The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) celebrated the 125th anniversary of one of its steam locos at the Ghum railway station on Thursday.
The celebration took place on a day when a 25-member team of the parliamentary standing committee on railways visited the hills. They were accompanied by Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, the general manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), and other railway officials.
“The B-class locomotive, bearing number 782B, has served the mountain railway without interruption for 125 years. It was built by Sharp, Stewart & Co, based in Manchester, England,” said a DHR source.
“The steam engine is considered a symbol of engineering marvel of the British era that is continuously carrying the legacy of Indian railways,” the source added.
C.M. Ramesh, committee chairperson, flagged off a ceremonial train hauled by the loco from Ghum, located at an elevation of 7,407 feet above sea level.
On Thursday afternoon, the team reached Kurseong and held a meeting with officials of the NFR and other agencies engaged in railway projects in and around north Bengal.
“At the meeting, committee members were apprised about the progress of the Sevoke-Rangpo railway project and DHR services,” said an official.
After the meeting, they went to the Ghum station where the ceremonial train was flagged off. They also visited the DHR museum.