Tourists visiting the Nilgiris had a memorable day aboard the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) train, as the joy ride from Udhagamandalam town to Ketti Railway Station began on Sunday.
The next round trip between Udhagamandalam and Ketti will be operated on September 23. Officials said that the train would have a seating capacity for 80 passengers in first class and 40 passengers in second class travel.
With Udhagamandalam witnessing an increase in the number of tourists visiting the district over the last few days, many tourists could be seen expectantly waiting to board the heritage steam train from early Sunday morning.
T. Thenmozhi and her husband S. Thangam said that they had been unable to take the train from Mettupalayam to Udhagamandalam due to time constraints, but they jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of the joy ride offered by the Southern Railway.
The officials said that the response from the public to the services had been tremendous with the railways getting inquiries about the services for the next trip.
In a statement, the railways stated that a trip on the steam train would cost ₹ 300 for second class travel and ₹ 400 for first class. While the first trip would start at 10 a.m. from the Udhagamandalam Railway Station, the second would start at 2.30 p.m, with each trip taking around 90 minutes to complete.
