Nilgiri train surprises newlywed couple

Chugging start

Blue skies, lush green mountains, breath-taking views of mother nature and just ‘you and me’ as the mountain train powered by a steam engine chugged along the picturesque Nilgiris.

This is how a newly-married couple from Europe set out for their memorable honeymoon in Ootacamund, popularly known as Ooty.

Graham William and his sweetheart Silviya Plasic were the lone passengers of the train— reveling in romance as the three-coach train chugged up the pristine Nilgiris forests on Friday morning— after having chartered it through an agency.

What the two were not aware when they arrived at Mettupalayam, the originating station, is that they would write themselves into the history of more than a century-old Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR).

The couple was the first to board the chartered train, a service introduced by the Salem division of the Southern Railway on Friday to promote tourism.

William and Silviya enjoyed their five-hour long journey by clicking numerous selfies, getting down at every station and talking to the station masters, sharing their once in a life time experience.

“So excited to be here in India to celebrate our wedding. We got married just a couple of weeks ago and we wanted to enjoy our honeymoon here in this beautiful country called India. We are excited and thrilled to have taken the mountain train,” William said on his arrival at Ootacamund.

The train service took five hours to reach Ooty, where the couple were welcomed by station officials.

The mountain rail is very famous among tourists who flock to the Nilgiris for their holiday, the hill station also hosts thousands of foreign tourists every year.

“A travel agency booked the chartered train by paying the amount of nearly Rs 3 lakh for the couple who came to India to celebrate their marriage,” a senior official of the Southern Railway told DH.

He said the NMR will run chartered services during the weekend and anyone can avail it by paying the amount.