Siliguri, 28th August: The Indian Railways’ Vistadome tourist special trains commenced from today. The train left from NJP station with passengers. Union Minister of State John Barla, Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh, Dabgram-Fulbari MLA Shikha Chatterjee flagged off the train.
The Vistadome tourist special train will run from the NJP station from Siliguri to Alipurduar station every week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Apart from the 44 seats Vistadome coach, the New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar train will have two AC chair cars and two non-AC chair cars, apart from a luggage car and a power coach. The train will pass through the foot of the Darjeeling Himalayas at Sevok, crossing the Teesta River, the tea gardens of Bagrakot, Oodlabari and Dalgaon and the dense forests at Chalsa, Madarihat and Raja Bhat Khawa.
The Vistadome coaches are equipped with state of the art glass windows and all-glass roofs and provide a 360-degree view. The coaches also have observation lounges for the purpose of site seeing. The rotational seats of the coach are designed to provide added comfort to passengers. The coaches are also provided with a digital entertainment system and Wi-Fi facilities. For the safety of passengers, CCTV cameras and a fire alarm system have also been installed.
The special train will leave New Jalpaiguri at 7:20 am and will reach Alipurduar Junction at 1 pm covering a distance of 169 km through the Dooars Hill region. During the return journey, the train will leave Alipurduar Junction at 2 pm to reach New Jalpaiguri at 7 pm.
According to railway sources, tickets for the Vistadome coach have already been booked for the next few weeks. Many people are also on the waiting list.
DRM Shubhendu Kumar Choudhary of Katihar Division said that there is a lot of enthusiasm among the tourists regarding the train. Cultural programmes will be held at two stations. Passengers will be able to watch the programme from the train itself.