Mumbai: While the wait for resuming toy train services between Neral and Matheran is getting longer, the state government is confident of starting the operation of ropeway between the two sites from June 2017. The Rs 150-crore ropeway project has been under consideration since 2013 and will ferry tourists from Bhutivali village at Bhivpuri near Neral directly to the hill station.
Pravin Darade, secretary, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, said, “There are several clearances pending for the project, but we are sure of starting off the project for the public in another six months.”
The public works department (PWD) had cleared the proposal for the Neral-Matheran ropeway in 2013. The project is expected to take off in the next few weeks, as per a Mumbai Mirror report. Furthermore, Matheran Ropeway Private Limited (MRPL), a private firm has been awarded the contract to execute the proposal.
The website of the executing agency, MRPL, reads, “Keeping safety as uppermost in their mind, the company has short-listed few suppliers for designing and erecting a ropeway who are among the best in the world and is in the process of executing the said project at the earliest.”
Similarly, in order to boost tourism in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and improve connectivity between Borivali and Thane, the state government has also planned the construction of an 8-km-long ‘urban ropeway’ that would go from the core area over SGNP and allow one to have a bird’s eye view of the surroundings.
The ropeway between Neral and Matheran will feature glass cars with transparent floors, providing exciting view of the valley. The cable-based transport system will be 4.7 km long.
The ropeway: A close-up
The ropeway is being designed to have the capacity to carry 500-600 passengers every hour and it will be divided into two sections, which will allow tourists to avail of two types of cable cars at one place. The toy train between Neral and Matheran carries almost 100 passengers per train and four daily trips were made up and down the line when it was functional.
