Nilgiri Mountain Railway
From Mettupalaiyam to the Nilgiri Hills, The line was completed and opened for traffic in June 1899 and first time operated by the Madras Railway under an agreement with the
Government. On behalf
of the government for a long time. The train journey from Chennai
to Metupalaiyam then took just over 17 hours and cost Rs 20 first
class and another 20 rupees to cover the remaining 33 miles up the
steep mountain road to Coonoor and Ootacamund by the ‘Nilgiri
carrying Company’s Mail and Express Tonga Service’ while heavy
baggage had to be sent bullock cart. The Madras Railway Company
continued to manage this railway line until the South Indian
Railway company purchased it. From Mettupalaiyam to Ooty the
Railway line is 45.88 km. long and lies partly in Coimbatore
District and partly in Nilgiri District of Tamilnadu, on the
eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. Mettupalaiyam is at the foothills with an elevation of about 330 meters and Udagamandalam (Ooty) on the plateau with an elevation of 2200 metres. Coonoor is situated 6,000 feet above sea level at the southeast corner of the Nilgiri plateau and at the head of the principal pass from the plains. The Maximum permissible speed is 30 on Mettupalaiyam-Kallar and Coonoor-Udagamandalam "Non-Rack" system while
between Kallar and Coonoor "RACK" section .The region
covered by the Nilgiri Mountain Railway gets rainfall during the
south-west and north-east monsoons. The average rainfall is of the
order of 1250 mm at Udagamandalam, 1400 mm at Coonoor and 500 mm
at Mettupalaiyam. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway keeps chugging
despite the downpour.Matheran Light Railway
Neral to Matheran line construction is started in 1904 and in 1907 finally opened to traffic with two feet gauge line. This line start from the Neral station falls nearly midway on the Mumbai-Pune route of the central railway. Starting from Neral runs parallel to the main broad gauge line leaving the road to the west of Hardal hill, then turning sharply east. A narrow stretch of level ground terminates in the abrupt rise underlying Mount Barry.
The line lies under Mount Barry and to negotiate the rise here, the line zigzags sharply backwards and forwards twice passing through two deep
cuttings. The railway is 12-1/2 miles long with a
two feet gauge. The Maximum permissible speed is 12 miles per hour
on Neral to Matheran line. Precautions point of view the line used
to close during the monsoons (July-August) till recently, but now
passenger services continue even during rainy months.
