Ooty: The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) aficionados here called for operating ‘night picnic train rides’, in tune with 2002 and 2007 night train rides operation model in NMR, to add extra flavor to ‘Pongal tourism’ in Ooty.
The NMR lovers have again urged the railway administration to make NMR night
rides as part of the ‘Pongal’ celebrations to make the festive season memorable.
K.Natarajan, Founder President of the Heritage Steam Chariot Trust, an organisation of the NMR aficionados, stated that the NMR scripted history in 5-1-2002 by operating the first ever night train trip in NMR between Ooty and Ketti railway station with steam locomotive to to enable tourists enjoy the hills in the night hours as it was run as a night picnic trip.
The food and bonfire at Ketti that followed proved to be very successful. Unfortunately the railways did not operate such night rides after that and in May 2007, one such trip was organised to make it a summer attraction.
After that, for nearly a decade, due to various reasons and the issues related to age-old steam locomotives, the railways could not operate such night rides in NMR. Now, with around four indigenous steam locomotives in service in NMR, the railway administration should positively think about re-introducing night rides as picnic special between Ooty and Coonoor with arrangements to serve food to boost up train tourism during ‘Pongal’ to make it a special charm for pongal in
the hills, he demanded.
Expressing the same sentiments, Mr. Rajeshkumar James, secretary of the Citizens’ Forum of Coonoor, said that the railway administration is running the NMR train for the sake of running it and they are not either innovative or enthusiastic in taping the tourism potential , which the hill train has in it. Pongal, the festival of the Tamils, is the right time to operate night rides in NMR train,” he added.
