Darjeeling toy train goes off tracks near Darj station

Darjeeling: A diesel-run locomotive of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) derailed on Wednesday morning, raising questions on the frequency of such occurrences and the maintenance of one of the biggest draws of the Hills. The Darjeeling-bound train left the Kurseong station at 8am with seven passengers in two coaches. Just as it was about to enter Darjeeling station around noon, the wheels of the last coach jumped tracks.

The passengers, however, were unharmed. “We boarded the train at Ghoom and enjoyed the journey. But when we were about the reach the station in Darjeeling, we felt a slight jolt and the train stopped. We were told that the train had gone off the tracks,” said Nirmal Saha, a tourist from Kolkata. It took workers more than an hour to bring the coach back on tracks, which resulted in delay of rides to Ghoom and back. Sources said the same train had derailed in Kurseong on Tuesday.

The 12.05pm diesel and 12.45pm steam engines had to be rescheduled by over an hour. The morning return trips from Ghoom at 9.45am and 10.05am were also affected as they were forced to abort a few metres behind the derailed train.

DHR officials refused to receive calls, but sources said the derailment could have occurred as the tracks were wet with frost. “It was very cold and tracks on several stretches were covered with frost. The wheels may have gone off tracks because of it. There was no casualty though,” the source said.(TOI)