Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairperson Railway Board & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), visits Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Northeast Frontier Railway. Shri Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, General Manager of N. F. Railway, along with Principal Head of Departments and Divisional Railway Manager of Katihar accompanied her during the inspection.
She 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 & 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 Railway Board & CEO, 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 then inspected Ghum Museum & 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 Smt. Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairperson Railway Board & Chief Executive Officer is expected to drive special focus on overall development & conservation of this World Heritage site.
