Central Railway (CR) has received a good response to its new air-conditioned coach on the toy train service between Neral and Matheran, earning ₹22,825 in the first three days since introducing it. The figure could have been higher were it not for the derailment on Sunday.
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The 16-seater AC coach was introduced on Saturday on one service in either direction, with one seat costing ₹415. “On all three days, the coach was fully booked on the service to Matheran, while the overall occupancy has been around 80%,” chief public relations officer, CR, Sunil Udasi said. On Saturday, six people travelled to Neral from Matheran and on Monday only one person chose the AC coach for the return journey.
There were fifteen passengers in the AC coach, along with 90 others, in the journey to Neral on Sunday, when one wheel of the train went off the track near Jumma Patti station. While no passenger was hurt, they had to take other modes of transport as the line was shut for four hours. CR had to cancel the remaining services for the day. The passengers were reimbursed for their tickets.
“An officer level inquiry has been set up by the chief safety officer. We will implement all remedial measures the inquiry suggests,” Mr. Udasi said.
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This was the second instance when services were affected after the line was started after the monsoon. In October, barely three days after services had resumed, the line was affected after a luggage-cum-brake van of the toy train derailed.