The Salem division of the Southern Railway will operate special trains on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) route during weekends from April 6 to June 30, to meet the summer rush.
To explain the need for the special trains, a Railway official said “As soon as the booking for the regular trains were opened, the seats were sold out in 10 days for this period”.
Starting April 6, the summer specials will depart from Mettupalayam each Saturday at 9.10 a.m and reach Udhagamandalam at 2.25 p.m.
In the return direction, these would start from Udhagamandalam on Sundays at 11.25 a.m and reach Mettupalayam at 4.20 p.m.
This is the first time the summer specials will be operational on the entire NMR section from Mettupalayam to Udhagamandalam, Earlier, the special trains were operated only up to Coonoor.
Officials said that with the special trains, 26 additional services would operated, enabling an additional 3,500 passengers this time round to enjoy an NMR ride on this scenic route.
The cost of tickets for a seat on the train ranges from ₹450 for a second class seat between Udhagamandalam and Coonoor, to ₹1,450 for a first class seat between Mettupalayam and Udhagamandalam.
