Neral Junction-Matheran train schedule

My plan (formulated in Canada) was to escape the city as quickly as possible and to recover from jet-lag in Matheran, a hill-station close to Bombay.

On an earlier visit to India, I'd used the impressive Indian Railways system to get around. I'd wanted to make the narrow-gauge rail trip up to Matheran then, but hadn't managed to fit it into my schedule.

If I'd been really hard core, I could have ridden my bike up to Matheran. But I certainly wasn't in shape for such an effort yet. And no vehicles are allowed in Matheran - and this includes bicycles! Vehicles have to park up at the entrance to the town, and then transport has to be by foot or on horseback. So (conveniently!) there wasn't any point in having a bike up there.

My nostalgia for Indian Railways provided me with a convenient excuse to have a leisurely and spectacular journey up into the Western Ghats.