Central Railway is now going to start the Neral-Matheran corridor next month. A part of this toy train route is closed every monsoon, as the water flow erodes the soil on this hilly railway track. Now, for the first time, the Railways has decided the locations for construction of canals and dams.
This work will be done at important places along the 21 km long hill road. Work has already begun to clear the dirt accumulated on the tracks as the toy train service is expected to resume after October 15. According to Central Railway officials, they are making improvements to drain water on the Neral-Matheran line, where short pipe bridges will be replaced with RCC boxes and abutment slabs.
Water channel will be built
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Anti crash barriers will be installed
According to Central Railway sources, they will also start repairing the damaged anti-crashes on the tracks and apply anti-corrosive paint on them to extend their life. The Neral-Matheran route has seen train derailments in the past, so these anti-crash barriers were installed to prevent serious accidents. All this work will be done at a cost of around 5 crore rupees. Officials said that once the contractor is appointed through tenders, it will take 12 months to complete.
Engineers are currently using JCB machines to remove soil accumulated on the tracks. Over the years, the Central Railway authorities have carried out various works including fencing the walls, replacing the wooden sleepers with concrete and strengthening the tracks. Earlier this monsoon, the Central Railway had suspended passenger services on the Neral-Aman lodge section from June 8 to October 15 due to security concerns.
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