Thorough inspection of Darj Himalayan Rly tracks begins

Officials have identified four vulnerable spots where the DHR had derailed on several occasions

Sanchita Aich Bag, MP, 9 Jan 2024, Siliguri: To ensure smooth operations and safety, Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) has initiated the process of thorough inspection of the tracks. This comes on the heels of the DHR derailing twice in a week near Darjeeling Station. 

Surendra Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Katihar Division of North East Frontier Railways (NFR), Prashant Kumar, senior commercial manager of Katihar Division and other Railway officials supervised the tracks on Tuesday from Sukna to Darjeeling. 

The officials have identified four vulnerable spots where the DHR had derailed on several occasions. These areas will be thoroughly checked and if required, rectifications will be done. Preparations will be taken to restrict such incidents. 

Not only the tracks, technical improvements and thorough maintenance of the rolling stock will be done. Food quality and other amenities will also be improved. Prashant Kumar, 

Senior Commercial Manager (SCM) of Katihar Division said: “To ensure the safety, we conduct such visits on Railway tracks. We will adopt new technology in areas where the train has derailed several times. 

We have listed out four places and steps will be taken at the earliest. Safety of the passengers is our priority.” 

On the first day of New Year, a Joy Ride train with tourists derailed at Marry Villa area on the way to Ghoom Railway Station with 64 passengers. After two days, the train derailed again on January 4 near Kakjhora in Darjeeling during a Joy Ride with 59 passengers. 

Though no casualties or injuries were reported, questions were raised about the safety of passengers and on the role of DHR. 

“Such accidents are occuring after landslides on the Railway tracks. We are planning to take special measures to prevent these problems. Also the steam engines are 100-year-old, those engines also need some improvements,” the SCM added. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/thorough-inspection-of-darj-himalayan-rly-tracks-begins-547544