RailEnquiry

Toy trains plying to Matheran during monsoon is likely to be a reality soon. The heritage railway line is shut during the rains as the narrow and winding mountainous route is prone to landslides.From Thursday, the Central Railway (CR) is likely to begin trial runs of toy trains between Aman Lodge and Matheran stations on the heritage small-gauge route which connects Mumbai, Raigad and Thane with the hill station.A senior CR official from the Mumbai division said that the Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS), Central Circle, will most likely give his consent for conducting closely monitored trialsof toy trains in the Matheran section during monsoon.‘’A declaration will be issued in the newspapers soon. The trials usually take three to four days. The schedule for trials is yet to be given by the CRS. After the trials, the results will be scrutinised by the CRS. The services will take some time to start, though,’’ said the official.The CR administration plans to make the entire section from Matheran to Neral operational during monsoon from next year. Chief spokesperson of CR VA Malegaonkar said he was optimistic about the launch of monsoon services. ‘’We will announce the launch of trials soon after CRS gives his approval,’’ he said.