Chugging up to Matheran

Portrait of the founders at Neral Station

During the Raj, the gora sahibs seem to have been constantly in search of places that even remotely resembled the climes back at home. Mr. Hugh Poyntz Malet, the collector of Thane, during one such pursuit discovered a flat wooded hilltop, close to Bombay that could provide the ideal escapade from the heat and dust of the port city. And so, with the blessings of Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Bombay, he set about converting Matheran (meaning Forest on the Hill) into a hill station. This quaint hill station, about 100 kms from Mumbai, soon became popular with both the white and the brown sahibs. One such brown sahib, Abdul Hussein Adamjee Peerbhoy took it upon himself to build a mountain railway from Neral at the foothills to Matheran, a climb of almost 760 meters to ease the rigors of travelling up the steep slopes of the hill. This extraordinary feat of engineering was accomplished between 1904 and 1907 at a cost of Rs 16 lakhs, financed by his father, Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy. The Neral Matheran Light Railway is just one of the two narrow gauge railways in the country, the other being the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. The Toy Train, as it is popularly known, more than a century later, continues to run regularly between Neral and Matheran for most of the year and not so regularly but determinedly during the monsoon months.

Neral Matheran Light Railway

Time Table

We set out to experience this little marvel at about 5:30 in the morning and reached Neral at about 7:30, only to see the 7:30 train chugging out of the station right under our nose. That meant we would have to wait till 9 AM to catch the next train. You can either drive down to Neral from Mumbai or take a local train. Car parking is available at Hotel Rahi close to the station for Rs 100  a day. The ticket counter opens 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of the train. We however decided to queue up well in advance, not willing to take any chances considering the miniature scale of everything around us. The train comprising five or six coaches leaves from a small station with low platforms beside the main station. Usually there are three second class coaches, one first class and one unreserved coach. A fancy saloon with glass windows, sofas and a closed circuit television to view the breathtaking scenery outside, accommodating five passengers, is also attached if there are any takers.

Second Class Ticket

After ensuring our seats on the next train, it was time for a hot glass of cutting chai and vada pau on a chilly January morning. True to the reputation of Indian Railways, time of departure came and went while we waited for the down train to arrive. The engine from the down train would be attached to ours to pull it up. Finally after a wait of about 40 mins, there was a flurry of excitement as the distant horn of the incoming train was heard. This was followed by a complex process of shunting the coaches partly pulled by the engine and partly pushed manually by railwaymen while a lady railway employee diligently changed the tracks to get the right rake and engine on the right platform.

Neral Station (Narrow Gauge)

Rolling in the rakes manually 

The distance from Neral to Matheran is 20.1 Kms by rail and takes about 2 hrs.  The train is pulled these days by a small diesel engine. This narrow gauge (610 mm) track has some very tight turns and apparently has the most number of curves of all the mountain railways in the country. It has an average gradient of 1 in 25 with a maximum of 1 in 20. The track hugs the hill side providing a breathtaking view of the plains below.

We reached Matheran at noon after brief halts at Jummapatti, Water Pipe and Aman Lodge stations.

Jummapatti Station

Water Pipe Station

Matheran Station

Winters is not the best time to go to Matheran. The hill sides are dry and often charred black from frequent forest fires, a complete contrast to the lush greenery of the monsoons. The town is covered in a cloud of red dust raised by countless horses ferrying tourists to and from the various viewing points. And while, early mornings and nights are pleasant, the blazing sun at daytime can sap you, as you walk around. We paid a customary visit to Charlotte lake before settling for a sumptuous lunch at one of the many restaurants lining the main bazaar road.

Bazaar Peth, Matheran

Charlotte Lake

View from Lord Point, Matheran

It was time to get back. We reached the station in time to catch the 3:15 train. The last train leaves at 4:30 PM.

Ready to leave

Anybody can get on to this train

The journey down is sometimes a bit scary as the rather fragile looking coaches of the train hurtle down the track. The sight of  the sheer drop as you look out of the window is a little unnerving. The railway men however are ever alert on the way down. There is one attendant on each coach. The attendant keeps hanging out of the door, monitoring the wheels of the coach. At the first signs of anything appearing to be even slightly out of control, he swings into the space between coaches to engage a manual breaking system present on each coach.

Coach attendant

Swinging between coaches to engage the brakes

At the most scary part of the track, suddenly out of nowhere appears Lord Ganesha keeping a protective eye on the track. The attendants religiously swing out from the moving train to ring a bell rigged beside the track in obeisance. The journey down takes about an hour and three quarters and one is filled with a sense of  having experienced a part of our marvelous history on reaching back on flat ground.

Watchful eyes of Lord Ganesha

Back to Neral

At the Loco shed at Neral you get to view one of the original steam locomotives that is still operational. This locomotive was built in 1917 and used to originally ply the Darjeeling route. One of the workers at the shed informed us that it costs about Rs 1 lakh to run the steam locomotive to haul the train to Matheran, one way. Two more engines are now exhibits at Neral and Matheran stations.

Locomotive 794 B