Methods
Study Area
This case study was carried out along the 161-km long railway line between the
Siliguri Junction (latitude 26.70758°N, longitude 88.42761°E) and the Alipurduar
Junction (latitude 26.49099°N, longitude 89.52644°E) in northern West Bengal
state, India. The Eastern Bengal Railway (EBR) was one of the pioneer railway
companies in the former Bengal and Assam provinces of British India from 1857 to
1942. The Siliguri Alipurduar track was built during 1910–1911, using
non-standard meter gauge (MG). Major tracts of tropical moist forests dominated
by sal (Shorea robusta) were cleared to establish the railway line and to expand tea
(Camellia sinensis) plantations. Other forests were also cut to make way for
establishing agricultural land and to provide the wood to make the railway sleepers.
These forests supported a large elephant population from historical times (GoWB
1957) and even supplied elephants for use in armies of Sultanate and Mughal rulers,
and later in logging operations by the British (Sukumar 2011). Post-independence,
the Eastern Bengal Railway operating in Assam and northern Bengal came under
the jurisdiction of the North-East Frontier Railways.
This railway line passes through an elephant range that is part of the Eastern
Himalayan biodiversity hotspot and the Eastern Dooars Elephant Reserve
(Roy et al. 2009). The line cuts through a mixture of forests, tea gardens, towns,
crop lands, human settlements, army establishments, streams, rivers, and elephant
corridors within the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar. Established
in the early nineteenth century primarily to serve the tea industry (Ray 2002) and
the extraction of timber from this region, the line initially had a “meter-gauge track”
distance between two rails = 1000 mm/3 ft 3 3/8 in.); at that time, only a few trains
used the line and did so at maximum speeds of 60 kph (37 mph). However, given
the increasing demand to improve connectivity between the states of north-eastern
India and the rest of the country, this railway line was converted from meter-gauge
to broad-gauge (distance between two rails 1676 mm or 5’ 6”) in 2003.
Broad-gauge lines can carry heavier loads (including more people) and withstand
higher train speeds; consequently, the number of freight and passenger trains on the
track has almost doubled. The speed of trains has also increased to more than
100 kph (62 mph). Over 74 km (46 mi) of this line run through forested areas,
including several protected areas (Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Gorumara
National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, Jaldapara National Park and Buxa
Tiger Reserve), as well as through more than 40 tea gardens, 4 army establishments,
and agricultural land (mainly paddy and maize, cultivated seasonally).
160
M. Roy and R. Sukumar
Study Area
This case study was carried out along the 161-km long railway line between the
Siliguri Junction (latitude 26.70758°N, longitude 88.42761°E) and the Alipurduar
Junction (latitude 26.49099°N, longitude 89.52644°E) in northern West Bengal
state, India. The Eastern Bengal Railway (EBR) was one of the pioneer railway
companies in the former Bengal and Assam provinces of British India from 1857 to
1942. The Siliguri Alipurduar track was built during 1910–1911, using
non-standard meter gauge (MG). Major tracts of tropical moist forests dominated
by sal (Shorea robusta) were cleared to establish the railway line and to expand tea
(Camellia sinensis) plantations. Other forests were also cut to make way for
establishing agricultural land and to provide the wood to make the railway sleepers.
These forests supported a large elephant population from historical times (GoWB
1957) and even supplied elephants for use in armies of Sultanate and Mughal rulers,
and later in logging operations by the British (Sukumar 2011). Post-independence,
the Eastern Bengal Railway operating in Assam and northern Bengal came under
the jurisdiction of the North-East Frontier Railways.
This railway line passes through an elephant range that is part of the Eastern
Himalayan biodiversity hotspot and the Eastern Dooars Elephant Reserve
(Roy et al. 2009). The line cuts through a mixture of forests, tea gardens, towns,
crop lands, human settlements, army establishments, streams, rivers, and elephant
corridors within the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar. Established
in the early nineteenth century primarily to serve the tea industry (Ray 2002) and
the extraction of timber from this region, the line initially had a “meter-gauge track”
distance between two rails = 1000 mm/3 ft 3 3/8 in.); at that time, only a few trains
used the line and did so at maximum speeds of 60 kph (37 mph). However, given
the increasing demand to improve connectivity between the states of north-eastern
India and the rest of the country, this railway line was converted from meter-gauge
to broad-gauge (distance between two rails 1676 mm or 5’ 6”) in 2003.
Broad-gauge lines can carry heavier loads (including more people) and withstand
higher train speeds; consequently, the number of freight and passenger trains on the
track has almost doubled. The speed of trains has also increased to more than
100 kph (62 mph). Over 74 km (46 mi) of this line run through forested areas,
including several protected areas (Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Gorumara
National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, Jaldapara National Park and Buxa
Tiger Reserve), as well as through more than 40 tea gardens, 4 army establishments,
and agricultural land (mainly paddy and maize, cultivated seasonally).
160
M. Roy and R. Sukumar