Northeast Frontier Railway has introduced a tourist special train between Guwahati and New Haflong with Vistadome coaches for a unique experience.
NF Railway general manager, Anshul Gupta, showcased the unique features of the Vistadome coaches to the media in Guwahati on August 26 and said that they are being introduced on two popular routes under NF Railway. Besides Guwahati-New Haflong service, another train will run between New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar Junction. Both the trains will start operations from August 28.
Gupta said that the Vistadome tourist trains are being introduced to experience the scenic beauty and to display the cultural heritage of the region. He wished that joint effort with the state tourism department will help boost tourism and local economy.
The railway official also illustrated the unique features of Vistadome coaches. The Vistadome coaches are equipped with glass windows and all-glass roofs, providing a 360-degree view of the open sky, mountains, tunnels, bridges, hills and lush green forests to the tourists. “It will also have observation lounges for the purpose of site seeing. The rotational seats of the coach are designed to provide added comfort to passengers. Coaches are also provided with digital entertainment system and Wi-Fi facilities,” Gupta said.
The special Vistadome train service between Guwahati – New Haflong section will initially run two days a week – on every Wednesday and Saturday with stoppages at Manderdisa and Maibong stations. The train will depart from Guwahati at 6:35 am and reach New Haflong at 11:55 am covering a distance of 269 kms through the North Cachar Hill region. During return journey, the train will leave New Haflong at 5 pm to reach Guwahati at 10:45 pm on the same day.
The other Vistadome special train service between New Jalpaiguri – Alipurduar Jn section will initially run three days a week – on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The train will depart from New Jalpaiguri at 7:20 am and reach Alipurduar Jn at 1 pm covering a distance of 169 kms through the Dooars Hill region of North Bengal. During return journey, the train will leave Alipurduar Jn at 2 pm to reach New Jalpaiguri at 7 pm. The train will have stoppages at Siliguri Jn, Sivok, New Mal Jn, Chalsa, Madarihat, Hasimara and Raja Bhat Khawa stations.
“Introduction of this Vistadome trains will help generate additional revenue for railway and also for local people of these areas. Northeast Frontier Railway hopes that the initiative to boost the tourism sector of Assam and North Bengal will be very well patronised by the local people as well as by the visitors from other states,” stated a statement released by chief public relations officer, Guneet Kaur.
