Green light for Matheran toy train in monsoon

After two long months, which included failed tests and trial runs, Central Railway (CR) got the approval to start toy train services between Matheran and Aman Lodge stations during the monsoon.

After two long months, which included failed tests and trial runs, Central Railway (CR) got the approval to start toy train services between Matheran and Aman Lodge stations during the monsoon.

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From this weekend, tourists and Matheran locals can travel in the toy train from Aman Lodge near Dasturi Lake and the main Matheran station, beyond which vehicular movement is restricted and people usually travel on foot or by horse-carts.

Satisfied with the progress, Subodh Jain, the general manager of CR said, “We are planning to introduce the services between Aman lodge and Matheran from Saturday.”

Chetan Bakshi, commissioner railway safety gave the green signal after a thorough inspection of the Neral-Matheran line on Wednesday.

“The commissioner has expressed complete satisfaction after inspecting the Matheran line. His formal approval is awaited on Thursday,” said a senior railway official.

On July 7, Jain had floated the idea of running shuttle services between the two stations after considering demands from locals from Matheran. Since then, CR was made several efforts to get a safety approval from the commissioner. Among these, the CR held two safety trails. The trails last Saturday proved successful.