COMMUNICATIONS

RAILWAYS

Railway Line.

Bombay-Poona.

The Bombay-Poona broad gauge line of the Central Railway enters Kolaba district at Neral junction, 54 miles from Bombay. This section was opened for traffic in 1856. In its south-cast stretch of about 21 miles in the district there are three stations. viz., Neral 54 miles from Bombay, Bhivpuri Road 58 miles and Karjat 62 miles. The line begins its ascent of the picturesque and panoramic hills of the Khandala Ghat after running some distance from Karjat. The portion of this line falling in Kolaba district, however, runs through a more or less even countryside with small patches of paddy land on both the sides.

The track is open for through as well as local trains' traffic. Some of the through trains are-

(1) Deccan Queen, (2) Poona Mail (3) Poona Express, (4) Deccan Express, (5) Poona-Bombay Janata Express, (6) Madras Mail, (7) Madras Express, (8) Tri-weekly Madras Janata Express, (9) Bombay-Dhond-Manmad Passenger, and (10) Bombay-Poona Passenger.

In the local section there is a regular train service between Karjat and Bombay and Karjat and Kalyan. During the year ending 31st March, 1957 the number of passengers booked at the three stations was as follows: -

Neral 1,74,350; Bhivpuri Road 78,628 and Karjat 2,85,234. The following is the statement of the quantity and destinations of the chief items of export from Neral and Karjat during the same year.

Neral.

From Neral starts the Matheran Light Railway ascending the forest-clad Matheran hills in a ziz-zag way, elevating the passengers sitting in the tiny beautiful carriages to realms of excitement and make them enjoy the glorious beauty of the spot. This station is equipped with all passenger amenities, viz., first, second and third class waiting rooms with modern facilities, refreshment rooms and tea stalls. There is a narrow gauge loco-shed and a workshop with three diesel locos and four steam locos.

Bhivpuri Road.

This station is not provided with amenities to passengers. The Andhra Valley Power Supply Co., has its power-house at a distance of 9 miles from the station.

Karjat.

This is a junction station. The Karjat-Khopoli branch line emanates from Karjat which is surrounded by Sahyadri hills and enjoys the vicinity of the Khandala Ghat. The Station is provided with first and second class waiting rooms on both the plat-forms with all modern facilities. There is also a refreshment room and a tea stall.

Karjat-Khopoli- Railway Route.

This route emanates from Karjat on the Bombay-Poona railway line, and a distance of almost 9 miles. The countryside through which it passes is uneven, hilly, and full of panoramic and scenic beauty. It runs in a ziz-zag way. The Poona-Bombay road with a steep downward gradient from Khandala to Khopoli cuts across the railway line.

This broad gauge single line was opened for traffic in 1856. It connects Khopoli, an important industrial centre, with the main line of the Central Railway. The important industries at Khopoli are Tata Hydro-Electric Power House, the Paper and Pulp Factory, and Alta Laboratories Private Limited.

The stations on this line are Palasdhari, Kelavli, Dolavli, Lowjee and Khopoli. The number of passengers booked at the stations in the year ending March, 1957 was as follows:-Palasdhari 7,000; Kelavli 9,010; Dolavli 8,357; Lowjee 14,575 and Khopoli 14,835. In the same year, from Khopoli 6,482 maunds of rice was sent to Southern Railway via Raichur, 3,16,723 maunds of charcoal to Bombay Port Trust Stores, Poona, Kirkee and Dombivli; 7,650 maunds of timber to Poona, Bombay Port Trust Stores, and Thana; 2,183 maunds of paper to Nagpur, Kanpur and Wadi Bunder; 1,25,182 maunds of rice to Barsi, Latur, Nanded, Sholapur and Parbhani.

Matheran Hill Light Railway.

This light railway line was constructed by M/s. Adamji Pirbhoy in 1907 and was worked by an agency called the Matheran Steam Light Tramway Co. Ltd., Bombay. The Government authorised the construction, maintenance and working of the line by the promoter, while Government land was provided free of cost. This line was afterwards taken up by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway from April, 1948. Under regrouping of the Indian Rail-ways in 1951, it was grouped under the Central Railway. As regards the details of construction, the permanent way consists of 30 lb. flat-footed steel rails laid on half-round teak and other wooden sleepers. The sharpest curve is of 48 feet radius.

It starts from Neral and runs in the southern direction to climb the Matheran Hill. It passes over the edges of picturesque hills and is like, the thread of a screw. There are steep curves which give a very beautiful view of the natural scenery. Some portion of it is covered with clusters of trees. Its way near the Block Station near Panorama Point is through a superbly picturesque avenue.

Matheran station is at a distance of 13 miles from Neral and about 66 miles from Bombay. In between Neral and Matheran there are two stations, viz., Jummapatti 4 miles and Water Pipe 7 miles from Neral. In addition to these permanent stations there are three more Block Stations, viz., Mandgaon, Magazine Point and Panorama Point which are opened only in the season to facilitate the passenger traffic.

Rail-motors, tiny carriages, with steam or diesel locomotives are run on this line.

Matheran.

Matheran, the nearest hill-station to Bombay and Poona, is situated at a height of 2,490', the highest point being 2,600' above mean sea level. It has historic importance also. Shivaji's forts of Prabalgad and Pebkilla are monuments of the great heritage. The lovely points at Matheran are Alexandra, Rambag, Chowk, Olympic, Echo, Honeymoon, Charlotte, Malet Spring, Artist, Hart, Panorama, Garbat and Monkey.

Unlike other large stations, Matheran is very shady with clusters of trees spreading around. There are several cosmopolitan hotels of Indian and Western styles. Recently a Holiday Camp has been opened by the Government, which is conducted by the Public Works Department of Kolaba district. In 1956-57, as many as 37,458 passengers were booked from Matheran Station.

Diva-Panvel-Uran-Apta Railway Route.

The construction of this railway was formally inaugurated on February 1, 1962 at Panvel. The following paragraphs give the history of the project and the details of the alignment.

The Diva-Panvel-Uran-Apta Project forms a part of the Diva-Dasgaon Railway project. The latter dates back to 1894, when the Southern Maratha Railway Company undertook an investigation for construction of a metre gauge line from Karad to Ulwa (on the south-eastern side of the Bombay Harbour). But no developments took place and the interest in the scheme also waned. In 1918, the project was revived and the Railway Board ordered a detailed survey to be carried out for a metre gauge line linking Karad and Chiplun with Ulwa. This survey was carried out during 1919-22. At about the same time (1920), the Railway Board entertained the idea of having a broad gauge line as an extension of the then Great Indian Peninsula Railway. And as such, Diva was considered to be a convenient starting point. The detailed survey was completed in 1927, but as the estimated cost of construction at the time was considered to be high and the line did not appear to be remunerative, the construction was not sanctioned by the Railway Board. The idea of construction of this railway line, however, gained ground with the progress of the Five-Year Plans.

The scope of the project covers the construction of a broad gauge line between Diva and Apta (25.82 miles), along the Diva-Dasgaon alignment, with a branch line from Panvel to Uran (17.63 miles). The total length of the proposed line is, therefore, 43.45 miles. Of the total, a length of 6.77 miles is in Thana and the rest in Kolaba district.

After Diva, the proposed line runs along Bombay-Poona road on the east side of the Parsik range. There are two stations on this line, viz., Taloja and Panvel. The branch line to Uran takes off the Panvel-Apta line about a mile south of Panvel and turns west towards Uran with Jasai as a station in between.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 395 lakhs.

It could well be claimed that with the inauguration of the Diva-Panvel-Uran-Apta railway, a new era of development and prosperity is being opened up in northern Kolaba, turning it practically into a suburban area of Bombay.

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