The tunnel along the toy train route at Rongtong. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, April 8: The only tunnel along the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) route will also feature as a tourist spot in the itinerary of toy-train lovers.

Built along the double-spiralled loop at Rongtong in 1882, the tunnel had been in use till heavy rainfall damaged the lower portion of the loop on June 26, 1942.

The DHR India Support Group — the Indian chapter of the UK-based Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS), an association of toy-train lovers — has taken the initiative to convert the tunnel into a tourist spot. The 15ft-long tunnel along the old Loop No 2 at Rongtong, situated 25 km from Siliguri, will open to visitors in a month.

“The tunnel is located at Rongtong Busty No 2 and forms a part of the old Loop 2, which was damaged in a heavy rainfall on June 26, 1942 and had to be replaced by a Z reverse in order to gain a height of 138 feet. Work has been on for the past two months to convert the tunnel into a tourist spot and it has been named DHR Memory Area. It is expected to get completed in the next 15 to 20 days,” said Vivek Baid, a member of the Support Group.

The 80km long toy train route that gradually climbs the steep gradient of the Darjeeling hills from the lowlands of Siliguri is famed to have several features like Z reverses and loops to overcome the hilly terrain but not a single tunnel. “But unlike the popular belief, the DHR does have a tunnel. It was discovered when local children led David Barrie, the DHRS chairman and his team to the remains of the old Loop 2 in 2004. The trains used to actually pass through this tunnel while ascending the double spiral loop. One end of the tunnel, which faces the road, has been blocked by the PWD department for traffic safety,” said Baid.

In fact, this double spiral loop is considered a major engineering feat of the DHR. Both the tunnel and the loop featured in the photograph on the cover of a booklet titled The DHR issued by the DHRS Indian chapter in March.

Terry Martin, the archivist of DHRS, has described the loop in the booklet as “the most ambitious in terms of civil engineering”.

“It climbed 138 feet by means of a double spiral and after circling the outer perimeter of the spur, the line was led through a deep cutting to the upper section. The railway finally crossed over itself at the higher level on a bridge it shared with the road,” he wrote, describing the alignment on which the toy train ascended when the loop had been in use 67 years ago. A postcard titled “Wish you were here! The only tunnel”, has also been issued by the DHRS.

“The tunnel was covered with foliage which we cleared. A staircase that will lead the tourists to the tunnel has also been built. Tourists can explore the tunnel as well as the loop and learn more about the history of the DHR,” said Baid.