Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is the first, and still the most spectacular instance of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1881, it adopted deviceful engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain. It is still fully operational and retains most of its original features. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

History of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
At one time the journey from Calcutta to Darjeeling was an exhausting one involving many changes. The whole journey took from five to six days. In 1878 the Northern Bengal State Railway was opened, reducing the time of the journey to less than twenty-four hours. The building of the railway aroused great interest in India. Work began in May, 1879, and in March, 1880, the Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton, traveled on a train as far as the eighteenth mile, which was then the limit of the line. In the following August the line was opened for passenger and goods traffic as far as Kurseong, 4,864 ft. above the sea and thirty-two miles from Siliguri. In July, 1881, the line was opened throughout to Darjeeling station.

World Heritage
At the 23rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was inscribed on the list of World Heritage sites. Only two railways have this status, the Semmering Railway in Austria being the other. There is a World Heritage Fund which will consider applications for modest grants to help with conservation. These grants can be given, for instance, for emergency work, training of local personnel or technical cooperation.