With a view to promoting tourism and cultural heritage of the Northeast and North Bengal areas, two Vistadome tourist special train services were flagged off today.

The special Vistadome service between New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar Jn was flagged off by John Barla, the Union Minister of State, Minority Affairs, MP Dr Jayanta Kr Roy, Dabgram-Fulbari MLA Sikha Chatterjee, and Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh, at the NJP railway station here.

“Mr Barla thanked the Railways for such a good initiative taken for the development of the tourism sector of the Dooars in North Bengal. He expressed hope that a vast segment of people belonging to various sectors, apart from tour operators, will be able to benefit economically with more and more tourists coming into the region,” the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Guneet Kaur, said in a note.

“Tourists will be able to enjoy the spectacular natural beauty of the Dooars area in the foothills of the Himalayas, along with visits to various wildlife sanctuaries and National Parks,” she added. Initially, the train will run three days a week (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). It will depart from NJP at 7-20 am and reach Alipurduar Jn at 1 pm, covering a distance of 169 km through the Dooars Hill region.

On its return journey, the train will leave Alipurduar Jn at 2 pm and reach New Jalpaiguri at 7 pm. The train will have stoppages at Siliguri Jn, Sevoke, New Mal Jn, Chalsa, Madarihat, Hasimara and Raja Bhatkhawa stations. 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,” the CPRO said.

The service between Guwahati-New Haflong was flagged off in Guwahati, Assam, by Bimal Bora, the Minister of Sports & Youth Welfare, Cultural Affairs, Power and Tourism, Govt of Assam, in the presence of Queen Oja, the Guwahati MP, Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the NC Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) Debolal Gorlosa, and General Manager, NF Railway, Anshul Gupta, in the presence of senior officials.

Mr Bora also expressed hope that both international, as well as domestic tourists, will now be able to enjoy the abundant natural beauty of the Northeast. He also called upon all stakeholders, especially local people, to provide good hospitality to tourists, by creating a good environment so that more and more tourists can visit the region, according to the NFR.