The toy train services run by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway – that has UNESCO’s World Heritage tag – has remained suspended since July 9 between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling stations due to landslide at Gayabari of Kurseong sub-division. However, a positive decision on resuming the service is likely in the beginning of August, officials working in the area have said.
Every year during monsoons, the train service gets disrupted due to landslides in the mountains. However, the railway authorities say that they do not earn enough from the service despite the heritage tag, and therefore in spite of the train route going through the landslide prone area, they have been unable to keep the service going without disruption. Moreover, railways sources admitted that they do not have modern equipment to clear the route of boulders and fix the tracks quickly.
The landslides have made the NH 55 narrow. As a result, fewer numbers of vehicles can ply in certain stretches of the national highway. This has made the task of clearing the boulders more difficult. Moreover, rains too cause disruptions during this season. A decision was taken to begin the services by July 18. However, keeping passenger safety in mind, especially during the monsoons, the restarting of the train services was postponed.
According to North-Eastern Frontier railways sources, a decision to restart the services from the end of this month may be taken. And the full services would be restored after proper notification, provided there are no fresh landslides in the area, railway sources said.
Last year too since August 9 the services of the toy train were halted for some time due to landslides.
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