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Darjeeling toy train may lose world heritage status

Amlan Home Chowdhury in Darjeeling

The world famous toy train of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway that connects the Queen of the hills Darjeeling with rest of India may no longer figure in the list of world heritage sites as the 119-year-old steam engine of the train is going to be replaced by a diesel locomotive.

The United Nations Education and Science Conference that confers world heritage status on archaeological sites, ancient monuments and other relics of the past, has threatened to de-list the Taj Mahal of Agra, the Hampi ruins near Bangalore and the DHR of Darjeeling because the Government of India is not showing keenness in protecting them and following the UNESCO norms. India is a signatory of the world heritage convention of 1972.

DHR is the second oldest narrow gauge toy train in the world. It got the world heritage status in December 1999. The only other mountain train to get this status is Austria's Semmering Alpine Railways.

Lord Lytton inaugurated the DHR in 1880 and the famous toy train was pressed into service the next year. It was designed by Franklin Prestige and built in 1881 in the Manchester-based Atlas Works.

The railway ministry's decision to replace the steam locomotive with a modern diesel locomotive evoked protests from Indians and foreigners. People in different parts of India and abroad have formed various interest groups on the DHR.

In England, DHR Society and Friends of Himalayan Railways are very popular with their membership exceeding 100,000.

The toy train and narrow gauge lines, meandering through the Darjeeling Valley, are considered as technological wonders. The train climbs to a height of 2258 metres to reach Ghoom, which has the highest railway station in Asia.

UNESCO says that removal of the steam engine of the toy train would mean de-listing of the DHR. The railway officials have already brought two diesel locomotives from Matheran (in Maharashtra) to replace the steam engine in contravention of UNESCO's norms.

The steam engine, being an invention of the past, is considered a part of world heritage. Comparatively, the diesel locomotive is a far more recent invention.

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