Guwahati, Aug 26 (IANS) The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), a UNESCO World Heritage Site under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), is set to introduce special additional joyride services from October 1 to make the upcoming Durga Puja festival season more memorable for tourists and visitors, officials said on Wednesday.
NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that the initiative will offer enhanced opportunities to experience the historic railway, breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural heritage of the Darjeeling hills.
As part of the festival-season initiative, DHR will operate four single-trip joyrides between Darjeeling and Ghum. Services from Darjeeling to Ghum will depart at 9.20 a.m. and 11.25 a.m., while services from Ghum to Darjeeling will depart at 10.25 a.m. and 12.30 a.m. Sharma said that these services will be operated by diesel-hauled trains with a proposed fare of Rs 800 per single journey.
In addition, DHR will introduce two special round-trip joyrides between Kurseong and Mahanadi, providing passengers with an opportunity to enjoy one of the most scenic and heritage-rich sections of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. The first service, “Red Panda”, will be steam-hauled and will depart from Kurseong at 9 a.m., with the return journey from Mahanadi at 10 a.m. The proposed fare for the round trip is Rs 1,530, the official said.
The second round-trip service, “Mukta Dhara”, will be diesel-hauled and will depart from Kurseong at 3.15 p.m. with the return journey from Mahanadi at 4 p.m. The proposed round-trip fare is Rs 1,030. The service has been named “Mukta Dhara” as a tribute to Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, one of India’s most celebrated poets and literary figures.
Tagore’s celebrated poem Mukta Dhara is associated with the natural beauty of Paglajhora, adding a distinctive literary and cultural dimension to the new service.
The introduction of these special joyrides further strengthens NFR’s efforts to preserve and promote the rich legacy of DHR while offering an enhanced travel experience, the CPRO noted.
The services will provide tourists and local visitors an opportunity to enjoy the unique combination of heritage rail travel, steam technology, breathtaking mountain landscapes and the cultural richness of the Darjeeling hills.
Ahead of the regular commencement, a special run of “Mukta Dhara” will be organised at Mahanadi Railway Station towards the end of September, on the eve of the station Mahotsav.
The festival-season initiative is expected to add a distinctive dimension to tourism in the Darjeeling hills, giving travellers more opportunities to discover the region’s historic railway, scenic splendour and cultural heritage. Through these special services, DHR seeks to offer an enriching and memorable journey that brings together history, nature and the timeless charm of the hills.
The NFR, headquartered at Maligaon near Guwahati, operates across the Northeastern states as well as in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar.
–IANS
sc/uk