The parks and gardens wing of the Bengal forest department has decided to introduce one trackless Toy Train each in three different parks of north Bengal.

Anjan Guha, the divisional forest officer of the wing in the region, said the Toy Train service would be similar like the one introduced at the Bengal Safari Park located on the outskirts of Siliguri.

“The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 1 crore. The service will come up at the parks in Malbazar town (Jalpaiguri district), Balurghat (South Dinajpur district) and at the N.N. Park in Cooch Behar town,” said Guha.

“We have taken the task of cleaning and decorating all the parks and will come up with newer attractions like the trackless Toy Trains to pull visitors. So far, no decision has been taken on reopening the parks closed since March 17 in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

According to sources in the department, nearly 39 lakh would be spent for the toy train project at N N Park while for Balurghat and Malbazar the department will spent 35 lakh and 30 lakh, respectively.

The Toy Train, sources said, will run on battery or diesel engine, along with three coaches. Each coach, fitted with glass windows, will have a capacity of 25 to 30 passengers, along with CCTV cameras and alarms.

“The Toy Train service introduced at the Bengal Safari Park has already earned popularity among the visitors. It would be new experience for people visiting these parks to take a trip in the train that will move through the entire park. But considering the current situation, we will allow only 10 to 12 passengers in a coach,” said an official.