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Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to have second class coach service too
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SME Times News Bureau | 20 Mar, 2018
The railways would start a
second class coach service and look into the possibility of reducing
fares in the internationally famed Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Railway
Board Chairman Ashwini Lohani announced on Tuesday.
Talking to
mediapersons after a day-long visit of the DHR - adjudged UNESCO World
Heritage Railway, he said that all restoration work would be done to
preserve the heritage character of the hill railway.
Lohani said
the authorities would look into the possibility of reduction of fares in
the narrow-gauge hill railway to make it more economical. A
second-class coach service would be started to make the journey on the
train more accessible for general public.
On his maiden visit to
the DHR, he arrived at New Jalpaiguri on Tuesday morning to take stock
of the ground realities of the famous hill railway and efforts to make
it sutainable.
Lohani started his inspection of the entire narrow
gauge section from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling on a special train and
visited Tindharia workshop, Kurseong station and Loco shed, Ghum station
and museum and Darjeeling Station and Loco Shed.
In order to
bring a heritage feel, he directed all DHR staff to be dressed in the
original uniform worn in early pre-Independence days.
He directed that the ongoing facelift of the Tindharia workshop be completed by April 1.
He
said senior supervisors working in DHR would be sent for foreign
training to make them aware of the superior standards which are
practised in maintenance and operation of narrow-gauge railways abroad.
He instructed that two rail buses be made in the workshop within the
next six months.
Lohani said all 14 steam engines, which are the primary USP of the Hill railway, would be revived.
Air-brake modification of steam engine to be done to increase efficiency and reduce manpower requirement.
The
Railways have already entered into an MoU with Heavy Engineering
Corporation for design, fabrication/manufacture and supply of spares for
the steam locomotives in DHR.
At Kurseong station a brief
presentation was made by the UNESCO team working on the Comprehensive
Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) to apprise the Chairman on the
progress made on devising a plan for heritage conservation of DHR.
Lohani
assured all possible help from Railway side. He also inspected the
air-conditioned coach developed indigenously for DHR and expressed
satisfaction with the innovation.
He instructed that all first class coaches be made air-conditioned within a short period.
A
railway spokesman said Lohani's visit is significant in the sense that
he was responsible for drafting the application for inclusion of DHR in
the UNESCO World Heritage list in the 1990s.
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