday. While the entry fee for the locals has been fixed at Rs 20 per person, the foreigners have to pay Rs 100 each to visit the museum.

Senior railway authorities visited the Kurseong station today and cut a Toy Train-shaped cake to celebrate the 126th anniversary of the DHR.

Meanwhile, Kurseong MLA Mrs Shanta Chettri, demanded that the toy trains be modernised to catch the attention of the tourists and recruitment of group C and group D staff at the DHR headquarters.