Darjeeling Himalayan Railway | Collapse fear looms over toy train unit

Siliguri, June 13.TT: The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is worried that a fresh landslide will topple a portion of the nearly 100-year-old railway workshop perched immediately above a highway stretch that sank at Tindharia last year.

The DHR wheel shop that houses five to six heritage machines sits precariously just 200 metres above the damaged stretch of NH55. Nearly 150 metres of the highway were washed away in a landslide triggered by heavy rain on September 28 last year.

The DHR officials said the machines were too heavy and couldn’t be relocated to another part of the workshop.

“The wheel shop on the right side of the workshop is at the risk of falling over along with machines which are nearly 100 years old. The machines are too heavy and they cannot be shifted. We were hoping that the damaged stretch of the highway would be repaired before monsoon. However, there is no sign of restoration and we fear heavy rainfall may trigger fresh landslides, causing the wheel shop and machines to collapse,” said a DHR official.

“The rainy season was over after the landslide occurred and there was no risk of fresh damage at the spot. But with the onset of the monsoon, danger is looming over the workshop,” added the official.

State public works department said the restoration of the road at Tindharia, 30km from Siliguri, would begin only after an expert committee from the Union ministry of surface transport and highways submitted its report.

“The ministry has asked a committee of consultants to determine whether rebuilding the road or constructing a bridge across the damaged stretch is feasible. The Centre will sanction funds for the repair only after the committee submits its report and the recommendations are reviewed by the ministry. The repair won’t kick off until and unless the report is ready and the funds are released,” said Nirmal Mondal, an executive engineer of the PWD (NH division IX).

The workshop established in 1915 is the only DHR facility where major repairs of toy train locomotives and coaches can be carried out.

A Northeast Frontier Railway official at NJP said: “It is necessary to restore the damaged portion of NH55 immediately. We held a meeting with DHR officials in Kurseong last week to assess the situation at Tindharia and will soon meet PWD officials to discuss the matter.”