There is nothing ordinary about the train journey from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling simply because the 'Toy Train' is no ordinary train. Surabhi Khosla captures the enchantment of a unique experience.
T'S a journey into the clouds.
As you hurtle past tea gardens, sunny villages and little mountain streams, most of the scenes look frozen in a picture postcard. Not any more. This is the first train in Asia and the second in the world to have been declared heritage property. The first was the Semmering Railway in Austria glimpses of which were seen in the movie Sound of Music. Set up in 1881, the 'Toy Train' contributed to the strategic communication plans of 19th century India and the position of Darjeeling as in an important garrison town and political centre in summer.