Darjeeling Toy Train: My First Experience of the Famous “Joy Ride”

Darjeeling Joy Ride is a 2-hour ride on the famous Darjeeling Toy Train. It is a round-trip journey from Darjeeling to Ghum covering a distance of 14 km. The journey starts from Darjeeling, take a quick break in Batasia Loop for 10 minutes. Then it reaches Ghum, the highest station in India. The train stops there for 30 minutes. Tourists can visit the Ghum Rail Museum during this time. Then the train comes back to Darjeeling without any more stops on the way. And the ride ends.

This ride is operated by Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) solely for tourists. While Batasia Loop and Ghum Rail Museum are the two main attractions of this ride, the journey itself would give you a unique experience of travelling in century-old transportation. The mini-train is made of two or three coaches pulled by a steam locomotive, when chugs through the narrow gauge line and throws a puff of smoke in the air every time it blows the whistle, you will find definitely time travel back in history. There are not many travellers who will let go of such an opportunity while in Darjeeling.

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Little About Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (a.k.a. Darjeeling Toy Train)

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway or DHR or Darjeeling Toy Train as called popularly is a narrow-gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal.

It is the oldest Hill Railway in India. The journey from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling is 87 km long.

DHR which is in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, comes under the provision of North-East Frontier Railways.

It is one of the three mountain railways of India which are UNESCO world heritage property. The other two proud members are – Kalka – Shimla Railway and Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

Six diesel locomotives are used nowadays for all the scheduled services from Darjeeling to Ghum and Kurseong, but the old B-class steam locomotives are the real show-stealers of Darjeeling Joy Ride. Those steam engines are used for Darjeeling-Ghum Joy Rides only for a few prefixed rides every day during peak tourist season.

Our Journey in Darjeeling Joy Ride

It was always on my wish list to ride in a steam locomotive-driven toy train in Darjeeling. In fact, I was unaware that Diesel Locomotives are used nowadays for almost all services until it was told by a friend. That’s when I came to know that Steam locomotives are only used to run a few specific rides during peak tourist season.

I did not pre-book my Joy Ride as I was travelling in the shoulder season (1st week of March). So, I decided to book my tickets once I reached Darjeeling. But it was my bad luck, all the seats for steam engine trains were already reserved. So, I had to settle for a diesel-engine train. Though eventually, it did not hurt me much. Because practically we were running almost stuck to the previous steam locomotive train in front of us. And that was the benefit of the high season I suppose.

At Darjeeling Station

Our train was scheduled to depart at 9:45 a.m. We reached Darjeeling station 45 minutes before the departure time. The station was at a distance of 1 km from our B&B beside the Ava Art Gallery. The extra time that I got was helpful for a pre-journey photo session and roaming in the station premises.

Darjeeling railway station is beside Hill Cart Road. On the other side of the road is the Loco Shed or the Locomotive Workshop. The main building consists of ticket counters, a small single-room rail museum and other offices. The building is four-storied, and there is an open terrace at the backside. The western side is completely open. This means on a clear day, you can enjoy the view of the snow-capped Himalayas from there. The area around Darjeeling station is called Limbugaon.

Our train was already on the platform, and the seats started to get occupied gradually. By 9:30 a.m., the coaches were already full of passengers. The reclining seats inside the coach were in 2+2 fashion with glass windows beside each seat. Though they used to call it a first-class coach I would not say the seat was very spacious, yet it was just wide enough to accommodate two people with average build. The window glass could be slid halfway, but I had to be careful while resting my hand over the window because the groove at the window base was full of coal dust.

Darjeeling to Batasia Loop

Once the ticket checker gave clearance to the driver, the train started its run. It was 2 minutes late to its scheduled time. Once it got out of the station, the train crisscrossed the Hill Cart Road and went to the left side. For the first 2 km, it was running at the same level as the Hill Cart Road. Then it ascended on a ramp a little higher from the busy road.

On the right side, Hill Cart Road was running in a parallel direction and on the left, there was a continuous row of shops and residential cottages. The train was literally running over the premises of those houses. If you jump from the train, you will end up landing on the verandah of those houses, that’s how close it was.

On the right side, the view gets obscured by buildings and tall pine trees for a few kilometres at the beginning. All I could see was cars plying across Hill Cat Road. When the train crossed Dali Monastery (at 3 km distance from Darjeeling station) on our left, the view on the right became clear, and I could see beautiful Darjeeling Town resting on the slope of Darjeeling hills. The more our train curved forward along the track, the more clear the view was.

At Batasia Loop

After 25 minutes, the Toy Train reached Batasia Loop where it halted for 10 minutes. Here trains take a loop to negotiate with the sudden steep gradient of ascent. Batasia Loop was commissioned in 1919 by the British. This engineering marvel was created to counter the steep descent of 140 ft while laying down the tracks towards Darjeeling from Ghum.

At the centre of the Batasia loop, there was a beautifully manicured garden. The view of Darjeeling town with Mt. Kanchenjunga in the background is said to be unparalleled. I did not get a view of Kanchenjunga due to clouds, but Darjeeling town’s view was spectacular nevertheless. There is a war memorial at the centre of the Batasia loop dedicated to Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Military who had sacrificed their lives for the country.

Reaching Ghum Station

Ghum was another 20-minute ride from Batasia Loop. Ghum is the highest station in India located at an altitude of 2225 metres. The Joy Ride stops at Ghum station for 30 minutes to allow tourists to visit the Ghum Rail Museum. The entry ticket to the museum is included in the train fare.

Ghum Rail Museum

The entry gate to the museum was at the opposite of the number-1 platform. As soon as I entered through the gate, I was inside a garden. The first thing I noticed inside was an old steam engine with a mini-coach attached to it. The engine is Baby Sivok, the oldest toy train engine of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway that started its operation in 1881. You can see the engine and enter the coach to explore how it looked a century back.

From the end of the garden, there were wooden staircases that took me to the Rail Museum. The museum building houses rare and old artefacts of Darjeeling Himalayan Railways. Ex-employees of DHR donated many items inside the museum. You can also enjoy the rare and old photographs of the Darjeeling Toy Train.

Ghum to Darjeeling

The return ride from Ghum to Darjeeling started after 30 minutes. This time the train did not stop anywhere en route. But I enjoyed taking some pictures of the busy Hill Cart Road from a running train.

Finally, my 2-hour Joy Ride ended in Darjeeling station. It was an experience that I will never forget. I wish the journey lasted a little longer. Hence I thought of riding the Darjeeling- Kurseong train next time and waiting for Njp-Darjeeling Toy Train service to resume.

And yes, Next time I am not going to miss the Steam Engine Ride at any cost. That is the first thing I am going to book in my next Darjeeling trip.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Joy Ride Fare

Diesel Engine Ride – ₹1000

Steam Engine Ride – ₹1500

(Please check the IRCTC Website for updated fares)

A few Notes to Remember

• This fare is for the Darjeeling-Ghum-Darjeeling Joy Ride.
• No food or snacks are provided or included in this fare.
• Children under the age of five do not need a ticket.
• Children above the age of five and senior citizens do not have any concession in fares.
• All tickets in joy ride are for first-class coaches which has reclining seat arrangements in 2+2 fashion.

How to Book a Joy Ride

You can book your Joy Ride tickets from the IRCTC website. You can also reserve your seats from any computerised reservation centre in India. Even you can spot book in DHR stations like Darjeeling, Ghum or Kurseong.

If you are visiting Darjeeling during the season then it is always better to prebook your tickets.

DHR Joy Ride Time Table

Always check the current schedule of Joy Ride in Indian Railways website. Darjeeling Joy Ride timings vary from season to season. During offseason, often DHR does not operate any Steam Locomotive run. While during high season, multiple rides are scheduled to run driven by both Steam and Diesel Engines. It can be as high as 12-14 rides a day during peak season.

The Steam engine trains have 2 first-class coaches whereas Diesel Engine trains have 3 first-class coaches.

Darjeeling-Ghum Joy Ride Time Table (Taken from DHR website)

NB: The Train No. 52591, 52592, 52593, 52595, 52596, 52545 & 52599 will remain cancelled from 1st July to 30th September due to rainy season and from 1st  December to 28th February due to lean season.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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