Darjeeling Himalayan Railway resumes toy train service after a fortnight

The joyride between the hills and plains was suspended after a landslide occurred near Tindharia

The service couldn't be restored before Tuesday as rubble from the landslide was continuously sliding on the train tracks.: File Picture

Bireswar Banerjee   |   TT  |  Siliguri   |   14.09.22  : Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) resumed the toy train service between Darjeeling and New Jalpaiguri (NJP) from Tuesday after nearly a fortnight.

The passenger service between the hills and plains was suspended after a landslide occurred near Tindharia, 26km from Siliguri, under Kurseong subdivision on September 1.

“We could not resume the service before Tuesday as rubble from the landslide was continuously sliding on the train tracks. Our technical staff and engineers relentlessly worked to clear the tracks for the past several days and managed to resume the toy train service to and fro NJP and Darjeeling,” an official of DHR said.

A.K. Mishra, the director of the DHR, said. “We resumed the regular passenger service from NJP to Darjeeling and Darjeeling to NJP from Tuesday. The Darjeeling-bound passenger train left NJP with 31 passengers. Similarly, the NJP-bound train came from Darjeeling with 10 passengers on board.”

Tourism stakeholders were also relieved by the resumption of the toy train.

Samrat Sanyal, the secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network, said: “We are expecting a good tourist season. DHR is a major attraction and the resumption of train services from NJP to Darjeeling is good news for all.”

Puja is a major tourist season for the hills. Over the years, tourists flock the hills not just during autumn months but also through winter right till June before monsoon sets in. “Earlier, tourists avoided winter months but these days there is a steady flow, if not a rush, during winters, too,” said a hotelier in Darjeeling.