A senior member of the UK-based Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society (DHRS) has said the India government should refrain from monetising the Darjeeling

Himalayan Railway and explore alternative options for the conservation of the world heritage site recognised by Unesco and similar railways in the country.

Adrian Shooter, the president of the DHRS, an international society that was formed in 1997 and has over 800 members spread across 24 countries, said the railways should try and find volunteers who could contribute to the conservation of DHR that had started its journey in 1881.

“We believe railway officials should come up with new ideas for the conservation and the promotion of the DHR, instead of trying to bring in some enterprise that has commercial interests to run the railway. There are a number of such heritage railways in the UK. They are being preserved by a good number of volunteers. Events are being hosted at regular intervals to encourage more and more people to enjoy rides in these railways,” said Shooter, sitting at a hotel here on Friday morning.

In the UK, one of the popular heritage train rides is the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, which covers a distance of 66km. The DHR track here, however, is longer. The 87km-long DHR tracks are from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling.

Shooter owns the DHR Class B 778 steam loco, the only DHR engine that is outside India. He runs the loco with coaches at Beeches Light Railway, a private railway developed by him at Steeple Aston in Oxfordshire of the UK.

The 73-year-old DHR enthusiast also underscored the need to engage local communities in the preservation of the mountain railway that draws thousands of tourists to the Darjeeling hills.

“I have visited the Darjeeling hills a number of times and have found that people dwelling along the tracks have huge sentiments for the toy train. It is important to draw up a plan so that local communities participate in the upkeep of the DHR in a consistent manner,” said Shooter, who is being accompanied by his wife Barbara on the trip to the hills.

Asked about the activities of the DHRS, he said they had proposed to the Indian railway authorities the overhaul of a DHR loco that was in front of the Rail Bhavan in Delhi and shifted to the railway museum in December last year.

“It is a steam loco and we intend to take it to the UK, get it thoroughly overhauled, run it to promote the DHR and encourage rail enthusiasts to visit Darjeeling, and then send it back to India in a running condition,” said Shooter, before heading for the hill town.

He is set take a Joy Ride between Darjeeling and Ghoom on Saturday on a coach that would be hauled by a steam loco.