Title - Wait for steam engine ride at Matheran gets longer

Pre-monsoon showers have put paid to the Central Railway (CR) plan of using an oil-fired steam locomotive to haul toy trains on the Neral-Matheran route by June 10.

There have been a few trial runs but running the engine commercially would not be possible due to the rains, CR sources said.

The locomotive would now be used for chartered trips in October, they said.

CR authorities said documents regarding the sevice had been submitted to Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS) and that they were awaiting approval. CRS, however, denied receiving the papers.

"I don't know why CRS is taking time to approve shuttle services between Aman Lodge and Matheran during monsoon," a CR official said.

"Now, CR will use the steam engine for chartered trips after monsoon,'' Mukesh Nigam, manager (Mumbai division), CR, said.