Guwahati: The UNESCO Heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NF Railway) zone, has marked the highest ever earnings and passenger footfalls in the history of the DHR, during this financial year till December 2023. The DHR has recorded the highest ever revenue of nearly Rs 17.3 crore surpassing all the previous records.
The increased earning has been achieved due to the introduction of several more joyride services. Huge footfall during this peak season of tourist flow in the section and growth in the passenger traffic led to the rise in the earnings of the DHR. At present, daily train services between West Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, and Joy Ride toy train services are being operated between Darjeeling and Ghum under the DHR, Assam’s Guwahati-based Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the NF Railway, Sabyasachi De, stated in a press release.
The DHR has also introduced special services including the Steam Jungle Tea Safari, Red Panda and Him Kanya among others. In addition, Charter Trains, Special Film Shooting Trains and Heritage Dining Cars are also some of the attractive services being offered by the DHR. A new Coach Restaurant has also been opened at Darjeeling and a Heritage Restaurant in Kurseong to attract more tourists in the DHR, CPRO De stated in the release.
Moreover, the Ghum winter festival was successfully organised between November 25 and December 10, 2023, which saw a massive footfall of the local people and tourists from all corners who attended the festival with great enthusiasm. This massive footfall helped in promoting tourism and cultural heritage of the DHR section, the CPRO added.
CPRO De further stated that several new initiatives have also been taken for the promotion of the DHR in the country and abroad. To boost tourism, new train coaches were introduced and new train services were also launched. The Darjeeling station is being upgraded with new features which include the heritage type windows and Kanchenjunga view point among others. Up-gradation of the Ghum railway station is also under process. Partnering with stakeholders, tour operators, cultural groups and local population besides others are also being done regularly to preserve the DHR’s conservation and promote its heritage value.
The DHR, built between 1879 and 1881, is a two feet gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, and is about 88 kilometre long, which climbs from about 330 feet above sea level at New Jalpaiguri to about 7,200 feet at Darjeeling. It uses six zig-zags and five loops to gain altitude. UNESCO declared the DHR a World Heritage Site on December 5, 1999.