Haji Malang shrine travel: Funicular train trials likely to finish by May end

The project, which has been delayed for nearly a decade, saw its work order awarded by the Government of Maharashtra to the Supreme Infrastructure-Suyog-Yashita consortium in 2007. The consortium had been tasked with building a funicular railway to the Malang Gad plateau from Malangwadi to Kalyan on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. However, ground work only commenced in 2012 due to a lack of clearances.

The Malang Gad Funicular Railway, which spans over 1 km and rises to a height of 320 metres, will have a minimum carrying capacity of 42 passengers one way once it is opened to the public. The ticket fare had been fixed at Rs 60 per trip, but since the project was delayed, Mankar said the fare will be revised.

Situated on the lowest plateau of Malang Gad, a hill fort 3,000 feet above sea level in the Matheran hill ranges, currently visitors have to trek for two hours to reach the shrine.

According to the PWD official, the funicular railway will operate with one coach in each direction on regular days. However, during Urs, an annual pilgrimage where devotees visit the shrine in greater numbers, two coaches will ply in each direction.

The service is expected to operate for 12 hours a day once it opens to the public.

The cost of the project was initially assessed to be Rs 45 crore. The BOT consortium building the project has been mandated with running the service for 24 years to recover its cost.