Guwahati: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) introduced a regular Jungle Tea Toy-Train Safari from Siliguri junction to Rongtong station on Monday evening.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) operated by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone has announced the safari. Earlier, the toy train was suspended due to Covid -19 pandemic. After a gap of one and a half year, the officials are trying to restart it to boost the tourism sector hit due to Covid-19 pandemic .
This is the second attempt made by the railway authority in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) to attract tourists as well as to boost the tourism industry.
The direct DHR Toy train service was suspended for one and half years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The toy train runs on a regular basis from Siliguri Junction to Rongtong hill station with a heritage steam engine and vista dome dining car facilities. Tourists can enjoy the breathtaking views of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and the hills from the train.
While talking to ANI ,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.”
Since, tourism is the only industry in this region, “we decided to run maximum toy trains in this route to attract the tourists and to gear up the tourism industry in this region,” he said. He revealed that the safari is getting a good response and soon it will be a part of major attraction.
The authorities have also decided to open a photo gallery of DHR heritage at Sukna station . The tourists will be provided a complimentary cup of Darjeeling tea at Rongtong station. The heritage toy train services between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal have been resumed after a long gap due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Since August 16, the toy train is already running between Darjeeling and Ghum. As of now , a single train of vista dome and first class coaches is running on daily basis between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, which covers a distance of 88 km. The train starts from New Jalpaiguri at about 100 metres heading towards about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling.
The railway authority will also open a DHR heritage photo gallery at Sukna station during the journey and offer a complimentary cup of Darjeeling tea at Rongtong station. It is a three-hour journey and after reaching Rongtong station they will come back to Siliguri junction again.
