The Siliguri Town station, which is part of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a World Heritage Site. The station has lost its importance in the past 45 years since the opening of New Jalpaiguri station in 1964. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, March 30: The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has accepted a proposal from an NGO working in the tourism sector to conserve the century-old Siliguri Town Station, which is part of the heritage buildings serving the toy train.

In a letter to the mayor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation Nurul Islam, Raj Basu, a representative of the NGO —Association for Conservation of Tourism — has said the London-based DHR Society was ready to extend financial help and provide archival tips.

“In 1878, Siliguri was connected with Calcutta by rail and the first meter gauge train reached the station,” Basu said. “The Darjeeling Hill Cart Road also originated from this station and in 1880, the town witnessed the coming of the DHR, which later became a World Heritage Site.”

“Although the station largely contributed to the development of Siliguri, it has lost its importance in the past 50 years, particularly after the opening of New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in 1964. If a collective initiative is not taken immediately, the station will soon be history,” he added.

The Siliguri station, he claimed, has witnessed the arrival of personalities like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore and Bagha Jatin.

In his letter to the mayor, the ACT representative has proposed the development of three museums to bring out 130 years of track history in Siliguri. The open air museum will have meter gauge tracks, locomotives, coaches, wagons, signals and other instruments used years ago. The two indoor museums will depict the evolution of Siliguri through photos and artefacts.

The development of such museums, Basu feels, would cost around Rs 60-75 lakh and create employment opportunities for the local people. Basu, who is also the working president of Eastern Himalayan Travel and Tour Operators’ Association, said the DHRS was willing to share the methodology and expertise of Peter Tiller and Terry Martin. While Tiller is the society’s heritage officer, Martin is the archivist. “We have received written confirmation from David Barrie, the DHRS chairman. He had sent a letter to that effect to the director of DHR.”

Subroto Nath, the director of DHR, said the project to develop the station was being formulated and the state tourism and culture department has been approached.

“We are trying to make the state government, some local NGOs and the Siliguri Municipal Corporation join the venture,” he said. “The DHRS has agreed to support the project mostly in technical terms and is likely to provide funds of nearly Rs 5 lakh or so. We are yet to approach our department (railways) for the funding but we would appreciate if the state government comes forward.”