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Matheran Hill Railway
The traditional Matheran railway in the state of Maharashtra in India falls into the group of the Central Railway System governing the country. Serving as a bridge between the Neral and Matheran, a famous hill spot in the Western Ghats, the rail system spans an area of 21 km and passes through dense jungle clearings. It is our pride that the UNESCO has been evaluating the conferring of the global heritage position to this rail system.
History
Built way back during the years of 1901 to 1907 by the father son duo of Abdul Hussein and Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy and the total amount came up to sixteen lakh rupees. Sir Adamjee used to travel frequently to Matheran and found it uncomfortable to reach and therefore planned to get a railway system in place. The first ideologies were set out in 1900 while the actual set ups started in 1904. Under the able guidance and supervisor of Everard Calthrop who was quite known for the Barsi Light Railway activities. The trains started running since 1907 ferrying people across the town. Though these were initially 30lb/yard in dimension, these were later enhanced to 42 lb/yard, while it had a 1:20 ruling scale and was characterised by fixed turns and the trains were supposed to move only at a 12 km per hour speed.
The vagaries of monsoon and the heavy rains rendered the railways out of use between the years of 2005 and 2007. It was suggested that the repair would go on until April 2007, but the first train was launched on 5th March 2007. The railways completed a 100 years on 15th April 2007.
In general, when the rains are heavy, mostly in the months of June through October, the rails are stopped from running, as there is a threat of the landslides in the region. However in 2012, Central Railways changed the history and after ten extensive tests for the air brakes controls, and the permission grants from the commission responsible for the Railway Safety, operated the trains as a first instance in the time of the rains. The central railway is also thinking of cutting short the period of no service, and only restricting it from the 15th July to 1st October.
The addition of Saloon – the luxury level compartment that can seat 5 and is more apt for families in the trains starting November of 2012 deserves special mention. These have comfortable seaters with large screens displaying images of high definition that are being shown outside by the close circuit cameras. Before opening up to tourists, the Saloon was only for use of the officers who were entrusted with the maintenance of the tracks.
Route
Between the two strategic cities of Mumbai and Pune is the simple city of Neral which is the origin of the Matheran rail system. After running along the broad gauge line for about 2 feet, the track turns west at Hardal Hill and starts running eastward on its climb to the hills of Matheran. At two places in Jumappati and Bhekra Khud there roadways and the railways intersect. Though the railway is pretty flat, there is a steep climb at Mount Barry. In an effort to prevent a station on the pass, the train passes the mound shaped like the shoe of a horse. The rail also goes through the one kiss tunnel passing the mound. There are a couple of criss-cross tracks and it reaches Panorama Point and then Simpsons’s tank before reaching Matheran.
Apart from this station, Neral is also the home to a station that is 5 ft 6 inches long and is a prime station on the route connecting Mumbai to Pune. The travel now takes almost two and a half hours, but the Central Railway is aiming to reduce this to an hour and a half.
Services
The four trains that run on these tracks are all similar and small in size with an ability to carry close to a hundred travellers. The tourists can choose to reserve a first class seat, where they can be assured of a comfortable seat in a nice compartment, ensuring a soothing ride in the railway.
Time Table
There are two trains in the morning that originate in Neral, and one leaves at 9 am while the other leaves at 10:30 am. The afternoon train leaves at 5 pm from Neral.
For tourists who want to get back to Neral, they can take the train starting at Matheran either at 7 am or 1:50 pm or later at 4:30 pm.
These are only broad timelines and the central railways keep changing the time of these trains, so tourists are advised to confirm this at the office where the tickets can be booked and issued. Tourists who travel during the rainy seasons, have to note that the trains are much lesser, owing to the bad weather and hence have to be doubly sure of the train schedules to avoid disappointment.
Cost
For a ride on each side, the tourists have to take a ticket worth Rs. 36 in the second class compartments or Rs 210 in the first class.
Reservations
Since the toy trains are always crowded, the tourists are advised to book tickets for the train either at the counters of the railways of India across the various centres, or on the internet site of the Railways.
This is an example of the online booking through the online Railways link and NRL is the code representing Neral as MAE stands for Matheran.
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