Darjeeling's Toy Train suffers Covid jolt, clings to hope in reviving glory

The Darjeeling Toy Train has been one of the biggest attractions for tourists, young and old, foreign and domestic in West Bengal's Darjeeling district. However, for over a year now, the coaches and the locos have not moved. The North-East Frontier Railways are struggling to maintain the engines and coaches.

Siliguri (West Bengal): Any tourist destination lures visitors with some unique attraction. Be it an architectural splendour or a heritage site or some attractive vista or place of worship – the list just goes on. For Darjeeling, the Queen of Hills in Bengal, the attraction list is quite long. From its lush tea gardens to the glimpse of Mount Kanchenjunga, from the historic Himalayan Mountaineering Institute to the bio-diversity park, there are several attractions to which tourists flock every time. And among its various attractions, Darjeeling's heritage narrow-gauge train, which is popularly known as the 'toy train', holds a distinctive spot.

For years together and generations, the Darjeeling Toy Train has been one of the biggest attractions for tourists, young and old, foreign and domestic. A darling for the filmmakers, the train has featured in innumerable movies as well as documentaries. But, the Toy Train is also bearing the brunt of the Coronavirus-related lockdown and restrictions.

For over a year now, the coaches and the locomotives have not moved. The North-East Frontier Railways (NFR), which manages the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), are at their wits' end to keep the machines intact.

"The DHR has been a UNESCO world heritage since 1999. It has always been one of the star attractions of the Darjeeling Hills. But, the first and second wave of Coronavirus has led to a virtual stop of tourists. Hence, we had no option but to stop the services from New Jalpaiguri as well as the joy rides in the Hills. We are trying our best to keep locos and coaches in condition so as to start the facility once the lockdown is eased and tourists start flocking the Hills," said Suvanan Chanda, the Chief Public Relations Officer of NFR.

The losses are quite substantial. An estimated daily loss for the Railways has been to a tune of Rs 3 lakh and the overall loss figure is inching close to Rs 25 crore since the services were suspended.

"It is not the general services from New Jalpaiguri or Siliguri to Darjeeling that run the Toy Train business. It is part of the wholesome Darjeeling experience. You simply cannot think of coming to the Hills and not taking a ride on the train around Batasia Loop. There were services from New Jalpaiguri to Kurseong and from Tindhari to Ghoom in the Hills. Other than these, there were evening joy rides from Siliguri to Kurseong and joy rides from Darjeeling or Ghoom via the Batasia Loop. The scenic beauty is spectacular in these rides and tourists keep coming for them. Chartered services were also available for special occasions or for film shooting. All of these have stopped for over a year. It has not only spelt doom for the travel and tourism industry in the Hills and across North Bengal, but the Railways could even lose the heritage tag for being non-operative," said Debashis Mitra, secretary of the Eastern Himalayan Travel and Tours Association.

Both Samrat Sanyal, secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality Travel Development Network and Raj Basu, convenor of the Association for Conservation and Tourism, feel that the Railways should maintain the coaches and engines and remain ready for starting the services once the restrictions ease out.

"Earlier, the DHR had faced some rough weather, be it the recurrent problem of landslides or political instability in the region. Even the UNESCO representatives were apprehensive about the world heritage tag. The Railways need to have a comprehensive plan in place, not only to resume the services but also to make it profit-oriented and user friendly. We hope that they use this downtime to augment the facilities and do proper maintenance work of the tracks and other equipment," said Basu.

Hope is something, which most tour operators in North Bengal, especially in Darjeeling, are desperately clinging to. They simply want to hear the shrill whistle and steam gushing out of the old horse engines chugging along amid pristine Hills.