The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - is one of the four Toy Trains of India. It is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway that runs between Siliguri and Darjelling run by the Indian Railways. The 86 kms ride starts from the plains and move towards the hills. The journey starts with a warmer climate and moves to a chill and cold climate. So while travelling in the Darjeeling toy train one need to keep warm clothes handy.
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| Nearing Darjeeling town |
The route stretch from Tindhara to Gayabari station is a scenic beauty of jagged rock faced mountains of Giddapahar through which the train passes through and reaches the Gayabari station at 3400 ft. The train stops at Pagla Jhora where it stops for water. Then the train reaches Mahanadi Bazar station which is at 4000ft and which is also close to the source of the Mahanadi river. From here the train reaches Kurseong station at 4864 ft travelling west. Kurseong a little hill station where one can see the culture and tradition of a hill town and hill people. From Kurseong the train crosses through the Kurseong bazar which gives a glimpse of the Tibetian prayer flags while crossing over Hussel and Khola. The train passes through the forests of maple, chestnut, pear, cherry and cardamom plants. The train then reaches Tung at 5656 ft.
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| Train going through cross roads |
From Tung the train reaches Sonada at 6552 ft and passes through the Sonada bazar giving a glimpse of Tibetan Stupa. Before reaching Ghoom, the train passes through the Senchel Reserve forest. One can get to see bright blooms of rododendrons, cream magnolias and orchids during the spring. The Senchel Reserve forest region is a world wide bird watching centre and the top of the hill is the famous tourist spot Tiger hill which gives a different and unique view of Himalayas and one can watch sunrise from this point. The train then crosses the town of Jore bunglow where the roads are narrow and this is the place where the traffic in and out of Darjeeling crosses. The train stops here for a while till the traffic clears if one happens. After crossing this town the train reaches Ghoom at 7407 ft.
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| Inside DHR toy Train |
From Ghoom the train moves towards Darjeeling pasing through Batasia Loop from where one can see a splendid view of the Darjeeling town and the Kanchenjunga peak. The train then reaches the Darjeeling Station. The total travel time all along the route is about 9 hours (which could extend an hour more too).
All along the route from Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, there are lots of road crossings and almost all through the journey the train runs quite parallel to road and one can see cars and other vehicles running very close. The famous song of Meri Sapnon ki Rani from the movie Aradana is shot in this train and all along the route.
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| Darjeeling Railway Station |