Railway Board Chairperson visits Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

Maligaon, April 4 (MExN): Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairperson, Railway Board & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), visits Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Northeast Frontier Railway.  Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, General Manager of NF Railway, along with Principal Head of Departments and Divisional Railway Manager of Katihar accompanied her during the inspection. 

Sinha inspected the 109 years old Tindharia Workshop and emphasized for preservation of this Heritage site. Tindharia Workshop was established in the year 1915 and is the only workshop of Indian Railways where maintenance of Steam Engine and Wooden Body Coaches of Narrow Gauge are done. She also inspected the 100-year-old Steam Engine Loco 802-B which is still in operation at DHR. She also inspected various ‘Z’ reverses and loops on her way to Darjeeling. Later, she visited the Elysia Place, the present Headquarters of DHR and the then headquarters of the ‘Assam Rail Link Project’. She visited the mini museum and DHR office there. Later, discussions were held with officials of DHR where she reviewed performance across all aspects of working.

The Chairperson also inspected Kurseong station, an important stop on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway route, which serves as an important operational and administrative hub for the DHR. She inspected Ghum Museum and Station, which is the highest railway station in India. Later, she visited Darjeeling station and also inspected the newly refurbished heritage turntable. She took stock of all the passenger amenities and facilities at Kurseong, Ghum and Darjeeling stations.

“The extensive inspection of DHR by the Chairperson is expected to drive special focus on overall development and conservation of this World Heritage site,” Sabyasachi De, Chief Public Relations Officer, NFR.