Landslide halts toy train services

The tracks blocked by the landslide at Paglajhora near Kuresong on Thursday

TT, Siliguri: Incessant rain in Darjeeling hills caused a major landslide at lower Paglajhora area near Kurseong, damaging a large stretch of the toy train tracks and forcing the suspension of services for the next couple of days.

"A landslide occurred at Lower Paglajhora area located in between Gayabari and Mahanadi (about 30km from Siliguri). There were huge boulders over the tracks and damaged about 60 metres of it spot," P.J. Sharma, the chief public relations officer of NF Railway, said.

"Considering the frequent slides and keeping in mind of the safety and security of the passengers, we have decided to stop the toy train service between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling till August 5," the railway official said.

A source in NF Railway said services would be resumed through the stretch only after ensuring that the tracks are capable of carrying the weight of the train.

"Our primary objective is to restore the track first. But at the same time our priority is always passengers' safety and considering this once the track will be restored, we will check the condition of the line. We will resume the full -fledged train movement only after that," the official added.

Toy train services between Siliguri and Kurseong got disrupted in June 2010 following a landslide on NH55 at Paglajhora, between Gayabari and Kurseong. The landslide had swept away around 500m of the road and the toy train tracks running parallel to it.

Another landslide in September 2011 led to the trains being stopped again. Later, direct services between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling were restored in August 2016. Services were disrupted again for nearly four months since June 12 last year because of the statehood agitation in the hills.