The Northeast Frontier Railway on Saturday cancelled the tourist special train with Vistadome coaches between New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and Alipurduar Junction till December 20 due to poor passenger turnout.
“As of now, very few passengers are availing the tourist special. Therefore, we decided not to run the train till December 20,” said Asit Ali, senior divisional commercial manager of the Alipurduar railway division.
Tourism stakeholders, however, said the low turnout was the result of flawed scheduling and pricing rather than lack of tourist demand.
The train departs from NJP at 7.20am, when most long-distance trains bringing tourists do not even reach NJP, alleged a tour operator. "How can they take this tourist special train in that case?" he asked.
The train has six normal coaches and two Vistadome ones. The Vistadome coaches are meant for tourists with a total passenger capacity of 88 seats with 44 seats in one coach.
A passenger is charged ₹840 for the journey in the Vistadome coach. Tour operators said that for a family of four, hiring a car would cost roughly the same, making the train an unattractive option. The fare in the normal coach is ₹150 per passenger.
The special train was introduced on August 28, 2021, with two Vistadome coaches equipped with modern amenities to promote tourism in the Dooars. While the train initially saw reasonable patronage, its popularity declined over time, railway sources said.