Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

Darjeeling, 734101 ,India
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is one of the popular Railway Station located in ,Darjeeling listed under Tours & Sightseeing in Darjeeling , Train Station in Darjeeling , Historical Place in Darjeeling , Transportation in Darjeeling ,

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The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the DHR or "Toy Train", is a narrow-gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 88km long. Its elevation level varies from about 100m at New Jalpaiguri to about 2200m at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however, the daily Kurseong–Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The headquarters of the railway is located in Kurseong.On 2 December 1999, UNESCO declared DHR as a World Heritage site, later two more railway lines were added and the site then became to be known as Mountain railways of India.History1879-1900Siliguri, located at the base of the Himalayas, was connected with Calcutta (now Kolkata) by broad gauge railway in 1878. Between Siliguri and Darjeeling Tonga, services ran on a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road). Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, formed a committee to assess the feasibility of the project. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of the committee. Construction began the same year.

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