The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), a UNESCO World Heritage Site administered under the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), will roll out six special joyride services from 1 October 2025 to mark the Durga Puja festival season, officials announced on Wednesday, 26 August. The move is designed to give tourists and local visitors a richer encounter with the heritage railway's mountain landscapes and cultural legacy.

Key Services and Schedules

NFR Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma confirmed that four single-trip joyrides will operate between Darjeeling and Ghum. Diesel-hauled trains will depart from Darjeeling at 9.20 am and 11.25 am, while return services from Ghum will leave at 10.25 am and 12.30 pm. The proposed fare for each single journey is ₹800.

Two additional round-trip joyrides will connect Kurseong and Mahanadi, covering one of the railway's most scenic heritage sections. The first, named 'Red Panda', will be steam-hauled, departing Kurseong at 9 am with a return from Mahanadi at 10 am; the proposed round-trip fare is ₹1,530. The second service, 'Mukta Dhara', will be diesel-hauled, departing Kurseong at 3.15 pm with a return from Mahanadi at 4 pm, at a proposed fare of ₹1,030.

The Literary Tribute Behind 'Mukta Dhara'

The name 'Mukta Dhara' is a deliberate homage to Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, whose celebrated work of the same name is associated with the natural beauty of Paglajhora in the Darjeeling hills. The naming adds a distinctive literary and cultural dimension to the new service, connecting rail travel with Bengal's rich artistic heritage.

Notably, a special inaugural run of 'Mukta Dhara' is planned at Mahanadi Railway Station towards the end of September, ahead of the station's Mahotsav celebrations.

NFR's Broader Heritage Push

According to Sharma, the festival-season initiative is part of NFR's continuing effort to preserve and promote the DHR's legacy while expanding its appeal to a new generation of travellers. The six services together offer a combination of steam technology, diesel-hauled comfort, mountain vistas, and cultural programming — a bundled heritage experience rarely available on a single rail network.

This comes amid growing national interest in heritage and slow-travel tourism, a segment that has seen steady recovery since the pandemic. The DHR, which dates to 1881, remains one of only a handful of mountain railways in the world to hold UNESCO recognition.

About NFR and DHR

The NFR, headquartered at Maligaon near Guwahati, operates rail services across the northeastern states as well as seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar. The DHR — popularly known as the Toy Train — has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 and is widely regarded as one of India's most iconic rail journeys.

With these six additions, DHR is positioning the Durga Puja window as its flagship tourist season, and all eyes will be on whether demand justifies an extension of the services beyond October.