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As per the latest developments, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) section of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), toy train service has been suspended till August 31. This move comes in the wake of the ongoing monsoon rains. Referring to this, NFR's Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De added that the three steam joy rides and one diesel joy ride would remain cancelled from July 20 to August 31.
The official further added that the DHR, an UNESCO world heritage site, located in the foothills of the Himalayas, is also the most visited place by tourists, and offers the best toy train experience in India.
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It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1999, and is also famed for the fascinating journey it offers that takes its guests through the beautiful hills of Himalayas in narrow-gauge toy trains.
The NFR, which is one of the 17 railway zones in India, operates fully and partially in the northeastern states and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar.
The toy train runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, and passes through areas such as Siliguri and Kurseong. The highlights of this train ride are the hilly loops, whereas the train also crosses five bridges and 500 smaller bridges along its route! There are three routes available.
Timings
You can enjoy several trips, depending on the season. As per the records, the DHR conducts 20 train rides during peak season, which obviously depends on the number of tourists too. For your information, there are 18 rides on the Darjeeling-to-Ghum route, which run from 7:40 AM to 4:30 PM.
Darjeeling: Toy train services suspended till August 31 due to rainCredit: iStock
Tourists can opt to choose which train they wish to ride in, i.e., steam engine or diesel engine. While there are 2 first-class cabins in the steam engine toy train, there are 3 available in the diesel engine train.
Ticket price
The ticket price for a toy train ride in Darjeeling will cost around INR 805 per head for diesel engine rides, while it will cost INR 1405 per head for steam engine rides.
India’s aviation regulator has conditionally allowed Go First to resume operations after carrying out a multi-location audit earlier this month following a plan to start services submitted by the insolvency resolution professional.
If and when the airline starts flying again, it will be an unprecedented, history-creating event in Indian skies because no airline has been able to take to the skies after being shut for over 24 hours.
Go First can start operations with 15 aircraft and 114 daily flights. The airline had operated about 25 aircraft in early May, when it decided to suspend services and seek voluntary bankruptcy, blaming engine maker Pratt & Whitney for not supplying enough engines and its overall woes.
The move may turn out to be historic, but there are more questions than answers at this stage. Aircraft lessors want their planes back, which has been challenged in court, and various cases are pending.
At the same time, the airline owes money to travel agents and passengers, who would be more interested in knowing the fate of their money before proceeding to book flights with Go First in the future.
Go First's CoC moves Delhi HC to be impleaded in lessors plea against DGCA Go First's CoC moves Delhi HC to be impleaded in lessors plea against DGCA
Go First must have to ink new lease pacts to resume flight operations Go First must have to ink new lease pacts to resume flight operations
Go First provides additional information to DGCA post audit, says official Go First provides additional information to DGCA post audit, says official. India continues to be a market where flight bookings are driven by indirect channels such as travel agents and online travel agents. Without their past dues being cleared or a plan to clear those dues, both segments would be wary of putting in more money.
However, the Indian market is also driven by cost-conscious travellers who are loyal to low fares. Passengers could well be attracted by dropping prices. This may not help the airline shore up profit, but a “going concern” is better than a grounded one when it comes to attracting buyer interest and decking up for a possible sale.
What are the challenges?
The audit by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation would have covered various aspects – from crew and staff to maintenance and engineering and the ability to sustain operations, subject to funding. It is now up to the bankers to decide on the quantum of funding that may be needed.
If the lessors and the airline do not come to an agreement on the use of aircraft, there is limited wet lease capacity available across the world for the airline to use in line with current local laws. Wet-lease is an expensive proposition but could come in handy in imparting confidence to lessors, passengers and the entire ecosystem that the airline is here to stay.
Airports have temporarily handed over Go First’s slots to other airlines that are flying with short-term schedules. Based on the slots that Go First utilises, there will be challenges for other airlines, but in some sectors – if not all – the competition landscape would have changed since May.
Seasonality is playing its part, with the July-September quarter being a lean one. Go First’s traditional higher presence in tourist-centric markets will not help garner higher revenue in these lean months. At 114 flights a day, Go First will be operating less than 1 percent of all domestic flights and will be smaller than Akasa Air or SpiceJet.
Go First may create history when it takes off, but the route to survival is long and may get bumpy with court cases. Will the Wadia group bid for the airline with or without a partner?
For now, the focus will be on managing costs. The airline had 50+ aircraft in its fleet and operated half of it. This effectively meant it had to generate revenue to pay for leasing and parking 50 planes by operating only half of them. With 15 aircraft that do not have engine issues – five of which are likely to be A320ceos – the airline will be further hard-pressed to make ends meet.
Resumption itself is a massive achievement, but continued operations will be the real challenge and a lot could hinge on what turns the case against Pratt & Whitney in the Delaware court takes. The airline has so far cited the judgement of a Singapore arbitration court directing Pratt & Whitney to provide engines, while the engine manufacturer has made public its inability to do so and also talked about contractual violations by the airline on payments.
The Indonesian resort haven of Bali will impose a 150,000 rupiah (US$10) tax on tourists entering the ‘Island of Gods’ from next year to preserve its culture, officials said Wednesday. Tourist-dependent Bali attracts millions of foreign visitors annually and the beach-dotted island is trying to capitalise on its popularity to boost its coffers and protect its tropical allure. “The payment of a fee for foreign tourists applies only one time during their visit to Bali,” Governor I Wayan Koster told local lawmakers. The fee will have to be paid electronically and will apply to foreign tourists entering Bali from abroad or from other parts of Indonesia, he said. The levy will not apply to domestic Indonesian tourists. More than two million tourists visited the island last year, according to official figures, as Bali rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic after imposing a zero-tolerance policy on rule-breakers. When asked if the new tax would deter visitors, Koster said authorities did not believe numbers would dip. “It’s not a problem. We will use it for the environment, culture and we will build better quality infrastructure so travelling to Bali will be more comfortable and safe,” he told reporters. The palm-fringed hotspot has vowed a crackdown on misbehaving tourists after a spate of incidents that have included acts of disrespect to the predominantly Hindu island’s culture. Bali immigration deported a Danish woman last month after she was filmed flashing to the public while riding a motorbike. A Russian woman was also booted out of the island in April for posting a nude photo of herself in front of a sacred tree. In June, the local government published a guide for tourists who wish to visit Bali after being pressed to do so by the island’s immigration office.
A recent survey by Schengen Visa Info revealed that Indians lost nearly INR 90 crore in 2022 because of visa rejections. As per reports, there was a huge boost seen in the number of applicants for Schengen visa, which resulted in higher visa rejections. The results also mentioned that India still had the second-highest number of Schengen visa rejections in the whole world as more than 100,000 visas were refused. This also resulted in an estimated loss of INR 87 crore on trips that have to be cancelled. As per reports, India had received 671,928 visa applications in 2022 and 18% (121,188) were rejected. Though the rejection rate is lower than the 2021 rate of 23.3%, it still is higher than the global average rejection rate of 17.9% in 2022. In India, the application fee for Indian citizens of 12 years and above with a normal passport is INR 7200. The fee is different for kids below 12, students and representatives of NGOs, and citizens of other nations. In 2022, India invested some INR 480 crores in visa applications with approximately INR 87 crore lost due to 121,188 rejected applications. The refusal rates were highest for the Algerian nationals and out of 392,478 visa applications from Algeria, 179,409 were denied. Algeria was closely followed by India and Turkey with 121,188 and 120,876 rejections, respectively. Morocco and Russia also had to go through major rejection numbers of visa application rejections, with 119,346 and 68,753 rejections respectively. Tunisia had to face 48,909 rejection, while the United Arab Emirates experienced 42,105 rejections. The Schengen visa is noted for its complex requirements and one of the most difficult to obtain visas. The Schengen region covers 26 European nations, which are Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.