Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said that Mumbai’s Van Rani—the toy train which used to operate inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP)—is set to make a comeback and that the service will be opened to the public by June this year.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the BJP MP from north Mumbai said, “The iconic toy train is set to make a comeback. After the services got discontinued, the Prime Minister himself intervened, following which a process was initiated to re-establish the line. The project is in the final stages and will be ready for public use in the next two months.”
The toy train began its operation in 1970 on a narrow gauge line. Initially, it ran on a 2.7km stretch on a diesel engine. The trains operated after every 30 minutes and it required a minimum of 20 passengers for departure.
However, in 2021, the tracks of the toy train got damaged by a cyclone, following which the administration took efforts to repair and restore the toy train routes.
Director of SGNP Anital Patil said the new train will have two different sets of rolling stock.
“One rolling stock will comprise a dedicated stock of four vista-dome coaches, while another stock will comprise four open seating coaches. Each stock will have four bogeys each. The agency has assured us that all the work will be finished by May 31. Hence, we are expeting to start the service by June,” Patil told The Indian Express.
The restoration work was awarded to Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) and the cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 45 crore.
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SGNP authorities have invested Rs 43 crore for this project. The toy train route covers a 5.5 square kilometre area, known as Krishnagiri Upvan, where visitors get a chance to see animals in a mini zoo while experiencing the biodiversity of the area.
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