The route, which connects the Queen of the Hill Stations, Darjeeling, with New Jalpaiguri located in the foothills, had been shut down owing to the pandemic situation.

Train operation between Darjeeling and Ghum resumed on August 16 while the complete stretch was re-opened on August 25.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway became the second railway in the world to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Subsequently, the tag was broadened as the Mountain Railways of India and included the Kalka-Shimla Railway and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway along with the DHR.

Interestingly, on August 25, the United Nations Postal Administration released to collectors the 2021 World Heritage prestige booklet, featuring bridges, waterways, and railways, which includes a set of stamps on the DHR.

However, currently the DHR is in the middle of a controversy arising from media reports that it is likely to be privatised under the Central government's National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) scheme

Image credit: Image by Vikramjit Kakati from Pixabay