SGNP's toy train service to be operational by May, will have Vistadome coach: RITES

Mumbai, Mar 7 (PTI) The toy train service inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai will be operational by May this year and will have an additional tourist feature in the form of a 'Vistadome' coach, engineering consultancy firm RITES said on Friday.

Rahul Mithal, CMD of Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited said his firm had started laying tracks, creating halts, and other related works of the toy train service.

"We aim to get the toy toy train service inside SGNP operational by May. It will also have a Vistadome coach," Mittal said in an informal meet with reporters.

Vistadome coaches have glass roofs and large windows to give passengers a panoramic view of the surroundings. They have been well-received by passengers since the first one was introduced in Andhra Pradesh in 2017.

The toy train service, popular as 'Van Rani', is non-operational since May 2021 after tracks were uprooted amid Cyclone Tauktae.

RITES, a Navratna firm, has been implementing a Rs 40 crore project to revive the service, he added.

The 2.8 km long route of the toy train that was launched in 1970 traverses within the 5.5 sq. km of recreation zone of SGNP.

The three-coach toy train hauled by a diesel engine had a capacity to ferry 60 to 80 passengers.

RITES officials said the deadline of August 2024 was missed due to some reasons, and the aim was to start it before the arrival of monsoon. PTI KK BNM

Source: PTI