On e-track

Siliguri, May 10: Come May 15 and booking tickets on Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)?s toy train will become high-tech.

Internet will now enable passengers to book their tickets on toy trains without having to go to the booking counter at the New Jalpaiguri station. The system that the Indian Railways started around four months ago, will enable a person anywhere in the world with an Internet connection to buy tickets on the Unesco-declared heritage railway. ?Some of the narrow-gauge toy train services of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) will also be enlisted on the Indian Railways? national computerised network,? said Taraknath Bhattacharjee, the divisional commercial manager of NFR?s Katihar division.

He said tickets for DHR trains connecting NJP to Darjeeling, Kurseong to Darjeeling and the joyrides from Darjeeling to Ghoom will be available online from any computerised reservation counter.

?The moment toy train ticket booking becomes online, it will be included in the e-ticket reservation service offered by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC),? said its director, Rakesh Saxena. ?Tickets can be booked by logging on to www.irctc.co.in.? Payment can be made through plastic money, he said.