The Central Railway (CR) will soon introduce a vistadome coach on its Neral-Matheran toy train. The glass-roofed coach with large windows will provide tourists a better view of the scenic hill station.
Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR, said the vistadome coach, christened ‘Matheran Princess’, was being built at Kurduwadi workshop and will be on display at Neral on February 23. The air-conditioned coach will have a double-layer glass roof and wider windows with curtains. Adjustable seats will enable passengers to face in either direction while travelling. The fare structure of the coach is yet to be decided.
The vistadome coach has been in the pipeline for several months, and will soon be pressed into service. This will be the second vistadome on CR, and its first on narrow gauge. The Kalka-Shimla Hill Railway introduced a similar coach in December 2018. CR has a vistadome coach on the Mumbai-Madgaon Jan Shatabdi Express.
The vistadome coach is among the several initiatives taken by CR over the past year to revive the century-old train service. The train resumed operations in October 2017 after two successive derailments in 2016 led to the suspension of services. In December last year, CR introduced an air-conditioned coach.
