In 145 years, Darjeeling toy train gets first woman TTE

Almost 145 years after it began operating, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has appointed its first woman train ticket examiner, or TTE.

Sarita Yolmo shifted from the Railway Press section to the Commercial Department and became a TTE at New Jalpaiguri some time ago. On Thursday (February 12, 2026), she created history by becoming the first woman TTE to be assigned ‘tour duty’ on the DHR.

“Recording a first for a world-famous mountain railway system more than a century old is a great feeling,” she said.

The DHR, operated by the Guwahati-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), is Asia’s oldest two-foot narrow-gauge system. About 88 km long, it climbs 6,870 feet from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal.

New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling have average elevations of 330 feet and 7,200 feet above mean sea level, respectively.

“Sarita Yolmo’s presence on the toy train is more than just a job assignment; it is a significant step forward for women’s representation in the technical and field operations of the Indian Railways,” NFR spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said.

The DHR, established in 1881, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1999.