The Toy Train: Will it change tracks?

Darjeeling, Oct. 21: In an effort to streamline the management of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, popularly known as the Toy Train, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways is considering a proposal to shift its administrative control from Katihar to New Jalpaiguri or some place closer.

The 13-member delegation inspected the Darjeeling station yesterday and also had a chat with local residents before heading for Gangtok where they will discuss the issue with the chairman of Northeast Frontier Railways.

Katihar is a separate division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). The administration of the Darjeeling Himalyan Railways falls under Katihar division.

Prabhat Samantaray, chairman of the delegation, said the single unit administrative office headed by the divisional railway manager (DRM) would help narrow down the focus on the Toy Train.

“The head at Katihar has a lot of things to control with around 35 mail trains and 85 passengers trains. It becomes difficult to concentrate solely on the Toy Train,” he added.

Samantaray, however, added that the issue had to be hammered out with the Railway Board before going about with the process.

“They could have their own reservations on the issue and we need to take note of that too,” he said.

Samantaray said he would recommend re-laying of the narrow-gauge tracks on which the train chugged and the maintenance of bridges, apart from updating other station infrastructure to make it tourist-friendly and viable.

“Earlier, the train was used to ferry goods but that is not possible now because of the duration of the journey. We could, however, introduce more diesel engines to shorten the journey time and increase the overhauling capacity. In this way, the coaches could be increased from three to four,” he added.

According to a rough estimate made by the committee, renovation of the heritage train will cost around Rs 45 crore.

The train, which was accorded World Heritage Status by Unesco in November 1999, is running at a loss of Rs 7.5 crore annually.

“We will prepare our proposal as soon as possible so that it can be included in the next budget,” Samantaray said.

Abani Roy, RSP MP and a member of the committee, admitted that renovation of the train was needed but the monetary aspect should not be the only thing under consideration. “This is a prestigious train and we should try to make it more tourist-friendly and, more importantly, preserve it,” he said.

The panel members will stay in Gangtok for two days and visit Port Blair before concluding their journey.