Chugging up your way up the picturesque Nilgiri mountain with the Nilgiri Mountain Railways will turn more special during the weekends beginning from Saturday.
The Nilgiri Mountain Railways (NMR) that operates mountain trains from Mettupalayam to Ooty will introduce summer special services on weekends. The mountain train that travels through deep valleys and long tunnels carved out of the mountains is quite popular among tourists who flock to Nilgiris to beat the summer heat.
This unique Meter Gauge section, which has been conferred with Heritage status by UNESCO, runs on 'Rack and Pinion System' through the virgin hills of Western Ghats. Titled "Heritage Steam Nilgiri Summer Special Trains", the special trains will be run between Mettupalayam Coonoor from March 31 to June 24, 2018.
Senior officials said the Southern Railway has made elaborate arrangements to make this travel a pleasant memory for lifetime with Value Added Services such as a Welcome Kit, a Souvenir and onboard refreshments.
"Three special coaches have been refurbished for the Heritage Steam voyage NMR Summer special trains. Two first-class coaches were refurbished at Golden Rock Workshop, Tiruchirappalli and one SLR (Luggage cum Brake Van) coach at Mettupalayam Depot. The steam locos for this summer special is pooled from Coonoor Loco Shed, which has four steam locos in service," the official said.
The fully reserved train would start from Mettupalayam at 9.10 am on Saturdays and Sundays and reach Coonoor at 12.30pm, with stoppages at Kallar and Hillgrove.
"The return train would then depart from Coonoor at 1.30pm and reach Mettupalayam at 4.20pm. During the return journey too, the train would stop at Kallar and Hillgrove," the official said.