05 January,2018 09:28 PM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Built in the year 1917 and brought to Matheran from the UNESCO-listed Darjeeling Himalayan Railway a couple of years back, the steam locomotive that was kept at the Neral railway station loco shed, was finally taken out on Thursday and put on a trial run for a couple of metres. Apart from this, trial runs of trains with eight coaches were conducted between Aman Lodge and Matheran stations to upgrade the existing services.
Speaking to mid-day, a Central Railway spokesperson said, "Four trial runs of the trains with eight coaches were conducted between Aman Lodge and Matheran. Details of the trials will be sent to the commissioner of railway safety and a decision to upgrade the services will be taken shortly."
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Confirming the development, a senior official said that the much sough-after steam locomotive was slowly being brought back to life and the concerned authorities would soon decide on the date when it'll be thrown open for the public. Local railway officials said that the loco was brought in a couple of years back for charter runs specially booked by tourists and enthusiasts.
However, initially it could not be put into service due to some technical problems.
As the line has been upgraded, the loco is slowly being revived. Sources said that earlier the coal-fuelled locomotive was converted into a diesel-fuelled one, so that it could match up to the modern standards and practices.
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