Run more trains, plead north Bengal tourism stakeholders -Tourist accommodations will start reopening in the hills and Dooars ahead of Durga Puja and Diwali holidays

Tourism stakeholders before the divisional railway manager’s office in Alipurduar on Wednesday.

(Anirban Choudhury)

Avijit Sinha, Anirban Choudhury   |   TT   |   Siliguri/Alipurduar   |    10.09.20  : Tourism industry stakeholders in north Bengal are urging senior railway officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to allow more trains to run in the region.

Ever since regular train services were halted by the Centre because of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, only a handful of special trains are running through the region.

The move by tourism stakeholders to urge railway officials to allow more trains, sources said, follows the decisions made in the hills and in the Dooars to start reopening tourist accommodations ahead of Durga Puja and Diwali holidays.

The state tourism department has already opened one of its accommodations in the Dooars.

There are indications that the state forest department might resume car safaris in the national parks of the region.   

On Tuesday, a delegation of the Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network (HHTDN) went to the office of the additional divisional railway manager in New Jalpaiguri with a memo seeking more trains from north Bengal to Calcutta and Delhi.

“As of now, only one train is running between the region and Calcutta and two or three trains between the Northeast and Delhi. The railway ministry is resuming trains in a phased manner and we want more trains in our area. This would encourage tourists to visit the region and help in revival of the tourism industry that has suffered these past six months,” said Samrat Sanyal, HHTDN general secretary.

On Wednesday, members of Alipurduar District Tourism Association gave a memo at the office of the DRM of Alipurduar division to resume some popular long-distance passenger trains that link north Bengal with Calcutta. They also asked for at least one Calcutta-bound train via the Dooars. For the past six months, no such train has run.

Manab Bakshi, secretary of Alipurduar District Tourism Association, said they wanted Saraighat Express, Kanchankanya Express, Teesta-Torsha Express and Uttarbanga Express to start.