Nilgiri Mountain Railways, Tamil Nadu
The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a 1,000 mm meter-gauge railway in Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway and is the only rack railway in India. Here are a few important and must-know pieces of information- Map How to reach there The train starts from Mettupalayam and stops at 11 stations before reaching Udhagamandalam. The uphill journey takes around 290 minutes (4.8 hours), and the downhill journey takes 215 minutes (3.6 hours). It has the steepest track in Asia with a maximum gradient of 8.33%. Ticket booking is similar to conventional trains and can be done via the Indian Railway website. History In 1854, plans were made to build a mountain railway from Mettupalayam to the Nilgiri Hills. However, it took the decision-makers 45 years to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and complete the construction. The line was completed and opened for tra...