The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) will operate four single-trip joyrides between Darjeeling and Ghum and two round-trip services between Kurseong and Mahanadi, a DHR official said.
The Darjeeling-Ghum services will be hauled by diesel locomotives, with a proposed fare of ₹800 for a single trip.
For travellers looking for a steam-powered experience, one of the Kurseong-Mahanadi round trips will be operated by a steam engine. Named ‘Red Panda’, the service will take passengers through a scenic section of the heritage railway. The proposed fare is ₹1,530 per passenger.
The second Kurseong-Mahanadi round trip, named ‘Mukta Dhara’, will be diesel-operated and will cost ₹1,030 per passenger.
The name ‘Mukta Dhara’ is a tribute to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. His celebrated poem of the same name is associated with the natural beauty of the Paglajhora stream, which passes through the area.
“On the occasion of the upcoming Durga Puja festival season, DHR will introduce special additional joyride services to provide tourists and visitors with more opportunities to experience the heritage railway and the scenic beauty of the Darjeeling hills,” DHR official Prateeksha Chetri said in a statement.
The special services are aimed at adding to the festive-season tourism experience by combining the railway’s heritage, steam locomotives, mountain landscapes and cultural associations.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, popularly known as the ‘Toy Train’, is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed railway and is among the region’s major tourist attractions.
-With PTI inputs
First Published: Aug 29, 2026 1:53 PM IST
