In maintaining the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, the highest priority is being accorded to safety, said Alok Johri, member, Railway Board.
Trials were still being conducted on the fourth oil-fired steam locomotive which was brought here recently from the Golden Rock Workshop in Trichy, he told reporters at Ketti on Monday.
The conventional coal fired locomotives had to be replaced with furnace-oil fired engines as it was not possible to ensure a steady supply of high quality coal in small quantities.
There was no proposal to increase the number of coaches, he said. Since some parts of the line were traditional elephant crossing areas, all aspects including the likelihood of train-elephant collisions had to be carefully considered before exploring the possibility of increasing the number of services.
Mr. Johri said that considering the enormous heritage value, the mountain railway should be preserved with some modern amenities.
At the national level, the focus was on providing faster and safer trains.
High speed trains had been introduced in some places like the Konkan route and the Mysore-Bangalore and Delhi-Jaipur sectors, he said. Ways were being evolved to make unmanned level crossings safer. Thrust was on preventing fire accidents and providing escape routes.
