Soon, take short round trips on Nilgiri Mountain Railway

“To begin with, a round trip for tourists between Ooty and Ketti will be started in the Nilgiris. In order to increase services, two additional steam locomotives and 15 coaches have been made ready in the Golden Rock Workshop in Tiruchy and the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. 

Once the additional rolling stock is received, the steam loco run will be extended up to Ooty from Coonoor,” said a statement from Southern Railways.  Round trips on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) for the tourists visiting Coonoor will also be introduced between Coonoor and Runnymede. 

The Southern Railway is also mulling chartered services by a coal-fired steam-hauled locomotive between Mettupalayam and Coonoor for corporates and tour operators. 

The patronage for the newly introduced special weekend summer special train, ‘Heritage Steam Voyage’, running between Mettupalayam  and Coonoor has been encouraging. 

“Also, outlets selling souvenirs will be launched at Ooty and Coonoor so that tourists can carry the memories of their travel experience in NMR. The Southern Railway is presently scouting for different souvenir designs and souvenir suppliers for this purpose,” added the release. 

A theme-based coffee shop is also on the cards in the Ooty station where an old X-class steam loco is on display. Southern Railway general manager R K Kulshrestha, who recently inspected NMR, has proposed to set up a heritage museum at the station. An NMR heritage museum in Mettupalayam is already drawing crowds. 

The Southern Railway is committed to development and preservation of NMR for posterity and constant efforts were being made to upgrade the infrastructure and technology on the mountain railway while maintaining its heritage, said the release.