Sarita Yolma makes history on India's oldest toy train

New Jalpaiguri: SaritaYolma knew it was a big day for her as she wore her railway train ticket examiner's uniform.

On her way to New Jalpaiguri railway station from her home in Siliguri, West Bengal, a road distance of half an hour which takes an hour because of the traffic, she could feel the tension.

Her husband was beside her to provide support. Retired from the railways a year ago, he was dropping her to the New Jalpaiguri station as she was about to make her way into railway history.

At the station, the famous Darjeeling Toy Train was at the platform. Sarita Yolma was welcomed by the train staff. Her husband introduced them because the personnel had worked with him in the past on the same sector in the engineering department.

As Sarita entered the railway carriage at 10 am, she became the first woman ticket collector to be posted on the 145-year-old toy train.

"I was nervous and excited. I was responsible for so many passengers on a historic route," says Sarita Yolma who joined the Indian Railways in the early 1990s.

She waved from the train door as the train pulled out slowly and then took out her tablet to check the passengers' tickets.

The Darjeeling Toy Train has UNESCO World Heritage status. The two-carriage train runs from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling and back, covering a distance of around 88 kms in about 6-and-a-half hours.

Started in 1881, the train connected the beautiful, small and quiet hill station and was an engineering marvel.