25 August,2021 07:31 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The Matheran line has a gauge of only two feet
The 21-km stretch of Matheran Light Railway, which has been on the UNESCO tentative heritage list since 2014, has been nominated for this year's UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize. Elated Central Railway officials said they will make every attempt to revive the line after the monsoon.
Established in 1995, the award is given to outstanding examples of actions to safeguard and enhance the world's cultural landscapes, a category of World Heritage. However, the line has been closed due to unsafe conditions post 2019 monsoon after the tracks were washed away at 21 locations.
Trains run the partially restored line between Aman Lodge and Matheran.
The nomination for the prize has been sent by the Indian National Commission for Co-operation with UNESCO, a body that functions under the Department of Secondary and Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
"The line is the pride of Central Railway. We will look at restoring the line once the monsoon season ends this year," Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said.
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The small train has its own vistadome coaches and also air-conditioned cars. A steam engine brought from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is being worked up at Neral yard and will be used for charter runs once the line is restored.
The railway line that came up as a private venture in the beginning of the twentieth century still maintains most of its original layout, except for a few stretches. It winds around mountains in spirals taking travellers up 2,625 feet above sea level to the hill station of Matheran. The train trundles at just about 13 kmph and has a gauge of only two feet. The construction of the line, built by Abdul Hussain Peerbhoy, began in 1904 and started ferrying people on March 22, 1907.
In a freak mishap, the coupling of one of the coaches of the narrow-gauge train broke off on Monday. A major accident was averted as it was timely noticed by the Carriage and Wagon staff. Sources said it happened around 4.30 pm while working the train from Matheran.
