World Heritage DHR services to resume from Darjeeling on Saturday
The familiar whistle of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) is all set to reverberate once again in the mountains with the Joy Ride services scheduled to resume from Darjeeling on Saturday.
"The joy ride services from Darjeeling to Ghoom and back will resume from Saturday" stated Pranab Jyoti Sharma, Chief Public Relation Officer, North East Frontier Railways. Test rides were conducted on Friday.
Incidentally the Joy Rides are a hot favourite among the tourists, specially foreign tourists. Sources claim that the DHR has incurred a loss of around Rs. 2.5 Crores owing the unrest.
The joy rides are 16km round trips of 2 hour duration from Darjeeling to Ghoom and back with a 10 minute halt at Batasia loop and a half hour stop at Ghoom to visit the DHR museum at Ghoom station.
The cost for the steam loco joy ride is Rs. 1300 per person. For the diesel service the rates are Rs. 800 per person.
"We
will
operate
1
diesel
and
2
steam
joy
rides
from
Saturday.
As
per
the
increase
in
demands,
the
number
of
services
will
be
increased.
The
entire
stretch
to
tracks
from
Darjeeling
to
Sukna
is
being
inspected.
Once
we
find
the
entire
stretch
fit,
the
88km
journey
from
Darjeeling
to
New
Jalpaiguri
will
resume"
stated
a
Railway
Officer.
There
are
landslips
at
places
along
with
thick
undergrowth
and
weeds
having
affected
the
tracks.
On
October
15,
joy
ride
services
between
Siliguri
and
Sukna
in
the
plains
had
resumed.
A
British
tourist
group
had
also
chartered
a
DHR
train
from
New
Jalpaiguri
to
Sukna.
With the resurrection of the Gorkhaland agitation DHR service had come to a grinding halt since June 11. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha as part of the Gorkhaland agitation had called for an indefinite bandh of all Government offices, both State and Central from the first week of June followed by an indefinite general strike from June 15.
The bandh continued for 104 days. It was lifted on September 27. However DHR services could not resume in the Hills owing to the condition of the tracks. The Ghayabari and Sonada railway stations were also torched by agitators during the 104 days long bandh. The DHR was marked as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO on December 2, 1999.
OneIndia News