The IRCTC office at the station. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, Nov. 15: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary unit of the Indian Railways, is all set to expand its network in north Bengal.

In a bid to collect revenue for the railway, the corporation had opened a tourism facilitation centre — the unit’s first office in the region — at the Siliguri Junction station a fortnight ago.

“We aim to help promote tourism in north Bengal, especially in the hills. We will accept bookings for chartered toy trains that run on narrow gauge as well as trains running on meter gauge on the Bagdogra route and also on broad gauge on the Dooars route,” said Anjan Banerjee, the IRCTC coordinator at the new office.

Stakeholders of the industry, who have welcomed the move, said the Siliguri Junction station was ideal for the offer as it had all the three tracks — narrow, meter and broad gauge.

“Some reservations have already been done on the toy train and, for the first time, we have received offers for meter and broad-gauge trains,” Banerjee said. The office also serves as a tourism information and advocacy centre.

An IRCTC team, led by regional director Vivek Srivastav, has also come to the region to explore the potential of the place to set up a budget hotel and a food plaza like that at Howrah station. “The department is also planning to improve tourism facilities in the region,” said S.A. Karim, the assistant manager of the IRCTC eastern zone.