Sarita Yolmo has become the first woman Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) assigned to “Tour Duty” on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the UNESCO-recognised mountain line known as the Toy Train, marking a first for the Northeast Frontier Railway in field-level heritage operations. The appointment places Yolmo on the high-profile heritage service that carries tourists through the hills between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, breaking a long-standing gender barrier in day-to-day operational roles on the route.
Yolmo began her railway career at the Railway Press and continued there until the unit closed. After the press shut down, she moved to the commercial department and took charge as a TTE based at New Jalpaiguri. While she will continue her regular station duties, she has now been entrusted with overseeing heritage tour services on the Darjeeling route, a role traditionally held by male staff.
Railway officials and local observers view the move as a milestone for women’s participation in operational railway roles, especially on heritage and tourist routes where on-board and field responsibilities have historically been male-dominated. The appointment is being presented as part of a broader push to diversify the workforce and modernise operational practices within the Northeast Frontier Railway.
The development comes amid significant infrastructure expansion across India’s northeast. An official report released on Monday said Rs 11,486 crore has been allocated for Assam and other northeastern states-nearly five times the outlay in 2014-and that projects worth Rs 72,468 crore are currently under execution across the region. Survey work is under way for new lines, including a proposed 69-km link between Kokrajhar in Assam and Gelephu in Bhutan, and ongoing projects in Sikkim and Nagaland aim to strengthen regional and cross-border connectivity.
The same report highlighted the launch of the country’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper service on the Kamakhya–Howrah route on January 17, 2026, a move officials described as a major milestone for Assam and for faster long-distance travel in the northeast. Railway authorities say that combining infrastructure investment with greater representation in operational roles reflects a broader transformation within Indian Railways.
