Nilgiris Mountain Railways

106th anniversary of Nilgiris Mountain Railway celebrated

PTI

  

The Hindu The passenger train of Nilgiris Mountain Railway (NMR) which connects Mettupalayam and the hill station Udhagamandalam (Ooty) in Nilgiris, chugging through the Glendale Estate near Coonoor. File photo: K. Ananthan

The 106th anniversary of the heritage Nilgiris Mountain Railway (NMR) services was held in Udhagamandalam on Tuesday.

Passengers alighting from the train were welcomed with red rose, cake and chocolate by railway officials.

Rajya Sabha MP K.R. Arjunan said a proposal to increase the frequency of the Coonoor-Udhagamandalam service and additional coaches for NMR had been sent to the Railways.

Built by the British, NMR train ran on steam engines for a long time. Running between Mettupalayam in Coimbatore and Coonoor covering 41.8 km, it now operates on an oil-fired engine.

It has been given Heritage Status by the UNESCO.

The train shot into fame after the song “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from popular film “Dil Se”, featuring Shahrukh Khan, was shot on its roof top.