The Hill
Railways are a metaphor of life in India. The railways are unique in their own
way and they are part and parcel of people’s life in their respective regions. Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of a hill railway, as it applies
ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of connectivity in a mountainous
terrain of great natural beauty.
Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway is intimately linked with the development of Darjeeling as
the ‘Queen of Hill Stations” and one of the major tea centres in India. The densely wooded mountain spur on which
Darjeeling now stands was formerly part of the Kingdom of Sikkim. The British
East India Company leased it to develop as a rest and recovery station for its
soldiers in 1835.
By 1878,
Calcutta (Kolkata) had been linked by rail to Siliguri, in the foothills of the
Himalaya. By this time the tea industry had gained great importance in the
Darjeeling region, and the existing road link was inadequate to cope with the
increased traffic. Franklin Prestage, an agent of the Eastern Bengal Railway,
submitted a detailed proposal for a steam railway from Siliguri to Darjeeling.
This received official approval and construction work began immediately. By
1881, it had been completed in 3 stages.
Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway consists of 88 kms of 2 ft narrow gauge track, passing
through 11 stations between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. One of these, Ghoom,
is the highest railway station in India, at an altitude of 2258 metres. The DHR
Toy Train, as it is affectionately called, affords breathtaking views of
Eastern Himalayas, full of waterfalls, green valleys and in the end the
splendid panorama of the snow-capped Kanchenjunga range. There are four
distinct sections between Siliguri and Darjeeling. The first section between
Siliguri and Sukna is partly urban and partly agricultural, the 11 km densely
forested section from Sukna to Rongtong, the 38 km largely deforested open hill
section up to Kurseong, and finally the 30 km alpine section to Darjeeling,
dominated by Himalayan pine and tea gardens.
Recognizing
the importance and uniqueness of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the UNESCO
awarded it the World Heritage Site tag in 1999. Kalka-Shimla Railway and the
Nilgiri Mountain Railway have since been included in the World Heritage List
under ‘the Mountain Railways of India’.
BBC
Four has produced an award winning documentary tracing the origin of Darjeeling
Hill Railway and its close relationship with the people inhabiting along. Directed
by Tarun Bhartiya, the hour long film, though somewhat dated (2009), gives
great insights into the lives associated with the Hill Railway.
YouTube:
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