Here is something to cheer for those who pine for a ride on the world famous toy train of Darjeeling. All the 14 steam engines of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways (DHR) — which runs toy train services between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling — will be revived and the coaches will be air conditioned.There’s more: all employees will turn up in the Raj era attire as per the direction of Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Railway Board, who visited the DHR earlier this week.

“The steam engine is crucial to the heritage of the DHR. We will upgrade and use all the 14 steam engines We will also introduce air conditioned coaches modelled along the coaches in the Heritage Railways at Shimla,” Mr. Lohani said.

The attempts to restore the heritage value of the DHR assume importance as it suffered serious damage during the 104-day-shut down in Darjeeling hills last year.