Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Mountain railway in Tamil Nadu, India
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a narrow-gauge line in Tamil Nadu that runs 46 kilometers from Mettupalayam to Udagamandalam. Trains climb steep slopes through forest areas and open landscapes planted with tea on the way up.
Work on the line started in 1881 and was completed in 1908, with engineers using a rack system to handle the gradients. The line later became part of the Mountain Railways of India, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2005.
The line runs through tea-growing regions where travelers can watch workers tending crops on the slopes. Local residents use the trains for everyday trips and transport goods between mountain villages and lower towns.
The uphill run from Mettupalayam to Udhagamandalam takes about 290 minutes and the downhill run about 215 minutes. The daily train leaves Mettupalayam at 07:10 and returns from Udhagamandalam at 14:00, connecting with the Nilgiri Express to Chennai. Between Coonoor and Udhagamandalam four trains run each way daily, and a summer special operates in April and May. Book well ahead in peak season; the Udhagamandalam–Mettupalayam journey still uses manual Edmondson tickets.
The rack and pinion system dates back to 1899 and remains in use today. Both steam and diesel locomotives work the line, pulling carriages through 16 tunnels and around 208 curves.
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