The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has finally fixed the fares for the Air-Conditioned (AC) coaches of the heritage Toy Train that will ply between New Jalapaiguri (NJP) Station in Siliguri and Darjeeling (87 km).
Railway officials said the fare for a one-way trip from NJP to Darjeeling has been fixed at Rs 1555 for the AC coach, while the fare for the same trip for the First-class coach is Rs 1295.
“The fare for one adult in the AC coach will be Rs 1555. The fare for the same trip will be Rs 1295 in the First-Class coach. The 87-km journey from NJP to Darjeeling via Tindharia, Kurseong and Ghoom takes about seven hours. The capacity of each coach is 15. Depending on the response from the passengers and stakeholders and their feedback, the railways has planned to develop four more such coaches in 2018-2019,” Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Pranav Jyoti Sharma, said.
The Railways has developed and manufactured two AC coaches at a cost of Rs 43 lakh in Siliguri, it is learnt. “While the capacity of the air-conditioned coach is 15 passengers, each of the first class coach can accommodate 18 passengers. Passengers can book tickets for the trains in the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway through any computerised passenger reservation system counter anywhere in the country and also online through the IRCTC website for railway e-tickets”, added Mr Sharma.
Briefing on the DHR timings, railway officials said that the “UP 52541 NJP-Darjeeling passenger leaves NJP everyday at 8.30 am and reaches Darjeeling at 03.35 pm, while the Down 52540 Darjeeling- NJP Passenger leaves Darjeeling at 08.15 am to reach NJP at 03.10 pm.
One more narrow-gauge passenger train runs between Kurseong and Darjeeling. “For tourists, nine other Joy Ride trains are operating between Ghoom and Darjeeling. Six of them are hauled by steam engines and the rest by diesel engines,” officials said. Earlier on 5 April, the DHR conducted a 29-km promotional run of the AC coach between Siliguri Junction and Tindharia station in Kurseong.