Archive · 26 Aug 2026
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Adds Special Joyrides for Durga Puja
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is adding special train rides for the Durga Puja holiday season.
These rides will begin on October 1.
Four trains will take people one way between Darjeeling and Ghum.
Passengers can get off at Ghum and explore nearby attractions instead of immediately returning.
Each one-way ride is proposed to cost ₹800.
Two more trains will make round trips between Kurseong and Mahanadi.
One will use a steam engine and be called Red Panda, while the other will use a diesel engine and be called Mukta Dhara.
Railway officials say the rides will help visitors enjoy the hills’ history, scenery and culture.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway will start four one-way joyrides between Darjeeling and Ghum on October 1.
Diesel-hauled trains will depart Darjeeling at 9:20am and 11:25am, and Ghum at 10:25am and 12:30pm.
The proposed fare for each Darjeeling-Ghum single trip is ₹800.
The railway will also introduce the steam-powered Red Panda and diesel-operated Mukta Dhara round trips between Kurseong and Mahanadi.
The services are intended to combine railway heritage, hill scenery and cultural attractions during the Durga Puja season.
- Who
- The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, through official Prateeksha Chetri, announced the services.
- What
- It will add four one-way Darjeeling-Ghum joyrides and two Kurseong-Mahanadi round trips.
- When
- The services are scheduled to begin on October 1 during the Durga Puja season; the announcement was reported on August 26.
- Where
- The rides will operate between Darjeeling and Ghum, and between Kurseong and Mahanadi, in the Darjeeling hills.
- Why
- The railway aims to give tourists more opportunities to experience its heritage, the hills’ scenery and their cultural legacy.
Telegraph India report
PTI report
Mukta Dhara attribution
Telegraph India report
The service is described as a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore’s 1922 play Mukta Dhara.
PTI report
The PTI report describes Mukta Dhara as Tagore’s celebrated poem and associates it with the Paglajhora stream.
- Start date
- October 1
- Darjeeling-Ghum services
- Four one-way diesel-hauled joyrides on the nearly 8km route
- Darjeeling departures
- 9:20am and 11:25am
- Ghum departures
- 10:25am and 12:30pm
- Single-trip fare
- Proposed fare of ₹800 for the Darjeeling-Ghum service
- Red Panda
- Steam-powered Kurseong-Mahanadi round trip; proposed fare ₹1,530
- Mukta Dhara
- Diesel-operated Kurseong-Mahanadi round trip; fare of ₹1,030
- Service purpose
- To add a heritage experience involving the railway, landscapes and cultural legacy of the hills during Durga Puja
