20 Trains from (KGN)KURSEONG to (GHUM)GHUM

Maligaon, 27^th February, 2023: The Northeast Frontier Railway has decided to operate four Diesel special Joyrides under the toy train service of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) between Darjeeling and Ghum from 1^st March, 2023 to 30^th June, 2023 o­n daily basis to fulfil the tourists’ demand. It has also been decided to attach of o­ne extra first class chair car in all joyrides. Train no. 52539/52538 New Jalpaiguri – Darjeeling – New Jalpaiguri AC Special will be cancelled from 1^stMarch to 2^nd July, 2023 due to less occupancy.

Running of Diesel Special Joyrides:-

Train No. 02547 (Darjeeling – Ghum - Darjeeling) Diesel special Joyride, will depart from Darjeeling at 09:20 hours to reach Ghum at 10:05 hours. o­n its return journey the train will depart from Ghum at 10:25 hours to reach Darjeeling at 10:55 hours.

Train No. 02548 (Darjeeling – Ghum - Darjeeling) Diesel special Joyride, will depart from Darjeelingat 11:25 hours to reach Ghum at 12:10 hours. o­n its return journey the train will depart from Ghum at 12:30 hours to reach Darjeeling at 13:00 hours.

Train No. 02549 (Darjeeling – Ghum - Darjeeling) Diesel special Joyrides, will depart from Darjeelingat 13:25 hours to reach Ghum at 14:10 hours. o­n its return journey the train will depart from Ghum at 14:35 hours to reach Darjeeling at 15:05 hours.

Train No. 02550 (Darjeeling – Ghum - Darjeeling) Diesel special Joyride, will depart from Darjeeling at 15:30 hours to reach Ghum at 16:15 hours. o­n its return journey the train will depart from Ghum at 16:35 hours to reach Darjeeling at 17:05 hours.

All four Diesel special Joyrides will run with a composition of 03 first class chair car coaches. There will be 30 seats in two coaches and 29 seats in o­ne coach.

Augmentation in Joyrides:-

One extra first class chair car coach will be attached in Joyrides trains no. 52594, 52596, 52598, 52544 o­n temporary basis from 1^st March to 30^th June, 2023. The revised composition of these trains will be 3 first class chair cars and seat capacity will increase by 30 seats.

Cancellation of trains:-

Due to less occupancy train no. 52539/52538 New Jalpaiguri – Darjeeling – New Jalpaiguri AC Special will be cancelled from 1^st March to 2^nd July, 2023.

The details of stoppages and timings of these trains are available at IRCTC website and through NTES and are also being notified in various newspapers and social media platforms of N.F. Railway. Passengers are requested to verify the details before undertaking their journey.

    Maligaon, 26^th February, 2023: The 2^nd edition of the JSL – NFR Northeast Half Marathon series has been completed successfully in the iconic Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) o­n 26^th February, 2023. The marathon race was flagged off in the gracious presence of Hon’ble MP from Darjeeling Shri Raju Bista; General Manager of N. F. Railway, Shri Anshul Gupta and Director of Jindal Stainless, Shri Tarun Khulbe. Jamling Norgay (son of the legendary Tenzing Norgay); Mira Rai, winner of National Geographic Adventurer of the Year; Uday Kumar, Parathlete; Gaurav Jajodia, CEO of Jai Balaji Group and many others dignitaries were also present.

            With the prime objective of ‘Empowering Sports in North Bengal & Sikkim areas and Promoting the iconic DHR – a UNESCO World Heritage site’, this well-liked JSL - NFR Northeast Half Marathon has been organised by N. F. Railway jointly with its various stakeholders at picturesque Darjeeling. The supporting groups viz. Darjeeling Enfielders, Darjeeling Mountain Bikers, Darjeeling Police and Administration, Yuma Hospitals, Vikrun Foundation and Jai Balaji Group have joined hands to make the event grand successful. The event has been successful in bringing this region into limelight at both National & International sporting platforms as a large number of runners from all part of  India and abroad had took part in the race.

            Participants competed in three different race categories - 21 Km, 10 Km and 5 Km run both for men and women. Among the 21 Km-long half marathon runners, Belete Mekonen from Ethiopia won the first position in 01:09.4 while Gajindra Rai from Nepal bagged the second position in 01:11.5 and James Kipleting from Kenya emerged as third runner with a timing of 01:11.6 in the men’s race. In the women category, Jalina Kore from Ethiopia finished her run clocking 01:09.5 and became the first while Tamsi Singh of Uttar Pradesh (India) bagged second position in 01:18.6 and Preity Rai of Kurseong (West Bengal) ranked third with a timing of 01:24.4. Winners of 21 Km, 10 Km and 5 Km run for both the categories were awarded with prize money, medals and certificates.  

            o­n this occasion, Hon’ble MP Shri Raju Bista expressed his gratitude and thanked Railway for organizing such an important event at Darjeeling. The General Manager, Shri Anshul Gupta informed that more such events would be organized by this zone for heralding new era to the sporting activities and NE Half Marathon at Darjeeling would help boosting tourism in the region. COO and Director, Jindal Stainless, Shri Tarun Khulbe said that the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India has prioritised infrastructure development in India's Northeast region along with the integration of the Northeast with the rest of India. Jindal Stainless has believed in the overall progress of the communities wherever they have been present in different capacities. The industrial and cultural hubs created in Hisar and Jajpur are testimony to this fact. In the Northeast as well, Jindal Stainless is committed be partners in this virtual cycle of growth that causes economic prosperity along with socio-cultural and environmental upliftment.