The Darjeeling Himalayan Toy Train Ride | Darjeeling trip
On 12th March 2024, I booked 6 tickets (myself, father, mother, wife, brother, and my son) for one of my long awaited toy train journeys in Darjeeling. The toy train journey in Darjeeling (The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway) is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites, that, was created on 1881. The toy train in Darjeeling is the pride and heritage of the Indian Railways, and it was my dream to ride this unparalleled travelling mode.
First let me tell something briefly about the masterpiece railway construction (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway) that was completed in 1881. The entire track of the toy train journey extends for approximately 83 kilometers that runs between New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling via Kurseong, and Ghum station, at a height of approximately 7300 feet. There are two types of toy train engines available, one is the diesel engine, and the other one is the pre-historic steam engine. Now just imagine, how can a steam engine operates at such a height (7300 feet) with cold temperature at most of the time, which, proves another masterpeice engineering work. The 52541 NJP-Darjeeling passenger toy train is available at 10 am morning, that, reaches, Darjeeling, at around 5:30 pm. The same train (52540) Darjeeling-NJP starts at 9 am from Darjeeling and reaches NJP at around 4:30 pm. However, you must check the timing from the Indian Railway site or IXIGO application. The entire journey from NJP to Darjeeling and vice-versa comprises of the breathtaking views of the scenic beauty with steep climbs throug the hills, historic Hill Cart Road, and forests. There are various loops and curves through which the toy train runs from NJP to Darjeeling, among which, the Batasia Loop, is one of the most famous and tourist attraction points, where the train rests for a while to take the breathtaking views of the scenic beauty and the mesmerizing Kanchenjunga peaks. Now, to enjoy the steam engine ride, the railway track runs from Darjeeling to Ghum and vice-versa. The headquarter for the Darjeeling Himalayan railway is located in Kurseong. You can either opt for Diesel engine or steam engine whichever you prefer, but, I would prefer you to have at least one time riding experience by steam engine. There is a steam engine toy train (52594) that operates from 9:25 am from Darjeeling and reaches Ghum station at around 10:15 am, covering a total distance of 12 kilometers. Riding by steam engine will give you the old charismatic feeling, with the heritage sound evolving from the steam engine, like "kooooo jhik jhik jhik jhik jhik". Okay, one thing I forgot to mention is that, the ticket price for the steam engine costs Rs. 1500/- INR per person from Darjeeling to Ghum, while the ticket fare for diesel engine costs Rs. 1000/- INR per person.
The steam engine toy train is the oldest form that still operates from Darjeeling to Ghum station and vice-versa. However, the maintenance required to operate the steam engine is really a challenging part for the railway engineers at such a height of approximately 7300 feet above. It is because, steam engine requires a lot of water to convert into steam by burning the coal, and, at such a cold temperature, it is not always possible to keep the water in normal condition. Indeed, the steam engine has lots of complex engineering utensils inside it, that makes it more complex to operate rather than the diesel engines. But, compared to diesel engines, steam engine is much more powerful.
Okay, so, on 11th March, 2024, I reached the Darjeeling station at around 9 am along with my family members to experience the thrilling journey by the heritage steam engine toy train. It was really a charm to watch the steam engine coming to the railway station with the iconic sound "Kooooo jhik jhik jhik jhik jhik jhik". Normally the diesel engine toy train has 3 compartments, while, the steam engine toy train has two compartments with the first class availibility. As, soon as the steam engine came to the Darjeeling station, all the passengers including us first took photos, and selfies with the iconic steam engine. I just saw in my own eyes, how, the railway engineers were burning coals inside the steam engine, which, was rather a heritage to watch. After sometime, when the burning coal was enough to produce steam, the toy train started its journey. I was mesmerized with the outside view that was captured through the glass windows. After travelling for nearly 5 minutes, our toy train haulted at a certain place to refil the engine with water, and again started its journey afterwards. Like this way, we reached the Batasia loop where our train haulted for 10 minutes to allow passengers to take the breathtaking views of the scenic beauty along with the mighty Kanchenjunga peaks. However, our luck was not so good to get the view of the Kanchenjunga peaks, as the weather was cloudy outside. Finally, after sometime, we reached the Ghum station, where, I was again pleased to view the Ghum museum that was just beside the Ghum railway station. Really it was like a never ending experience for me to ride the gorgeous toy train ride from Darjeeling to Ghum station.
