Snag forces Nilgiri Mountain Railway suspension, upset passengers take road transport

The heritage NMR service is in much demand during summer. Tourists begin to book tickets right from the first week of April and the train is now fully booked till July. On Wednesday morning, the train with full occupancy in the reserved and open coaches set off from Mettupalayam Railway Station to Coonoor with about 240 passengers. Water was collected in the engine in the Kallar railway station and it left the station at 7.40 am. When it was moving towards Hillgrove stations the engine developed a technical snag at 8.40 am. Technical staff from Salem Division of Southern Railways could not repair it over the next few hours.

Left with no other option, the train returned to Kallar Station where some passengers continued their journey to Udhagamandalam. The train was then brought down to Mettupalayam Railway Station for repair and maintenance.

Salem Division officials said that due to the snag the two-way service of the train was cancelled for a day. The officials expressed confidence that the service will resume on Thursday. This is not the first time, in the recent months that the NMR service has been cancelled due to technical snag. A couple of months ago, it was cancelled for a couple of days as landslides had damaged the track.