The Eastern Railway (ER) has undertaken a multi-crore museum project that will allow visitors a peek into the railway heritage in a slick ambience.

?The first phase of the museum, which will come up on five acres beside the new complex at Howrah station, will be completed in the current financial year,? said Saumitra Mazumdar, a senior railway official.

Elaborating on the plans, he said heritage objects, like old manuscripts, rare photographs, and engines and coaches from the bygone era will be displayed at the museum, to be named Regional Rail Museum.

The railway board has recently sanctioned Rs 47 lakh for the museum. ?The entire project will require a lot more funds. The bill will probably run into crores,? said a senior official of Eastern Railway.

Railway heritage won?t be the only attraction at the museum; it will house a toy train, flower gardens, fountains, food plazas and, if the railway board permits, shopping malls and multiplexes.

?We have already brought a narrow-gauge train from Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to run it on the museum compound,? Mazumdar said.

All railways in eastern India will contribute heritage objects for display at the museum, he added.

ER has sent proposals to the railway board for private participation to build shopping malls and multiplexes on the museum premises.

?We are also considering building an open-air amphitheatre to show documentaries on the progress of the Indian Railways,? the official indicated.

For easy access to the museum, ER plans to start a new ferry service from a jetty near Millennium Park to Howrah, Mazumdar said.