Neral to Aman Lodge toy train to start early 2018

The central railway (CR) will start a toy train to connect the 18km Neral-Aman Lodge stretch by early 2018. This stretch is longer and trickier than the 6km Aman Lodge-Matheran line along which a toy train was started recently. Not only is the Neral-Aman Lodge stretch prone to landslides, it also has sharp curves of up to 127 degrees which is why reopening of the section has been delayed, said officials. The famous Matheran Toy Train was shut nearly one-and-a-half years ago after a series of derailments in May 2016. The CR has already awarded a Rs 11.25 crore tender for the Neral-Aman Lodge section and work has already started.

After facing a lot of flak for delay in reopening the Neral-Matheran line, the CR had finally restarted the line, but only the section between Aman Lodge and Matheran. CR’s chief safety officer Shubhranshu said, “Until the derailments last year, we did not have a structured safety check parameter. The line was running like it did since being started back in the 1800s. But this has changed now. We now have a set parameter like how much track can deviate or how much deviation from any of the rolling stock parts is allowed.”

The CR is currently running six coaches of the toy train with two locos or engines. The total number of services is limited to just six. As precaution, the CR has built 1,500 km of crash barriers for sections on the track where the curve is very steep; another 723 km of stone walls to bear the weight of the train if it derails on small impact; and 513 km of retaining walls in case of landslides.