Matheran Hill Railway

History

The Neral-Matheran Light Railway was built between 1901 and 1907 by Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy, financed by his father, Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy at a cost of ₹16 lakh (US$24,000). Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy visited Matheran often and wanted to build a railway to make it easier to get there. Hussain's plans for the Matheran Hill Railway were formulated in 1900 and construction started in 1904. Consulting engineer was Everard Calthrop of Barsi Light Railway fame. The line was open to traffic by 1907. Originally, the tracks were laid with 30 lb/yd (14.9 kg/m) rails but now has 42 lb/yd (20.8 kg/m) rails. Ruling gradient is 1:20 (5%) with tight curves and speeds are limited to 12 km/h (7.5 mph).

The railway was closed by flood damage during 2005 and was not expected to reopen before April 2007. Contrary to those expectations, the first run on the repaired railway was on 5 March 2007. The line observed its centenary on 15 April 2007.

Train services were suspended during the monsoon season from June to October because of the danger of landslides. During the 2012 monsoon season, CR conducted tests of the air brakes, and after receiving approval from the Commission of Railway Safety, ran the train during the monsoon for the first time. CR plans to shorten the period during which services are suspended by suspending services only from 15 July and restarting them on 1 October.

In November 2012, CR added a special coach called a saloon to trains operating on the line. The saloons feature cushioned sofas and LCD screens showing images from outside the train. Earlier, these saloons were available only to railway officers.

Route description

Neral, the starting point, is about midway between Mumbai and Pune. The 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge line runs parallel to the BG line to the west of Hardal Hill and then turns east to ascend towards Matheran. The rail alignment and the roadway meet near Jumappati and meet again, after a brief separation, at Bhekra Khud. Following a small level stretch, there is a sharp ascent just before Mount Barry. A large horseshoe embankment was built to avoid a reversing station here. The line runs for a mile or so northwards around this and then turns around to take the 'One kiss Tunnel' through the embankment. Two more zig-zags through deep cuttings remain before Panorama Point is reached, and then the line bends back to Simpson's Tank and terminates at Matheran.

It takes approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete the 21 km journey. CR plans to reduce this to 1 hour 30 minutes.

Neral also has a 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) (Indian gauge) station which is on the busy Mumbai-Pune route.

Steam locomotives

Consulting engineer Everard Calthrop designed a 0-6-0T with Klein-Linder locomotives articulated coupled axles to provide a flexible wheelbase, and four were supplied by Orenstein & Koppel. They ran from the railway's opening in 1907 till 1982, when they were replaced by diesel engines. By 1983, all steam locomotives were phased out. A 'B' class loco #794 from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was transferred to the Neral-Matheran line in 2001 to test the feasibility of steam excursions. In 2013, it was sent to Golden Rock workshops to be converted to oil firing and returned to Neral soon after.

Diesel locomotives

Because of the sharp curves on the line, only short-wheelbase four-wheel diesel units can be used, with Class NDM1 and NDM6 locomotives in use. Class NDM1 is a design incorporating two powered units articulated with a central cab, initially developed by German builder Arn Jung. The non-articulated Class NDM6 type was manufactured by Bangalore builders SAN.

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