WHY IN THE NEWS?

The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has launched a regular Jungle Tea Toy Train Safari on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Route.

About:

• Toy-train safari will run from Siliguri junction to Rongtong station in West Bengal.
• This is the NRF’s second attempt to attract tourists and improve the tourism business in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR).
• Existing direct DHR Toy train service was discontinued for one and a half years due to covid-19 pandemic

Existing toy train services

• The heritage toy train services launched earlier, started again in between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal. The service was halted for 17-month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Currently, one train is running between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, each day to cover a distance of 88 kilometres.
• The train climbs from New Jalpaiguri (100 metres above sea level) to Darjeeling (2,200 metres above sea level).
• Steepness of the route was the most challenging part for the train. To tackle this challenge, oops and zig-zags were incorporated along the train route.
• In order to gain altitude while going up the hill, this train moves forward, reverses and moves forward again.
• DHR toy train is a UNESCO World Heritage site as it was declared by the UN body on December 5, 1999.

Tea Toy Train by NFR

Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) launches tea toy train from Siliguri West Bengal to Rongtong, regularly. Such trains feature a heritage steam engine and view dome dining car. Tourists take in the spectacular views of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding hills from trains.

Significance of the Train

The toy trains are expected to boost the tourism sector in the region. Locals will be having the opportunity to participate in weekend tours regularly.