The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has suspended two joy rides of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) from Monday till February 28.

A source in the DHR said low passenger turnout and poor visibility on account of foggy weather in the hills led to the decision.

“After Christmas and New Year, there has been a decline in the number of tourists and so the demand for tickets has come down. During the ongoing winter, the weather is often turning foggy, which is reducing visibility. Considering these factors, we decided to cancel two joy rides during this period,” DHR director Priyanshu said.

The 14km-long joy ride between Darjeeling and Ghoom stations is considered the most popular service of the century-old Himalayan railway. Usually, eight rides, a return trip between these two stations, run in the hills.

Last year, during the festive season in October and November, DHR authorities increased the number of joy rides to 12 to cater for more tourists and toy train enthusiasts.

This time, however, a pair of joy rides has been withdrawn. “According to the decision, the 52544 joy ride hauled by a steam loco and 52590 service that was run by a diesel loco have been withdrawn till next month,” the official said.

Along with the six joy rides, the regular passenger service between Darjeeling and New Jalpaiguri stations are operational now.

Tourism stakeholders said the DHR joy rides didn't have enough passengers possibly because tourists were swarming Lachen and Lachung — two recently opened tourist destinations in Mangan, the sole district in the north of Sikkim.