Darjeeling, Sept. 3 -- All diesel services of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), including joyrides, resumed from Thursday, while the steam services are expected to be restored by September 5.

At present, there is a pair of diesel services running between Darjeeling-Kurseong-NJP, along with four diesel joyrides from Darjeeling to Ghum and back. There are three steam joyrides from Darjeeling to Ghum and back.

The DHR was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on December 5, 1999.

The DHR Station Mahotsav, scheduled to be held on September 4 and 5, has been postponed to next week in view of restoration work following Wednesday's collapse of the DHR's Darjeeling loco shed. The exact dates for the rescheduled festival will be announced soon, the DHR stated on Thursday.

Incidentally, at around 8:50 am on Wednesday, the dilapidated loco shed at the Darjeeling railway station collapsed, injuring seven railway staff, including a contract worker, while they were working under the shed. The DHR had then suspended all seven joyride services from the Darjeeling station.

"Several DHR personnel are currently engaged in restoration and other essential activities, prompting the postponement of the Station Mahotsav. However, the Code for Communities - Toy Train Edition will proceed as scheduled at 9 am on September 5," informed Rishav Choudhury, Director, DHR.

Incidentally, the launch of the AI Coding Train Ride is part of its Station Mahotsav, marking 100 years of its heritage stations. The special train will run on the Kurseong-Darjeeling-Kurseong route, with students from the hills participating in live, hands-on coding sessions aboard the moving heritage coaches.

"The initiative aims to promote technology and computer literacy among hill youth by combining railway heritage with emerging technologies. The programme will return during the Ghum Winter Festival 2026, when it will be expanded into a competitive coding programme for students from across the hills," added the DHR Director.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.