Northeast Frontier Railways launches regular tea toy train from Siliguri to Rongtong in WB

The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) launched a regular Jungle Tea Toy Train Safari from Siliguri junction to Rongtong station in West Bengal. This is the railway authority's second attempt to attract tourists and improve the tourism business in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the direct DHR Toy train service was discontinued for one and a half years.

Existing toy train's services resumed after 17 months in West Bengal 

According to reports, the previously launched heritage toy train services between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal restarted on Wednesday after a 17-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since August 16, the toy train has been running between Darjeeling and Ghum. At the moment, one train each day is running between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, covering a distance of 88 kilometres. It now operates 11 round journeys between Darjeeling and Ghum, including vista dome and first-class carriages.

The train climbs from New Jalpaiguri, which is around 100 metres above sea level, to Darjeeling, which is roughly 2,200 metres. The most challenging part of the route was how steep it is. To tackle this, oops and zig-zags were incorporated along the train route. To gain altitude while going up a hill, the train moves forward, reverses and then moves forward again. The DHR toy train is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was declared by the UN body on December 5, 1999.

Northeast Frontier Railways launches regular tea toy train from Siliguri West Bengal to Rongtong

The northeast tea toy train, which features a heritage steam engine and view dome dining car, runs on a regular basis from Siliguri Junction to Rongtong hill station. From the train, tourists may take in the spectacular views of the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding hills. During the ride, the NFR administration will establish a DHR heritage photo gallery at Sukna station and provide a free cup of Darjeeling tea at Rongtong station. It is a three-hour ride, and they will return to Siliguri junction after reaching Rongtong station.

Sanjay Chilwarwar, ADRM, Katihar division of Northeast frontier railway said, "We have started a regular basis up-down jungle tea toy-train safari from today with the heritage steam engine and Vistadome dining car facilities. Tourism is the only industry in this region. So we decided to run maximum toy trains in this route to attract the tourists and to gear up the tourism industry in this region.”

Tea toy train expected to boost tourism in the area 

The NFR ADRM also stated that they are receiving a positive response and that people are asking questions. It is expected to be a huge attraction in the future. The project was quite intriguing and exciting, according to Samrat Sanyal, secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network. Locals will reportedly have the opportunity to participate in weekend tours.

List of India's toy trains:

• New Jalpaiguri-Darjeeling Railway 
• Kalka-Shimla Railway
• Nilgiri Mountain Railway
• Neral-Matheran Railway
• Pathankot-Jogindernagar Railway
• The new Siliguri - Rongtong Railway

(With inputs from ANI)

(IMAGE: ANI)