Central Railway's Matheran toy train service in Maharashtra to resume operations from November 4

The toy train is a major tourist attraction in Matheran, located 100 km from Mumbai, in Raigad district. The shuttle services were suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak in March.

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Mumbai: The Central Railway will resume operations for toy trains in Matheran, which is a hill station, from November 4. The shuttle services were suspended eight months ago in view of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in March.

The toy train is a major tourist attraction in Matheran, located 100 km from Mumbai, in Raigad district.

According to an official communique, four shuttle services will be operated on the Aman Lodge-Matheran section of the narrow-gauge Neral-Matheran railway line from Wednesday.

The first shuttle service of the day will commence from Matheran at 9.30 am, while the last service will depart Aman Lodge station at 4.25 pm, it said.

When the Unlock process started in Maharashtra, the Matheran Municipal Council requested the state government to start the shuttle services. The Maharashtra government urged the railway to resume the service in the section.

According to the CR, the narrow-gauge train will have three second-class, one first-class, and two luggage coaches, appealing to passengers to adhere to all norms, SOPs related to COVID-19 during their travel.

The Maharashtra government had requested the railway to resume the service on the section, as horses and hand-pulled carts were the only means of transport there.

The Neral-Matheran toy train, operational since 1907, was included in the UNESCO's tentative list of world heritage sites in 2003. 

(With Agency Inputs)