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| Heritage Toy Train Darjeeling |
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| Through city |
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| Through markets |
The best way to enjoy a memorable journey on "The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway", also known as the "Toy Train"
I would suggest you to spend one day and travel by toy train from Darjeeling to Kurseong and back (around 3 hour journey one way )and visit world famous Mokaibari Tea Estate cum Factory at Kurseong. The tickets can be booked through irctc.co.in or instant at the Darjeeling station. The route is very picturesque and will be liked by your kid as well as you all. Try to sit on left while climbing up ie from Kurseong to Darjeeling for the better views and if you want to shoot pictures. The toy train which runs from Silliguri to Darjeeling uses the orignal coaches BUT NOT the original Steam Engine! It is replaced by a Modern Diesel, and as a steam buff you may feel cheated in this respect and secondly, its a long journey of about 6 1/2 hrs which is a little cramped and at times rather tedious especially if you have already travelled overnight from Kolkata.
NOW THE GREAT NEWS!
However, if you have only few hours with you and you are at Darjeeling then the best option is to take The orignal steam engine Toy Train which does a 3 hours tourist round trip from Darjeeling to Ghoom passing incredibly through markets and road traffic via the Batasia Loop and back. This is once in a life time, an unforgettable experience!
THE TRAIN:
It's a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres (48 mi) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres (328 ft) at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres (7,218 ft) at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services: however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotive, DHR 778. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as a Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong.