Siliguri, Jan. 4: The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has opened an expression of interest for renovating the toy train museum at Ghoom, the country’s highest rail station that will also be revamped.

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee had announced Rs 5 crore for repairing the museum during her visit in Darjeeling in September last year. The DHR authorities said now that the nod has come from the Railway Board, the process of floating tenders has started.

“The proposal for renovation was sent to the Railway Board and we recently opened an EOI after receiving the nod from them. We are now waiting for agencies to apply. Once the agency is selected, we will discuss various concepts and chart out a plan for the modification and additions that need to be made at the Ghoom museum,” said P.P. Roy, the director of the DHR.

The railway minister had announced a host of packages for the hill railway including the renovation of the museum during her last visit to north Bengal in September.

She had also visited the museum and had said it would be named after Nepali poet Bhanu Bhakta. The museum is among the three on the DHR and was inaugurated in November 2000. The other two museums are at Sukna station and Elysia Building, the DHR headquarters at Kurseong.

“The funds will also be utilised to revamp Ghoom station,” said Roy. Ghoom is the highest station of the Indian Railways at 2,257.65 metres.

“At the museum, there will be audio-visual displays of DHR history, slide shows and automated kiosks to inform people about the hill train. We intend to discuss more concepts with the agency involved and chart out the final plan,” he added.

The renovation, tour operators say, is likely to increase the flow of visitors to the museum, popular for its exhibits that include ancient artefacts, items donated by former DHR employees and rare photographs of the toy train.

One of the oldest displays at the museum is the Baby Sivok, an engine touted the oldest of the Unesco World Heritage Railway.

“This is a good initiative by the railways and it will increase the popularity of Ghoom station. We expect the tourist inflow to increase once the renovation is complete,” said a Siliguri-based tour operator.