All aboard! Taking a toy train ride from Neral to Matheran

View from the train before entering OneKiss TunnelThe tiny hill station of Matheran is a far cry from the peace and serenity that its British founder Hugh Poyntz Malet yearned for In the 1850s Indian Civil Service Officer Malet was the Thane collector and while camping below in the village of Chowk he climbed up the hilltop to explore the region finding it lush green with clean air and water springs an ideal spot for a vacation In love with the place he frequented it with friends and family Soon the then Governor of Bombay Lord Elphinstone visited the place to make it as a site for his bungalow still known as Elphinstone Lodge The rest is historyToday over 160 years later Matheran has lost much of its peace to commercialisation but it retains some of its charm and character It remains an ecosensitive zone with no motorised vehicles allowing only for horse rides carts and cycle rickshaws Though paver blocks have surfaced much of the red soil is intact and it remains a quick getaway from fastpaced MumbaiPeerbhoy original locoTrack recordThe journey is fun if you are in a group as it takes just about two hours for the entire ride Reach Neral on the MumbaiPune line and the Matheran narrow gauge train station is adjacent to it The station and the line are well maintained and are in the tentative UNESCO World Heritage List Tickets are available on the spot with no prior or online bookings due to its limited capacity The Central Railway runs about 102 services every week see box With a width of two feet it is one of Indiarsquos narrowest running passenger railways and is similar to the Darjeeling Hill RailwayMatheran Railway stationAfter booking our tickets we settle down in our seats We note that ticket checkers are quite strict As the mini train pulls out the initial stretch runs parallel to the Karjat railway line and we spot the local trains pass by but a sharp right and a steep climb runs the train between two hillocks and the spirals begin The railway line that was built as a private venture of the Peerbhoy family between 1901 and 1907 still maintains most of its original layout except for a few stretches The line winds around the mountain in spirals taking us 2625 feet above sea levelToken MachineHigh on geographyThe train chugs along slowly at only 13 kmph The first station is after a distance of 48km called Jummapatti Here the road that had vanished meets the rail again and we spot motor vehicles speeding by The line operates on the old token signalling system and the train comes for a brief halt here Steam trains ran on the stretch till the early 1980s these were replaced with diesel locomotives in 1984 As the train proceeds there are three stretches where we spot our train as it zigzags the curves to avoid reversing pointsThe next station is Water Pipe Road called so due to its proximity to the twin metal water pipes that make their way to the station Itrsquos another place where tokens are exchanged During the journey the rail intersects the road at several places A little ahead we enter the OneKiss Tunnel popularly named so because it gives a couple time for just a kiss The entire line has over 121 bridges mostly minor 221 curves and only one tunnel As the train reaches the next station Aman Lodge we spot tourists walking along the train and more crowdsPicnickers at Echo PointPICSRAJENDRA B AKLEKARThis is the closest station to Dasturi Point till where motor vehicles are allowed The railways have a number of special trains to cater to this crowd as beyond this point besides the train only horse carriages cycle rickshaws and carts are allowed After we cross Aman Lodge we reach Matheran in 20 minutes and as we alight the locomotive goes ahead in a spiral loop to make way for the return journeyWHAT TO SEELocated in the Sahyadris at 2625 feet above sea level Matheran has 38 points including a lake Panorama Point provides a 360degree view of the surroundings and Neral Charlotte Lake and Celia Point offer nice views of the dam Echo Point is a mustvisit tooWhile in MatheranThe marketplace on the main street is ideal for knickknacks curios and food items like chikki and fudgePhone network works well in the market but weaken elsewhere Villagers are cooperative but remember that Matheran has inadequate medical facilitiesAli Akbar Adamjee PeerbhoyRemembering a legacyldquoThe story of the Matheran railway is intriguing By the turn of the century the hill resort became popular during summer vacation Once after arriving from Mumbai to Neral Sir Adamji was unable to reach Matheran as no horses were available throughout the day due to the heavy rush He returned with the thought that of improving things and came up with an idea of a small railway to connect uphill It was the fastest available mode of transport and he was ready to fund it This historic decision changed the destiny of the hill station The next time he visited Matheran was only after his own railway was builtrdquo recalls Ali Akbar Adamjee Peerbhoy inset second greatgrandson of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy His forefather built the line as a family enterprise over a century agoToy train scheduleMonday 17 services Tuesday to Thursday 14 services Fridays 21 services Weekends 22 servicesCOST 1st class adult R300 2nd 2nd class adultRs 75 NOTE Bookings are done only at Neral stationTravel by roadIf you prefer to drive down by the road set your phone map to Dasturi Naka the entry point into Matheran Itrsquos until here that motorised vehicles are allowed It has ample parking space From Dasturi Point you can either walk up to Matheran mdash itrsquos a 20minute trail mdash or opt for cycle rickshaws horse rides or the train The Aman Lodge station is next to the Dasturi Point car park The services between Aman Lodge and Matheran is frequent and is a 10minutelongjourneyRs 55kThe cash you will have to shell out if you wish to book an entire train with its steam engineAlso read Matheran toy train finally begins to run on the entire 21km stretch to Neral from January 26Catch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates