Balurghat: Toy train services resume

balurghat: Toy train service for the kids was resumed in Balurghat on Friday. The same service was suspended for over almost two years due to the sudden COVID-19 outbreak.

On Friday, the toy train service was started in presence of the District Magistrate of South Dinajpur Ayesha Rani A and Superintendent of Police Rahul De. According to an official source, the train ride will be great entertainment for the little kids.

"It was a longstanding demand of the city residents to resume the service as early as possible as a result of the decreasing graph of COVID-19 infection among the inhabitants. There will be great fun and exuberance for the little kids and children after resuming the said service. They will travel a distance of 2 km inside Balurghat Children Park which is located in the middle of the city," said the source.

The source said there is no track for plying the train in the park. "The park is supervised and maintained by the state Forest department. The train has three compartments which includes 40 seats for the little passengers. A fare of Rs 25 is fixed for each ride. Due to the security reasons, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are already installed in each of the three compartments," said the source. He said the trackless toy train will run three times in the afternoon-the first ride at 3.30 pm, the second ride at 4.30 pm while the final one at 5.30 pm every day. "If the situation demands, the number of rides will be increased in future. The train is similar looking to that of the toy train in Darjeeling district,"he added.