By Samsul Alam
Haflong Sept 29: Hundreds from Dima Hasao district, especially from district headquarters Haflong town, assembled at the Lower Haflong Railway station to bid farewell to Hill Queen on its last journey from Haflong to Lumding meter gauge.
The Hill Queen train No. 05697/05698, plying between Lumding –Lower Haflong was flagged off on February 20,2008 and is the only train which helps commuters from Dima Hasao board the Jan Shatabdi Express Train 12067/12068 in Lumding in Nagaon district, making it easier to reach the state capital in Guwahati in a few hours.see p-2
...Hundreds turn up to attend Hill queen’s last journey
Out of four passenger trains (Agartalla Express, Barak Express, Cachar Express & Hill Queen) running in the Hill section, Hill Queen is most preferred one by people of Dima Hasao.
The train with Engine No 6618 was beautifully decorated at Lumding this morning and a large number of people gathered at Lumding station to witness the last journey. The train left the station at 9.50 am and reached Lower Haflong at 2.10 PM after twenty minutes at 2.30 pm the train started its final lap with hundreds of passengers.
A team of North Cachar Hills Autonomous council headed by Chief Executive Member Debojeet Thoasen also boarded the train along with hundreds of people from Lower Haflong to Lumding.
Thoasen was very emotional during the journey. Talking to telegraph he said, “I have witnessed the first journey of the train on Febuary 20, 2008 as it started because of my initiative. Today I am witnessing its last journey. I can’t express my feelings but am also happy that we will witness broadgauge within a few months.”
Most were also seen taking photos and videos with the train at Lower Haflong station. Few also climbed up the engine to get themselves clicked for posterity.
The British constructed the Silchar-Lumding metre gauge with 24 railway stations, 586 bridges and 37 tunnels through the tricky hilly landscape of Dima Hasao with available technology at that time. John Boyers, chief engineer & Guildford Molesworth, the consulting engineer, started the construction work in 1888 and after 15 years the section was started on 1st December, 1903.
The Lumding-Silchar metergauge which has served the people for more than 110 years will be a history from tomorrow. No train will ply on the Lumding-Silchar metre gauge section because of the Mega Block from tomorrow ( under Mega Block) as the metergauge section will make way for broad-gauge by March 2015. This will be the final phase of gauge conversion, the work on which starred eighteen years ago.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) plans to preserve the 120 km-long metergauge in between Mahur–Harangajao hill section in Dima Hasao for heritage tourism.
