Darjeeling toy train hits car and scooter on narrow road beside track, video goes viral

A video of the toy train in Darjeeling, West Bengal, is going viral on social media. Hardly any visitor to Darjeeling skips a ride on the toy train, which UNESCO has declared a World Heritage site. The video has drawn attention because it shows the train hitting a car and a scooter.

The video was posted on Instagram from an account named @sarfiratittoo.ig. It shows a very narrow road with the railway track right beside it. Some vehicles are parked on the road and some are moving. The famous toy train then comes from behind, first pushes into a car and immediately afterwards hits a parked scooter hard.

On impact, both people on the scooter fall to the ground and the scooter is damaged. Passengers on the train and people on the road are alarmed. The train also stops immediately after the collision.

Such incidents are not new in Darjeeling. Because of the hilly terrain, the track and the road run very close to each other, and there is a risk of an accident if a vehicle gets even slightly close to the track.

People have posted a number of light-hearted comments on the video. One wrote, "The fault is with the railway line, the line has been laid too far ahead." Another said, "The train driver should have moved a little to the side, why did he come straight?" A third said, "The train should have sounded its horn and passed by the side." The comments are amusing, but they also raise a serious question.

People are asking how the administration allows vehicles to come so close to the track, and why there are no barricades or signboards. They say a major accident could occur if this continues. No information has emerged so far on whether anyone was injured in the incident or how much damage was caused. The local administration has also not commented on it.

The Darjeeling toy train is very old. It runs on a narrow track known as narrow gauge. It passes through the hills and along the middle of the road, which makes it very popular with tourists. But this very feature is now becoming a source of danger. With no space between the road and the track, such incidents have occurred several times before, and accidents have happened earlier too because many vehicles were parked near the track.

People therefore say the administration should pay attention to this and put up the necessary barriers so that it does not happen again. The video may look amusing, but the safety issue is important.