Coonoor: The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) scripted new history on Monday by operating a tourist picnic special between Coonoor and nearby Runnymede, taking the next leap towards NMR-based tourism promotion in the Coonoor hills area.
Christened the “Joy Ride Special,” the Coonoor-Runnymede NMR special is a special blend of heritage and modernity with newly fabricated vistadome coaches hauled by a steam locomotive.
The glass-roofed vistadome coaches offer an exhilarating panoramic view of the Coonoor-Runnymede slopes with woods, shola forests, tea gardens, wild streams, hills, valleys, flowers and the Katteri park.
The NMR aficionados want the Southern Railway to make this a year-long trip, at least on weekends, for train based tourism promotion in Coonoor. K. Natarajan, founder of the Heritage Steam Chariot Trust, an organization of NMR enthusiasts, suggested that between mid-June and September, when the south east monsoon affects tourism in the Ooty area, Coonoor is sunny and warm during this period. So, the Railways can continue with this special trip till October and take the decision of continuing the trip after this by looking at the prospects of the north-east monsoon in the Coonoor hills, he said.
