09 January,2023 05:58 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The Matheran Hill Railway
Matheran has again emerged as the overall favourite tourist spot in Maharashtra on the Central Railway in 2022, as the narrow-gauge train passenger figure has crossed 3 lakh. The total revenue from April to December 2022 generated by the train stands at over Rs 2.2crore.
"The Central Railway has put in Herculean efforts to restore the Neral-Matheran track which was washed away in the heavy downpour in 2019. The entire 21km stretch of narrow-gauge line was finally ready and services were resumed on October 22, 2022. Prior to this only shuttle services between a small 2-km stretch of Aman Lodge and Matheran were in service carrying passengers and parcels. Now, passengers have welcomed back the toy train services - the Matheran Hill Railway - with unbridled joy," Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Shivaji Sutar said.
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"This year as per statistics since April 2022, Matheran has been a hit as a tourist spot. A total of 3,04,195 passengers have been ferried to Matheran which includes 2,76,979 between Aman Lodge and Matheran during the period April to December 2022 and 27,216 between Neral and Matheran during the period October to December 2022," he added.
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Sutar said these figures indicate the important role of railways in providing safe and comfortable travel to its passengers coming to this tourist destination.
Giving explanatory figures, he said, "The total revenue registered stands at Rs 2,20,90,020, including Rs 1,86,63,348 between Aman Lodge and Matheran for the period April to December 2022 and Rs 34,26,672 between Neral and Matheran for the period October to December 2022. In addition, a total of 10,983 packages have been transported on this section, registering a revenue of Rs 3,04,325. This includes 7,618 packages between Aman Lodge and Matheran during April to December 2022, registering a revenue of Rs 2,79,823 and 3,365 packages between Neral and Matheran for the period October to December 2022, registering a revenue of Rs 24,502."
