Funicular railway on the cards to take you to Matheran…..Ashley D’Mello
MUMBAI: Thousands of Mumbaikars who visit Matheran regularly will be glad to know that the plans for setting up a funicular railway to help tourist get to the hill station have taken off. A funicular railway is an electricity-powered cable path on rails that takes people up a slope.
MMRDA officials in charge of the Rs 67-crore project said that detailed technical plans drawn up by consultant RITES are ready and they will be going in for the bidding process in the next two months. After the company is decided, the project should be ready in 24 months, officials said.
The transport system when ready will take tourists from Matheran mountain near Dodhani village to Maillot Spring Point, near Sunset Point, in the western section of the town, a distance of 1.25 km.
Motorised vehicles are not allowed inside Matheran which leaves tourist with only two modes of transport from Neral to the hill station. The first is a heritage mini train which takes about two hours. Incidentally, it remains closed during the rainy season.
The second option is to drive down the road route from Neral which is a 9 km of hilly terrain to Dasturi Point. It takes about 30 minutes and then there is a 3-km walk which takes about 45 minutes. The new funicular railway will make this trip easier, particularly for senior citizens and children.
MMRDA officials said that RITES has drawn up a plan with two cars going up and down. It will have a carrying capacity of 600 persons per hour per direction and will have low running costs and easy maintenance.
Each passenger coach will have a capacity of carrying 60 commuters and the suggested price per passenger is Rs 300 per adult and Rs 150 for children.
While putting up the system itself will cost Rs 67 crore, the whole project which includes constructing approach roadswill add up to a whopping Rs 100 crore.
MMRDA officials said the railway system can be used for carrying goods and material during night time and during off-season months.