11 May,2022 08:51 PM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Matheran is the nearest and the most popular tourist destination for the citizens of Mumbai. Pic/Rajendra Aklekar
The small functional stretch between Aman Lodge station and Matheran station has ferried more than three lakh passengers during the year 2021- 2022.
Matheran is the nearest and the most popular tourist destination for the citizens of Mumbai. Central Railway with its shuttle services for passengers between Aman Lodge and Matheran has been instrumental in popularizing this place as a major tourist destination.
"Central Railway has ferried 3,06,763 passengers and transported 42,613 packages during the year 2021 -2022 (from April to March) with a total of 16 services on weekdays and 20 services on weekends between Aman Lodge and Matheran," says Central Railway public relations officer Shivaji Sutar to Mid-Day.
"In addition to providing a comfortable journey to tourists, these services help in cheap and quick transportation of materials also. This has resulted in fetching the revenue of Rs.1.82 crore during the period from April -2021 to March-2022. This includes passenger earnings of Rs.1.78 crore and parcel earnings of Rs.3.29 lakh," he adds.
The winter vacation is the most appropriate season for passengers traveling to Matheran. "The month November-2021 tops the chart with passenger earnings of Rs.27.65 lakh carrying 42,021 passengers closely followed by the month December-2021 with passenger earnings of Rs. 27.11 lakh carrying 43,500 passengers," says Sutar.
"These figures indicate the important role of Railways in providing a safe and comfortable travel to its passengers coming to this tourist destination. Central Railway has been popularizing this place not only as a major tourist destination but also as a place that takes one step close to Nature. It provides the thrill of watching Nature closely along with a memorable ride in the Toy train thus immersing oneself in the serenity of the natural environment of Matheran," Sutar explains.
