Vistadome coaches to give better view of scenic Dooars

TNN, SILIGURI/KOLKATA: A treat awaits railway passengers passing through the forests of north Bengal. Railway minister Piyush Goyal has instructed Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to introduce vistadome coaches in trains that pass through areas with scenic beauty.

In eastern India, such coaches have already been introduced in toy trains of the heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR).

Vistadome coaches also make up the Kalka-Shimla Railway, the Jan Shatabdi Express between Mumbai and Goa and the link train from Visakhapatnam to Araku.

“This will be a special treat for the region. These coaches will be attached to trains apart from regular ones. The fares would be slightly different as they will be primarily meant for tourists. Each coach will be plush with a capacity of 35-40 passengers,” a senior NFR official said.

Vistadome coaches have transparent plexi-glass roofs and large picture windows to allow passengers a better view of the surroundings. According to many, the passage through the dense forests of the Dooars is one of the most spectacular journeys. There are nearly a dozen trains that pass through this route during the day. These coaches will not be attached to trains crossing the forest after dark.

“The minister issued the instructions during a review meeting of NFR. We are also exploring the possibility of attaching such coaches in trains passing along the Lumding–Badarpur and Kumarghat–Agartala hill sections and certain sections of upper Assam. Hopefully, this will boost tourism in eastern and northeastern India,” NFR CPRO P J Sharma said.

There are some train from Kolkata (Howrah and Sealdah) that pass through the Dooars during the day. The most popular among these is the Kamrup Express. In fact, this train also passes through the picturesque Lumding-Badarpur and Kumarghat-Agartala hill sections. At a later stage, depending on the response, special trains may also be run through the stretch exclusively for tourists. The vistadome coaches also have special features like automatic sliding doors, television screens to provide infotainment and GPS-based information system. The coaches are specially designed to make them user friendly for the physically challenged.