SILIGURI, India — Steam locomotives are the poster child of tourism in the eastern Indian hill station, Darjeeling— in the eastern state of West Bengal— the “Queen of the Hills.” The Darjeeling Himalayan Railways is the toy train, which takes sightseers through the iconic hills and tea gardens.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has introduced a regular Jungle Tea Toy-Train Safari from Siliguri Junction in West Bengal to Rongtong station to boost tourism at the hills.
This is the second attempt made by the railway authority at Darjeeling Himalayan Railways to attract tourists and boost the tourism industry.
The direct Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Toy train service was suspended for one and half years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The toy train regularly runs from Siliguri Junction to Rongtong hill station with a heritage steam engine and vista dome dining car facilities. Tourists can enjoy the breathtaking views of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and the hills from the train.
The railway authority will also open a Darjeeling Himalayan Railway heritage photo gallery at Sukna station during the journey and offer a complimentary cup of Darjeeling tea at Rongtong station. It is a three-hour journey, and after reaching Rongtong station, they will come back to Siliguri junction again.
“We have started a regular basis up-down jungle tea toy-train safari from today with the heritage steam engine and Vistadome dining car facilities,” said Sanjay Chilwarwar, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway.
“Tourism is the only industry in this region. So we decided to run maximum toy trains in this route to attract the tourists and to gear up the tourism industry in this region.”
He said the public response to the initiative has been good, with queries coming in from intrigued members. The additional divisional manager believes the site will make for a significant tourist attraction.
Samrat Sanyal, secretary of Himalayan Hospitality and Tourism Development Network, said the experience was worthwhile.
“It was very interesting and exciting,” he said.
“As a part of the tourism industry, we come to the NFR initiative and believe tourists will enjoy the service, and local people also get a chance to travel on weekend tours.”
Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) is a United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization-designated (UNESCO) world heritage site.
In the year 2019, the domestic tourists arriving in the state of West Bengal accounted for approximately 92 million, while the foreign tourist arrivals accounted for over 1.6 million, as per reports by Statista.
“West Bengal has the Himalayas to its north and the Bay of Bengal to its south. It is home to the Sundarbans, the mangrove region, and also the country’s largest tea-growing area, Darjeeling,” states the report.
(With inputs from ANI)
Edited by Saptak Datta and Krishna Kakani
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