Visit heritage lane at CSMT to see old trains, equipment

Want to catch a glimpse of how the railways functioned in the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR)-era, the predecessor of the central railway (CR)? Head to the heritage lane at the P’D Mello Road entrance of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).

On the occasion of the World Heritage Day on Wednesday, the CR inaugurated the lane. Among the seven structures on display are the Great Indian Peninsula electric loco manufactured in 1925, Albion printing press installed in Byculla in 1899, lifting and hauling steam crane manufactured in 1929.

The structures have been brought from different premises of the CR. “The electric loco kept on display has been brought from Kalyan. We plan to display more structures of historical importance in the lane,” said SK Jain, divisional railway manager, central railway

Meanwhile, 100 trees, which were cut for infrastructure projects, have been replanted in the lane. “More such trees will be replanted not just in the heritage lane, but also in areas where we have space. We are planning to replant more trees in Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT),” said DK Sharma, general manager, CR.

The central railway also had an inaugural run of the steam loco on Wednesday. The loco was operated on diesel between Aman Lodge and Matheran railway stations. The CR is devising a plan to increase tourism on the entire Neral-Matheran section.