The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway will host its annual Ghum Winter Festival from November 28 to December 6, combining cultural programmes, heritage activities, student workshops and technology events to mark 27 years since the mountain railway was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The festival will open at Ghum Railway Station on November 28 with cultural performances. The following day, the railway will hold an award ceremony and a “Station Mahotsav” to recognise local contributors, heritage champions and community leaders involved in preserving the cultural identity of the Darjeeling hills.
The programme is designed to bring younger residents into the railway’s history and conservation story. Rishabh Chaudhary, director of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, said the festival would include a three-day hands-on robotics workshop at Sukna railway station from November 30 to December 2, in collaboration with the Tinkering Institute for Innovation. The workshop will focus on technological skills, creativity and scientific curiosity among young people in the hills.
The railway’s UNESCO anniversary will also be marked through special events outside the stations. The Darjeeling International Film Festival will organise screenings at the Ghum open-air museum on December 2. A Heritage Run and a Flat Wagon Open-Air Ride are scheduled at Kurseong, while a literature festival will feature talks, poetry readings and storytelling centred on the railway and the wider heritage of the hills.
An AI event planned for December 3 will place technology directly within the heritage railway experience. In collaboration with a private educational institution in Siliguri, students will develop artificial intelligence-based solutions inspired by Darjeeling’s culture, heritage and communities. The programme is scheduled to take place aboard a moving heritage train travelling from Kurseong to Darjeeling.
The railway festival comes as the Bengal government has given in-principle approval to several projects in the Darjeeling hills, according to information cited by Darjeeling MP Raju Bista. These include a proposed 21-km ropeway between Kurseong and Darjeeling, redevelopment of Lebong ground into a stadium and hospital upgrades in five towns. An allocation of ₹19 crore for the Mahakal Mandir in Darjeeling has also been approved, the report said.
The combination of heritage programming and proposed infrastructure projects places the festival within a broader effort to connect the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway with tourism, education and community institutions. The nine-day programme will conclude with a cultural event at Chowrasta in Darjeeling.
