Nilgiris Mountain Railway day: Ooty world heritage train turns 110

OOTY: Ms. J. Innocent Divya, collector of Nilgiris, led the hills in celebrating the 110th anniversary of the Nilgiris Mountain Railway (NMR) at the railway station here on Monday by cutting a cake and distributing sweets to tourists.

The pouring rains were not a deterrent to the spirit of the celebrations with Badaga music and dance and participation of the Toda tribals. The ‘Southern Railway’ and the ‘Heritage Steam Chariot Trust (HSCT)’, an organisation of NMR lovers, jointly organised the function here.

Though NMR services between Mettupalayam and Coonoor began in 1899, it was this day in 1908 that the NMR train began its commercial service from Ooty, the highest railway station in south India. This is why the Railways celebrate October 15 as ‘NMR Day’.

Prof. T.M. Kullan, president of the Nilgiris Tribal Solidarity, said that efforts must be made to introduce at least six up and down trips in the NMR between Ooty and Mettupalayam to make it a regular passenger attraction.

“The Railways should look into increasing the speed of the NMR train to bring down the lengthy journey time.”  

“When the mountain railway train in the Lhasa sector in Tibet at an elevation of over 12,000 ft is being operated with good speed, the Indian railways too can try present-era technology to increase the speed limit in the NMR,” he urged.