Steam engines may chug again, ferry tourists

NEW DELHI: The whistle of the steam engine, immortalised in several film songs, may reverberate once again. The Railway Board has set up a five-member committee to suggest ways to preserve the 43 remaining steam engines and put them to use in some areas for tourism.
The committee, headed by chief mechanical engineer of Northern Railway, Narendra Gupta, will review all aspects of sustainability and maintenance of the existing steam locos and submit its findings by December 15.
Of the total 8,153 locomotives with the railways, 3,294 are electric, 4,816 diesel and just 43 steam engines. Most of the discarded steam engines are lying at the Rail Museum in New Delhi. Some others have been put on display at prominent railway offices.
Three lines, where steam locos are used, have attained UNESCO's World Heritage status. These are the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a 2-feet gauge passenger line which was opened way back in 1881. The second is the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in Tamil Nadu which was opened in 1899. The third is the Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR).
The 93-km Kalka-Shimla line has 864 bridges and 102 tunnels. The railways are also trying for UNESCO's Heritage status for the Matheran Light Railway (MLR) and the Kangra Valley Railway (MLR). All the five areas are hill areas which attract tourists in large numbers. However, in some areas, they are often disappointed to find diesel engines being used, the steam locos being used on rare occasions.
A senior railway official said: "It was railway minister Lalu Prasad who was against the idea of steam locomotives lying discarded or kept as show pieces or sold as scrap." Prasad, he said, had directed that steam engines be repaired and revived for emergency use.
The committee that has now been set up will ensure that steam engines are used in chosen tourist spots. There is a proposal to introduce steam engines in the Capital during the Commonwealth Games 2010 as an added attraction.
The committee will include retired railway personnel apart from senior railway engineering experts. Its primary task is to ensure that steam engines get a new lease of life. It will also suggest ways to overcome shortage of running and maintenance staff of such locos.