Matheran's popular toy train set to roll again from Nov 6

Mumbai | The heritage narrow gauge train between the popular Matheran hill station and Neral town in Raigad district near Mumbai is set to resume service from Thursday, officials said.

As a precautionary measure, the train services between Neral and Matheran were suspended from June to October, though the shuttle services between Aman Lodge, near the hill station's entry post, and Dasturi point continued to operate, they said.

Matheran, a small hill station near Mumbai which attracts a large number of tourists, receives heavy rainfall during the monsoon season. As the area has experienced landslides, track damage, and embankment washouts during past monsoons, the narrow-gauge train services are suspended as a precautionary measure.

This year, services on the 21-km Neral-atheran narrow gauge line, which passes through the picturesque ghat section, were suspended from the first week of June.

The services on the Neral-Matheran narrow gauge corridor will resume from November 6. Four services -- two each from Neral and Matheran -- will be operated daily, the Central Railway said in a release on Tuesday.

The first train for Matheran from Neral will depart at 8.50 am and reach its destination at 11.30 am. The second train will depart at 10.25 am and reach Matheran at 1.05 pm. From Matheran, the trains will leave at 2.45 pm and 4 pm and reach Neral at 5.30 pm and 6.40 pm, respectively, it said.

The four services will be run with a total six coaches, including three second-class and two second-class cum luggage vans. The first services from either side will be run with one Vistadome coach and the second services with one first-class coach, the Central Railway said.

According to the release, six shuttle services will operate in both directions between Matheran and Aman Lodge from Monday to Friday, and eight services on Saturdays and Sundays.

Aman Lodge station is located near Dasturi Point, beyond which motorised vehicles, except ambulances, are not allowed. Therefore, the shuttle services are beneficial for tourists and locals, who would otherwise have to pay a high amount to rickshaw or horse owners to fpr transportation from Dasturi Point to other parts of the hill station.

The Neral-Matheran Light Railway, one of the few heritage mountain railways in India, has completed 118 years, with the first toy train service powered by a steam engine commencing in 1907.

The construction of the 21-km Neral-Matheran railway line began in 1904, and the two-foot gauge line was opened to traffic in 1907.