Toy train at Matheran sees a drop in ridership

The ridership in the toy train at Matheran came down in the June-August period as 1,13,887 passengers travelled on the 21-km route in the second quarter against the 1,31,481 tourists who used the service between March and May, data available with the Central Railway (CR) shows.

The Neral-Matheran toy train is more than 100 years old. “The monthly tourist count used to be 43,827. We understand that there has been a sudden drop in the number of people taking the toy train to this hill station despite the monsoon season. We are trying to provide a comfortable journey to tourists, along with quick transportation of materials,” a CR official said.

One of the reasons for the poor turnout is the quality of trains operated by CR, said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad. “In the past there have been issues with the tracks and during rain the CR stops these toy train services which are a major problem for tourists.”

In the June-August period, CR officials said they earned ₹82.88 lakh in revenue that included ₹81.79 lakh from tickets and ₹1,08,693 from parcels. The revenue generated between March and May stood at ₹1,01,28,424, which was an increase of 39.98% over the corresponding period last year with ₹72,87,680.

CR transported 16,749 packages between June and August 2023 from Aman Lodge to Matheran. It ferried 78,577 tourists and transported 9,115 packages during March-May 2022, the data shows.

The shuttle services for passengers between Aman Lodge and Matheran have been instrumental in popularising the hill station as a major tourist destination.