Matheran-Hill Railway

Neral - Matheran - A hill resort at an altitude of 800 meters (average height of 2500 feet above sea level), Matheran is 110 km. away from Mumbai on Mumbai-Pune rail route. A narow gauge toy train from Neral (87 km. from Mumbai) meanders up the mountain, treating the tourists to a breathtaking view.

Mr. Hugh Poyntz Malet, the then Collector of Thane, discovered Matheran (meaning "forest on the top") in May 1850. Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Mumbai laid foundations of the future development of Matheran as a hill station. This 2-foot narrow gauge hill railway, connecting Neral was opened to traffic in 1907.

This hill railway was built by Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, who formed a limited company with an authorised capital of ten lakh rupees divided into 2000 shares. The railway is 20 km. (12.6 miles) long and has a gauge of two feet with a ruling gradient of 1 in 20. The track zig zags up the side of the hill, bringing into view the full beauty of the Matheran Hill.

New Jalpaiguri-Darjeeling - The toy train on the Darjeeling Himalayan section is not merely a source of delight for the young and old, it also represents the engineering skills of the highest order. This 83 km. long section connecting Darjeeling with the railhead at Siliguri is of great importance and has been bestowed World Heritage Site status.

The railway line from Siliguri to the beautiful hill section of Darjeeling is considered an engineering feat and passes through very picturesque country.

The railway line is laid more or less on the same alignment as the Hill Cart road, which criss-crosses the line at several locations. The line between Sukna and Darjeeling is almost all along located on the road-bench wither skirting or on the far edge of the road except at a few locations where the road and rail formations are on different level and follow a different alignment. Out of a total of 87.48 km., 64 kms. Are on the same road bench. The actual climb starts from Sukna encountering steep gradients and curves all the way long. There are some peculiar features to be marked during the journey. The train passes through dense forest from Sukna and it chugs along the hill slopes and at places where a clear path is not available. The climb is through reverse and loops. There are 5 such reverses, 3 loops, the most famous being the BATASIA LOOP between Ghum and Darjeeling. Apart from this, the section has 5 major, 498 minor bridges and 177 unmanned level crossings. There are 14 stations including New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling with an average inter distance of 6 to 7 km. Except between Siliguri and Sukna where the distance is over 10 km., Ghum station is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by steam locomotive.