Country First green train for north Bengal ride through Dooars

Siliguri, March 14.TT: The first “green” train in the country will be introduced in north Bengal, the railway minister said today while announcing five new express trains for the region.

“A green train would run through the pristine forests of north Bengal,” minister Dinesh Trivedi said in his railway budget speech but did not provide any details on the route or frequency.

The authorities of the Northeast Frontier Railway that is in charge of tracks passing through “pristine forests” — the Siliguri to Alipurduar Junction route which is flanked by three wildlife sanctuaries, a tiger reserve and fringes of a national park — said they were clueless about what a “green train” was.

Trivedi, however, said a green train would have bio-toilets and would be pulled by a diesel engine which emits less smoke. In “bio-toilets”, the waste is not discharged on tracks but stored for disposal later.

“Introduction of the ‘green train’ is definitely a unique announcement for north Bengal but very little was spoken on it. We expect the railway ministry to consider the prospects of tourism in the forest stretches of north Bengal and run trains accordingly. The trains must be able to ferry visitors to forest destinations on both sides of the Dooars rail track on the Siliguri Junction-Alipurduar route,” said Samrat Sanyal, president of the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators’ Association.

The association has also welcomed the introduction of a Shatabdi Express between New Jalpaiguri and Howrah and new trains to connect north Bengal with Mumbai and Gujarat.

“It would have been better if the weekly express to Surat would had been introduced from New Jalpaiguri instead of Malda Town,” Sanyal said.

Environmentalists on the other hand said they have reservations on a couple of projects.

“Though we do not have much details on the green train but it is evident it would run through the Dooars route. The train might render eco-friendly services but any additional train on the track would have a negative impact on the bio-diversity,” said Animesh Bose, programme coordinator of the Siliguri-based Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

“We had been demanding double tracks to the Northeast (the NJP-New Alipurduar track that goes via Jalpaiguri Road, Mainaguri, Dhupguri, Falakata and New Cooch Behar) to reduce the movement of trains on the Dooars route. But only a small stretch of the entire track has been included in the budget this year,” said Bose.

Trivedi also said DEMU (diesel multiple unit powered by more than one engine) coaches would replace trains with one engine on the New Jalpaiguri-Bamanhat route. As of now, a pair of passenger trains runs on this route everyday.

Residents of Changrabandha, a principal land customs station in Cooch Behar on the Bangladesh border, are satisfied with the announcement of daily DEMU services from Siliguri.

“As of now, roads are the only mode of communication. We have to bank entirely on buses, with no train services in this area. If this service is introduced in the current year, it would largely help local people as well as Bangladeshis who visit north Bengal via Changrabandha,” said Panna Dutta, who stays in Changrabandha. “The train can also help ferry goods which are exported to Bangladesh.”

The business community in Jalpaiguri was disappointed as no new trains had been announced for the district.

“We had expected new trains from Haldibari and Jalpaiguri Road and stops of the other trains at the stations,” said Samarendra Prasad Biswas, the general secretary of North Bengal National Chambers of Commerce and Industries. “The only new announcement for us is the ‘green train’ but we have no clue what exactly the service would be like and it will probably cover only part of the district which is part of the Dooars.”