Mumbai, Nov 3 (PTI) The toy train in Matheran, a hill station near here, will resume operations from November 4, over eight months after the service was suspended in light of the COVID-19 outbreak in March, an official said on Tuesday.

As per a release issued by the Central Railway, four shuttle services will be operated on Aman Lodge-Matheran section of the narrow-gauge Neral-Matheran railway line.

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The first shuttle service of the day will start from Matheran at 9.30 am, while the last service will depart Aman Lodge station at 4.25 pm, the release stated.

According to the CR, the narrow-gauge train will have three second-class, one first-class and two luggage coaches.

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Passengers are advised to adhere to all norms, SOPs related to COVID-19 during their travel, the CR appealed.

Last month, the Maharashtra government had requested the railway to resume the service on the section, as horses and hand-pulled carts were the only means of transport there.

Aman Lodge station is located near Dasturi Naka, beyond which no vehicle is allowed.

A senior CR official, however, said there is no proposal to resume Neral-Mathran train services.

The toy train is a major tourist attraction in Matheran, located 100 km from Mumbai, in Raigad district.

Operational since 1907, the Neral-Matheran toy train was included in the UNESCO's tentative list of world heritage sites in 2003.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)