Bhubaneswar, Oct. 5: Nandankanan Zoological Park authorities have asked agencies concerned to expedite their work for resumption of toy train and ropeway services, two of the zoo's major tourist attractions.

The ropeway service was stopped in February 2011, while the toy train joyride was halted in 2014.

Zoo officials said the Union ministry of environment and forest had already given an environmental clearance to the ropeway over Kanjia lake. 'The private party has already procured the materials needed for the ropeway and the materials are being transported to the zoo in a phased manner. We have asked the private party to complete the installation work and start the service at the earliest possible,' said the zoo's deputy director Jayant Dash.

Calcutta-based Damodar Ropeways and Infra Ltd has been entrusted with the job of installing the ropeway.

The ropeway service, which was introduced in 1994 to ferry passengers from the zoo to the botanical garden and passed over the Kanjia lake, was permanently shut down in February 2011 following concerns over its safety. Zoo officials said the cable and the cars would be completely new and the ropeway would have a length of 627m.

Similarly, a team of engineers in the last week of September conducted a survey on the railway track for the toy train. RITES Ltd, a Government of India enterprise under the aegis of Indian Railways, has been assigned the task of overhauling the service.

'All the paperwork has been completed and the agency is likely to float a tender for the work this month,' said a zoo official.

Zoo officials said the narrow gauge track used for the toy train service would be replaced with a broad gauge line. Similarly, the engine and five bogeys used in the service will be renovated.

'The agency has estimated a budget of Rs 3 crore for overhaul of the toy train service and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has agreed to fund the project. It has already released Rs 1.22 crore for this purpose,' said the official.

The toy train, which began in 1985 with a 1.6km track, used to ferry as many as 60 visitors for a 20minute ride. The toy train was among the major tourist destinations of the zoo and used to attract around 1.5 lakh tourists every year. The service was stopped in 2014 after the state government cancelled its agreement with a private operator.