Facing poor passenger footfall, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has introduced four extra stops for the Alipurduar Junction–New Jalpaiguri (NJP) Tourist Express on an experimental basis.

The train comprises six normal coaches and two Vistadome ones, especially for tourists.

However, the Vistadome coaches, which afford an expansive view of the scenery, have been witnessing very few passengers.

Stakeholders insist that the real concerns that need to be addressed are timings and the fare of the train, not just more stops.

With effect from Friday, the train is halting at Dalgaon, Binnaguri, Banarhat and Nagrakata stations under the Alipurduar railway division. The total number of stops have now increased to 14 from the previous 10.

Railway officials said that this would increase the number of tourists availing the special train.

Stakeholders have, however, pointed out the discrepancy in the fares.

While the ticket for a seat in the normal coaches is ₹150, a seat in the Vistadome coaches is ₹850.

The special train was introduced in August 2021 with the aim of promoting tourism in the Dooars region.

The Vistadome coaches, designed primarily for tourists, offer a total seating capacity of 88 passengers, with 44 seats in each coach. Equipped with glass ceilings and wide windows, the coaches allow passengers to enjoy panoramic views of the Dooars landscape. Initially, the service witnessed encouraging demand owing to this premium experience, but the footfall soon dropped to a trickle.

During the second week of December 2025, NFR had cancelled the entire tourist express service for 10 days till December 20 owing to poor occupancy not just in the Vistadome but also in the normal coaches. In January, a stop at Gulma station was introduced to shore up the number of passengers. However, the passenger count did not rise.

Tour operators pointed out that the train departs from NJP at 7.20am — a timing that does not align with the arrival schedule of most long-distance trains reaching
the station.

As a result, incoming passengers from other states often find it difficult to connect to the tourist express.

Manab Bakshi, president of the Alipurduar district tourism association, said: “From the beginning we have been urging railway officials to revise the timing of the train. Unless the schedule is changed, passengers will not avail the service. The train should depart from Alipurduar in the morning and start from NJP in the afternoon.”

A senior railway official, however, maintained that the additional stoppages have been introduced purely on a trial basis to improve
occupancy.

“This is an experimental measure to increase the number of passengers. If it does not yield results, we will have to consider other steps,” the official said.