Matheran toy train gets more coaches
The journey to the Matheran hills in the toy train had always been a memorable experience due to the scenery of the Ghat region. From Neral on the suburban section of central railway, the mini train takes around 2.5 hours to Matheran. The central railways have not just added to the number of trips of this train, but also increased the number of coaches on each trip.
While this will enable more tourists to enjoy the memorable journey of the toy train, this week the railways have introduced new air conditioned coaches and Vistadome coaches that have the glass ceiling. This new development would add to the comfort of the passengers and help them enjoy the nature’s splendour in a better way.
Coastal cruise for city’s attractions
After the successful launch of the international and domestic cruise terminals that have started taking passengers to Maldives and Goa, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has decided to add yet another attraction for tourists coming to Mumbai and that is the coastal cruise. The cruise will start from the domestic cruise terminal on city’s eastern coast, go up to Raj Bhavan on the western side and return.
During the four-hour-journey, passengers can get a panoramic view of city’s harbour, Fort, Gateway, Cuffe Parade, Nariman Point, Marine Drive and Malabar Hill areas apart from enjoying entertainment facilities and the food courts on the cruise. The cruise ships would be smaller and will be able to accommodate only around 100-150 passengers at a time.
Delhi connection of Mumbai local trains
Mumbai’s development has always suffered on count of political reasons. The city’s geography warrants east-west connectivity and a rail link between Bandra and Kurla or the central and western suburban lines had been looked upon as a possible solution. Successive governments have however, ignored the project. When a senior minister sought to know why, he realised a small piece of land, in the project area, which had been allotted to a publication house in Delhi owned by a political party, was currently under litigation.
Virtual tour of heritage
The heritage museum in the Central Railway headquarters at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai is all set to expand and that too not just in physical space but also the virtual space. In addition to almost doubling the current area of the museum, a new app would be launched on the lines of Rail Museum of Delhi that would give the visitors a virtual tour of the heritage of the building as well as the rail services over past 150 years.
The museum currently has several artefacts including the old bells, ticket punching machines, signals and even miniaturised coal engines. Silver cutlery used on old trains, coins and several photographs that show the journey of building up of the central rail network can be seen at the museum currently. The experience would be more lively with audio-visual effect.