The iconic toy train
Matheran Toy Train: Don't be fooled by the word 'toy train'. It's a real train that ferries real passengers to the picturesque hill station of Matheran in Maharashtra. But the train, with heritage status, has small coaches. Hence the word 'toy train'. It's good news for all travellers as the iconic train resumed its services. Central Railway had stopped the service after railway tracks had got severely damaged during Monsoon this year. The train had stopped plying in the month of August.
The Railways carried out safety tests on tracks on two days before Friday and services have now been resumed between the stations of Aman Lodge and Matheran
"The first service will depart from Matheran at 8.15 am, while the last run will be from Aman Lodge at 5.35 pm," a railway official had said on Thursday.
Operational since 1907, the Neral-Matheran Toy train was included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) tentative list of world heritage sites in 2003.
After two back-to-back derailments in May 2016, the railways spent Rs 6 crore for several safety works on the line, during which the services were discontinued for almost 20 months.
