Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, often called as “Toy Train” was built between 1879 and 1881. This station is also one of the popular tourist destinations in West Bengal, India. The station was the end of the landmark railway line that connects New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. The 87 kilometres long railway line runs through ridges and is one of the technological miracles. The narrow gauge railway line is elevated at maximum level of 2200 meters at Darjeeling from 100 meters at New Jalpaiguri station. Darjeeling railway division is awarded the World Heritage Site status for this landmark engineering feat, and even today the toy train provides daily commute to passengers. The administrative control of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society is with the Indian Railways from 1948 onwards. The Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways is responsible for the maintenance of the tracks and revenues generated from the operations. The headquarters of the railway is located in Kurseong town.

The scheduled services from the Darjeeling railway station provide unique experiences to tourists to enjoy the nature beauty as the trains make to their destination. The daily tourist train from Darjeeling to Ghum, which is the highest railway station in India at the height of 2258 meters, is run with vintage British built steam locomotives and is popular choice for tourists during their visit to the city. The famous Ghum Buddhist monastery and the Batasia loop, the longest curve bent within the railway system are special attractions in the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway system. The trains are run by diesel locomotives, unlike the electric engines as the power lines are difficult to erect on a mountainous terrain. The landslide is very common in the Northern India, and there are many railway disruptions due to this reason over the last few years. The operations between Kurseong and Siliguri station were discontinued after a series of frequent landslides in 2010 causing havoc among the passengers on the safety of the railway system. The earthquake in September 2012 further damaged parts of the railway system and repair works were conducted on the track. As of May 2014, the renovation work is still in progress and is slow due to lack of funds for this project.

Darjeeling Railway station is the biggest station among the fourteen stations in the Darjeeling Himalayan railway system. The track from Darjeeling station is famous for three loops (bending in the track), and five zigzags, 498 minor bridges, 177 unmanned level crossings, five major bridges along the way to the New Jalpaiguri Station. The nearest airport is 94 kilometres away and located at Bagdogra. The best mode of transportation to reach Darjeeling is through trains from Kolkata.

• New Jalpaiguri Railway Station –

This station codenamed NJP is located in Jalpaiguri district and positioned between twin cities Silguri and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, India. The station was built in 1961 with broad gauge lines to connect with the northeastern states through Assam. Since the town Siliguri is located in the Jalpaiguri district, this new station is termed as New Jalpaiguri railway station. The Darjeeling Himalayan railway narrow gauge was further extended from Siliguri town station to the New Greenfield station in Jalpaiguri. This station is located at 9 kilometres from the Siliguri railway station. There are eight platforms supporting 2 narrow gauges and six broad gauge railway network. This station is well-connected to other major stations like Kolkata, Guwahati, Kanyakumari. There are more than 100 trains that cross this station on a regular basis. Almost seven express and few passengers’ trains originate from this station since August 2012.

• Siliguri Town Railway Station –

This station codenamed SGUT is located in the Siliguri town and located between the Siliguri junction and important station in the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway system. The station was built in 1880 and is operated by the North East Frontier Railway. There are two platforms, one each for narrow and broad gauge railway network.

• Siliguri Junction Railway Station –

This is the third station located in the Jalpaiguri district, and codenamed SGUJ. The station was built in 1949 and falls under the Katihar division of the North East Frontier Railway network. The station is equipped with three meter gauge lines and serves as the main railway station in the area.