(Photo Courtesy: NFR)
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Maligaon, August 26 (MExN): The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), will introduce special additional joyride services from October 1 to coincide with the upcoming Durga Puja festival season.
The initiative is aimed at providing tourists and visitors greater opportunities to experience the historic railway, scenic landscapes and cultural heritage of the Darjeeling hills, the NFR said in a statement on Wednesday.
As part of the festival-season initiative, DHR will operate four single-trip joyrides between Darjeeling and Ghum.
The Darjeeling-Ghum services will depart at 9:20 am and 11:25 am, while the Ghum-Darjeeling services will depart at 10:25 am and 12:30 pm.
The services will be operated by diesel-hauled trains and the proposed fare is Rs 800 per single journey.
In addition, DHR will introduce two special round-trip joyrides between Kurseong and Mahanadi, covering one of the scenic and heritage-rich sections of the railway.
The first service, “Red Panda”, will be steam-hauled and depart from Kurseong at 9 am, with the return journey from Mahanadi at 10 am. The proposed fare for the round trip is Rs 1,530.
The second service, “Mukta Dhara”, will be diesel-hauled and depart from Kurseong at 3:15 pm, with the return journey from Mahanadi at 4 pm. The proposed round-trip fare is Rs 1,030.
The service has been named “Mukta Dhara” as a tribute to Nobel laureate 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, giving the new service a literary and cultural dimension, the NFR said.
Ahead of the regular commencement of the service, 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 introduction of the special joyrides is part of NFR’s efforts to preserve and promote the rich legacy of the DHR while enhancing the travel experience for tourists and local visitors.
The services will offer passengers an opportunity to experience heritage rail travel, steam technology, mountain landscapes and the cultural richness of the Darjeeling hills.
The festival-season initiative is expected to provide an additional boost to tourism in the Darjeeling hills by offering travellers more opportunities to explore the region’s historic railway, scenic beauty and cultural heritage, the NFR said.
