Rise in number of passengers has prompted the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to introduce a new train service for tourists.
Christened as “Himkanya,” the service will run on weekends between Darjeeling and Kurseong, covering a distance of around 35km.
“The new service was launched on November 13 and it will be available for tourists on every Saturday and Sunday. This is yet another addition to the fleet of the heritage mountain railway,” DHR director A.K. Singh said.
According to railway sources, there will be two first class coaches on the train which will be hauled by a diesel loco. During tourist season, the fare will be Rs 1,200 per person, while one has to shell out around Rs 1,000 in the off-season.
On Saturdays and Sundays, the train will leave Darjeeling at 8.30am and reach Kurseong at 11am. It will leave Kurseong at 1.15pm and arrive at Darjeeling at 4.05pm.
“On the way, the train will stop at Ghum, Sonada and Tung stations. Tourists wishing to explore the hills can avail themselves of this service,” Singh said.
In the past few months, railway authorities took a number of initiatives to popularise the mountain railway that is recognised by Unesco as a world heritage site.
A number of new services like the Red Panda and Steam Jungle Safari were launched. There are also plans to increase the number of joy rides, the most popular train service in the hills, between Darjeeling and Ghum.
“The Jungle Safari between Siliguri and Rongtong had to be stopped as a bridge along the route was damaged. We hope the repairs will be over in another four-five days,” said an official.
Also, the regular service between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling has stopped because a portion of NH55 — along the DHR track runs — caved in at Mahanadi under Kurseong subdivision during heavy rain last month.
“If the fleet of toy trains is increased and new services are launched, tourists will get the opportunity to travel from Darjeeling to different places on toy trains. We believe there is a steady demand for tickets these days,” said Raj Basu, a veteran in the north Bengal tourism industry.