Nilgiri Mountain Railway: 127-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site

UDHAGAMANDALAM (Tamil Nadu): The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR), also known as the Ooty Toy Train, is an outstanding example of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1899, it was a bold and ingenious engineering initiative to establish a rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty. The engineering marvel still stands as testimony to the skills of railway engineering.

Ooty’s venerable toy train, where history, scenic splour, and engineering prowess converge. As this cherished heritage railway meanders through the Nilgiris’ mist-shrouded mountains, verdant tea plantations, and picturesque valleys, it offers a truly immersive experience, unhurried and serene. The sonorous chug of the vintage steam engine, in harmony with the narrow-gauge tracks and precision-crafted curves, evokes a bygone era, transporting travellers to a realm of nostalgia and wonder.

The history of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway can be traced back to 1854, when proposals were first mooted by the British to build a Railway up the hills from Mettupalayam. When the Madras – Coimbatore – Mettupalayam section opened in 1873, the district engineer of The Nilgiris, JLL Morant, began to explore the possibility of a railway line to ascend the mountains.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway Line was constructed and opened in phases. The Railway Line from Mettupalayam to Coonoor, running to a length of 27.34 km, was opened on June 15, 1989. The Railway Line from Coonoor to Fernhill, covering a distance of 17.48 km, was opened on September 15, 1908. The Railway Line from Fernhill to Udagamandalam, 1.79 km long, was opened on October 15, 1908.

There are 16 tunnels, 257 bridges and 209 curves between Mettupalayam and Udagamandalam. This is the only ‘rack & pinion’ railway system in India and is also the steepest railway line in Asia. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway train covers a distance of 46 km while scaling an elevation from 326 m to 2203 m.

Specially designed X Class Steam Locomotives haul the trains between Mettupalayam and Coonoor. Originally, these X Class Steam Locomotives were imported from Switzerland, but they are now being manufactured at Golden Rock Workshop, Tiruchchirappalli. Diesel Locomotives haul the train between Coonoor and Udagamandalam. The Steam and Diesel Locomotives of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway are being maintained at the Steam Loco Shed in Coonoor.

A fleet of 27 NMR coaches is available for running passenger train services on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Besides, 13 wagons are also available for transporting materials necessary for maintaining the track and other engineering assets on the section. These coaches & wagons are being maintained by the Carriage & Wagon Depot in Mettupalayam.

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway has retained much of its original components -stations, semaphore signal systems, locomotives, rolling stock – making it a rare system of heritage value that is still operational. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was inscribed as a World Heritage Site as part of Mountain Railways of India in 2005 by UNESCO.

To preserve and promote the heritage assets, a Nilgiri Mountain Railway Museum was opened at Mettupalayam on October 10, 2015, and a Heritage Museum was opened at Udagamandalam on June 15, 2018. These Museums showcase the past for the future and attract tourists as well as passengers visiting the Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

A daily train service is operated between Mettupalayam-Udagamandalam-Mettupalayam. Moreover, three pairs of trains are operated between Coonoor and Udagamandalam daily. In addition, special trains are operated on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway during the summer season and other holidays.

The Mettupalayam, Coonoor and Udagamandalam Railway Stations of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway are being redeveloped under the ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’, retaining the heritage structure and aesthetics. Under this scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off five new train services, including two Amrit Bharat Express trains, from Tiruchchirappalli through video conferencing on March 11.

The Nagercoil-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express will improve connectivity between southern Tamil Nadu and Telangana while serving several districts across Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The Podanur-Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express will directly connect Coimbatore’s Industrial Belt with Eastern India’s Coal and Steel Heartland for the first time.

The other three train services which will be introduced are the Rameswaram-Mangaluru Express, Tirunelveli-Mangaluru Express and the Mayiladuthurai-Thiruvarur-Karaikkudi. The people of the region will benefit from the introduction of the train services. (ANI)