Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The steepest part of India's only rack railway, climbing from a tunnel above Kallar past Adderly and Hillgrove to Runneymede in the Nilgiri hills of Tamil Nadu.

The route

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway climbs 46 km from Mettupalayam, on the plains of Tamil Nadu at about 326 m, to Udhagamandalam (Ooty) at roughly 2,200 m. A line to the hill station was first planned in 1854, but money and the terrain held it up for decades. It opened as far as Coonoor in June 1899 and was carried on through Fernhill to Ooty in October 1908. The railway is metre gauge and is run today by Southern Railway's Salem division.

Between Kallar and Coonoor the gradient reaches 1 in 12, far too steep for ordinary adhesion. The engineers chose the Abt system, in which toothed wheels under the locomotive grip a rack laid between the rails, and it is still the only rack railway operating in India. The whole line has 16 tunnels and about 250 bridges. On the rack, trains climb at around 13 km/h behind X class steam locomotives, most of them built by the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works in Winterthur; the newest was completed at the Golden Rock workshops in 2021.

In 2005 the railway joined the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in UNESCO's Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site, and the Kalka–Shimla line followed in 2008. It still carries local passengers as well as visitors. Steam works the rack section up to Coonoor, where diesel locomotives take over for the gentler climb to Ooty. Many of the X class engines now burn oil instead of coal, which lowers the risk of forest fires and needs one fireman instead of two.

What you will see

The film was recorded from the front of the train on 1 December 2024, during a Railway Touring Company charter, and picks up at Tunnel No. 3, a short way above Kallar, where the rack has already begun. The morning rain is clearing as the train works up ledges cut into the rock, slipping in and out of tunnels, with a new view of the valley opening after each one.

Adderly, at about 730 m, is the first water stop on the line and no longer takes passengers. Shortly after leaving it the train crosses the Adderly Viaduct, high above a gorge and one of the most photographed places on the railway. The climb then continues through thick forest on a run of tall bridges and tight curves that hold the gradient close to its limit.

Hillgrove, at about 1,090 m, is a block post where the locomotive takes water, and passengers often step out to the refreshment kiosk until a long whistle calls them back. Above Hillgrove the first tea plantations appear on the slopes. The film ends at Runneymede, about 1,400 m up and another water stop, with Coonoor still some 300 m higher.

Riding it for real

Southern Railway runs one scheduled train each way between Mettupalayam and Ooty, with first-class, second-class and unreserved seats. The uphill journey takes just under five hours and the return about three and a half. The morning departure from Mettupalayam is timed to connect with the overnight Nilagiri Express from Chennai, so the line can be reached from the city without a separate night's stay.

Seats are few and the train is popular, so Tamil Nadu Tourism suggests booking through Indian Railways two to three months ahead. Heavy monsoon rain sometimes causes landslides that close the line for a while. Check Southern Railway or Indian Railways for current timetables, fares and any suspensions before you travel.

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