In an attempt to attract tourists and build a better means of transport for local residents, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will soon revive a decade-old plan of introducing funicular railway in Matheran. The proposal for the same will be forwarded for approval at an upcoming meeting of the development authority. The meeting which was scheduled for March 28 has been preponed keeping the proposal in mind, and this will now be held within the next two weeks.
The development authority had mooted the plan in 2009 to start the funicular rail service between Dudhani village and Maillot Spring Point on the basis of public-private-partnership. But owing to technical issues, the plan was dropped. Earlier, MMRDA had tried re-introducing the plan in 2016, but it could not take off.
The development authority has proposed a detailed project report (DPR) of the funicular railway in Matheran and it is a said that the project is estimated to be done at a cost of ₹130 crores. The funicular rail service will benefit the residents and tourists during monsoon as the Central Railway (CR) suspends the Neral-Matheran toy train services from June to September.
Once approved, MMRDA plans to construct the path for the funicular rail within two years. The plan for the rail service is similar to original plans with only a few crores added as cost escalation.
The current Neral-Matheran narrow gauge railway line operated by the CR is 20 km long and it takes about two hours to cover the distance. But with the funicular rail, passengers and locals will be able to make the journey in about 15 to 20 minutes.
Funicular rail runs with the help of electric cables and can function during the monsoon as well. The rail works on an electric cable path on the rail that takes people up a slope. In India, only Tamil Nadu has its own funicular railway.
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