COIMBATORE: Tourists were left disappointed after landslips triggered by continuous rain blocked the Mettupalayam–Coonoor ghat section, disrupting Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) services on Friday.

Boulders and uprooted trees obstructed the tracks, forcing a mountain train carrying around 200 tourists to return to Mettupalayam midway through its journey.

The train departed from Mettupalayam at 7.10 am as scheduled, carrying tourists looking forward to the scenic journey through the Nilgiris. However, it was forced to stop at Kallar railway station after landslips at two locations between Adderly and Hillgrove railway stations blocked the route, making it impossible to proceed towards Coonoor.

The train was subsequently brought back to Mettupalayam, and the railways refunded the passengers' tickets. Following the disruption, the Salem Railway Division announced the cancellation of both Mettupalayam–Ooty and Ooty–Mettupalayam mountain train services for the day.

Railway personnel were deployed in multiple teams to clear the debris and restore the damaged section. A large boulder that had fallen on the tracks was blasted and removed, while repair work was taken up simultaneously.

Services are expected to resume after the restoration work is completed and the affected tracks are declared safe for train operations.

In a separate incident, a huge eucalyptus tree got uprooted on the Kotagiri-Coonoor Road, disrupting traffic following heavy rains on Thursday night. Its branches fell on a house along the roadside, causing damage to the structure. As the tree fell during the night on a busy stretch, a major mishap was averted.