Services of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) Toy Train are likely to resume from Thursday. The services have come to a halt after landslides triggered by heavy rains blocked the train tracks at some places in the Hills.
Meanwhile, the DHR plans to introduce a Toy Train joy ride from Siliguri to Kurseong soon, officials have said. Incessant rainfall since the past few days has triggered multiple landslides in the region, blocking the narrow roads and disrupting the train services. The train service between New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and Darjeeling came to a halt on 9 July.
The Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Pranav Jyoti Sharma, said that the debris on the narrow gauge is being cleared. “If the weather permits, the services will resume on 18 July,” he said today.
“We cannot run the train between Tung and Rongtong due to the landslides, and hence the train service between New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and Darjeeling has been disrupted. The service resumption will depend on the rains. If the weather permits, we will resume the full-fledged services within three-days,” said Mr Sharma.
Three joy ride services in Darjeeling and Ghoom have been unaffected by the rains, it is learnt.
“However, the services of three special trains between Darjeeling and Ghoom have not been affected, while the two regular train services between NJP and Darjeeling have been suspended,” added Mr Sharma.
Suspension of Toy Train services during the monsoons has been a common incident. The train services were disrupted for two months because of recurring landslides at Paglajhora in the Kurseong sub-division that extensively damaged the tracks last year.