Guwahati, August 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), a UNESCO World Heritage Site under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), will introduce six special joyride services from October 1 for the upcoming Durga Puja festival season, offering tourists more opportunities to experience the heritage railway and scenic Darjeeling hills.
The additional services will comprise four single-trip joyrides between Darjeeling and Ghum and two round-trip services between Kurseong and Mahanadi.
The Darjeeling-Ghum services will be diesel-hauled, with departures from Darjeeling at 9.20 a.m. and 11.25 a.m. and from Ghum at 10.25 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. The proposed fare is Rs 800 for a single journey.
The first Kurseong-Mahanadi round trip, named “Red Panda”, will be steam-hauled. It will depart Kurseong at 9 a.m. and return from Mahanadi at 10 a.m., with a proposed fare of Rs 1,530.
The second service, “Mukta Dhara”, will be diesel-hauled and depart Kurseong at 3.15 p.m., returning from Mahanadi at 4 p.m. The proposed fare is Rs 1,030.
“Mukta Dhara” has been named as a tribute to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. The service adds a literary dimension to the journey, with the route linked to the natural beauty of Paglajhora, which is associated with Tagore’s celebrated work “Mukta Dhara”.
Ahead of the regular services, a special run of “Mukta Dhara” will be organised at Mahanadi Railway Station towards the end of September as part of events around the Station Mahotsav.
The initiative is aimed at promoting the DHR’s heritage legacy while giving tourists and local visitors an opportunity to experience its historic railway, steam technology, mountain landscapes and cultural heritage during the festive season.
The DHR, popularly known as the Darjeeling Toy Train, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
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