The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) on Friday introduced five new joy rides between Darjeeling and Ghoom to accommodate more toy train enthusiasts during the ensuing summer season, when the tourist footfall would increase in the hills.

The new rides include an early morning service. Previously, the joy rides were available in the late morning and afternoon.

“Today, we introduced five additional joy rides, and from now on, 13 joy rides will be available between Darjeeling and Ghoom. The idea is to accommodate more people. We are also trying to conserve the DHR,” said Surendra Kumar, the divisional railway manager of the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

DHR, the century-old mountain railway, which is a Unesco-recognised world heritage site, is in the NFR zone.

The mountain railway is one of the prime attractions for tourists visiting Darjeeling. The joyride is a return trip between Darjeeling and Ghoom, located 12km apart, via the Batasia Loop, and draws hundreds of tourists and toy train enthusiasts every day.

Earlier, the first train of the joy ride would depart Darjeeling at 9.30am. From now on, the first train will leave at 7.15am.

DHR enthusiasts in the hills said the new services reminded them of an old toy train service that used to run between Kurseong and Darjeeling in the morning. The train would leave Kurseong at 7am to reach Darjeeling by 10.30am.

“It was known to us as the ‘mixed train’ as office goers, students, vendors and people in general used to avail the service from Kurseong every morning,” said Sushil Dikshit, a retired state government official in Kurseong.

Among the 13 joy rides, four will be conducted by steam locomotives. Diesel locos will haul the toy trains for the rest of the nine joy rides.

DHR director Rishabh Choudhury said a coach would be offered free of cost for schoolchildren in the hills in the morning service for the first couple of months.

“This has been planned to ensure that they can enjoy a joy ride and work for the conservation of the DHR. Interested schools can contact the station manager in Darjeeling,” he said.