Maharashtra: Toy train service restarts in Matheran with great fanfare

Mumbai: It was a pleasant sight at Matheran after a huge crowd of commuters welcomed the restarting of toy train services on Monday. The central railway officials recorded at least 1000 on board on the first day of resuming its services which operated between Aman Lodge to Matheran section.

On Monday, the toy train service was flagged off by Vikram Daroga, gangman of the earlier route of this train which ran between Neral and Matheran section. Daroga will be retiring from this service the next day. It is a 25-minute journey between Aman Lodge and Matheran section. The services would begin from morning 8:50am onwards from Matheran and the last shuttle service will be at 4:15pm from Aman Lodge.

The people from Matheran were also present in large numbers who welcomed the train by bursting crackers. “We received an overwhelming response as the return journey from Matheran to Aman lodge was fully booked within 20 minutes. The resumption of this service will also benefit the tourists visiting Matheran,” said a central railway official.

The central railways earned Rs 64,000 from the tickets purchased by the passengers on this train. At least 12 shuttle services will run between Aman Lodge and Matheran on a daily basis, except on Wednesday and Thursday. This toy train service has been resumed with a new safety system which includes two braking vans which would help in avoiding derailments.

The train consists of six coaches which include three second class coaches, one first class and two brake vans. “This new braking system would be operated using a switch which was otherwise done manually. There were two incidents of derailments reported on this train which took place last year,” said a central railway official. The sources in the central railways said that applying the brakes manually tend to cause derailments as it had to be done in sync by the concerned person.