Ooty Toy Train - Nilgiri Mountain Railway - Trip Report

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) line built in 1908 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as of July 2005. It runs between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, a distance of 41.8KM. It takes almost five hours to cover the stretch when going uphill and around 3.5 hours when going downhill - Mettupalayam Station at 1,069 feet above sea-level is the starting terminal when going uphill and Udhagamandalam (Ooty) Station at 7,228 feet above sea-level is the terminus. Between Mettupalayam and Coonoor Stations, the line uses a rack and pinion system to climb the steep gradient. Even between Coonoor and Ooty, the locomotive is always located at the Coonoor end even-though the rack-and-pinion system is not used for that section - the gradient is still steep at 4% near Coonoor compared to a maximum gradient of over 8% in the Mettupalayam-Coonoor section. The line has the steepest track in Asia and features over 200 curves, 16 tunnels, and 250 bridges (some are midget sized!).

There is a general compartment in the trains on this line but your best bet is to go with a reservation. Normally, tickets are open for reserving three months in advance. Pricing is very cheap compared to international standards. There are four daily trains in the Coonoor-Ooty section compared to just one in the Mettupalayam-Ooty route. Special trains are sometimes added in the Mettupalayam-Ooty route seasonally. We decided to do just the Coonoor-Ooty round-trip this time and reserved as soon as tickets were open in the IRCTC web-site (IRCTC's tourism by Rail site is an alternative for booking) and as luck might have it, got the first four seats in the first class coach. The coaches are not that different, independent of class but the first class coach has the advantage that it will generally be less chaotic. Also, on the Ooty-Coonoor trip, you get to open the front windows for a wonderful view of the valley, if you are among the first six seats. Ticket pricing was around Rs 100 one-way compared to Rs 20 for a second-class ticket. We did not have plans to stick around in Coonoor and so reserved for the next available train back - the timings were 9:15AM from Ooty (UAM) to Coonoor (ONR) on Train #56139 (UAM-ONR) arriving at 10:25AM and 10:40AM departure from Coonoor (ONR) on Train #56136 (MTP-UAM) arriving at noon in Ooty. This worked very well as the return train from Coonoor waits for the arrival of the 9:15AM train from Ooty. There is a lot of chaos at Coonoor but the idea is to get over to the other platform to catch the return train.

On the day of the trip, we arrived at Ooty railway station around 8:30AM and already there was a good crowd. There is a terminal (kiosk) just outside the entrance to the platform where you can check the status of your reservation - this can be handy, if your original reservation was wait-listed (W/L). There is limited parking in front of the station for around Rs 20 per day. If you need to kill time, walking across the railway track to the area around the railway guest houses is a good option. For Train #56139 (UAM-ONR), the coach order was as follows - the locomotive followed by the only first class coach, followed by a second class coach, and several general coaches. The tickets for the general compartments can be purchased from the railway counter on the day of the journey, but one will have to deal with the big line (queue) - also there is no guaranty that tickets will be available by the time you reach the front of the line. 

The journey itself was fantastic. The train moves at snails pace and you get to relax while taking in the wonderful natural views along the way. Some stations have snack and tea service although you will need to hurry if you decide to go to the shack to get what you need as compared to waiting for a vendor to come by. Highlights include several tunnels and bridges, beautiful tea plantations along the valleys, and several churches dotting the area. To complete the UNESCO World Heritage experience, one option to consider is to purchase general compartment tickets at the counter, even if you do not plan to use it - they still issue the old Edmondson style tickets as opposed to the computerized print-outs that are used in the railway ticket counters in the rest of the country.
The Mountain railways of India are a prime tourist attraction in the country and consists of seven lines - four in the Himalayas in North India, two in the Western Ghats in South India, and one in Assam in the Barak river valley of Cachar Hills. Of these, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway line, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway line, and the Kalka-Shimla Railway line together are designated a UNSECO World Heritage Site.

5 comments :

Traveller said...

A wonderful report! Thanks.
Would like to have a suggestion from you, if I have to travel only one way by the toy train, will it be good to go from Coonoor to Ooty or vice versa?

ks said...

Ooty-Coonoor is better, but not by much.

As mentioned in the article, if taking First Class tickets, there is an advantage if you get one of the first six reserved tickets - there is a window in front of that compartment and so the views are much better.

Hope this helps,
John.

Traveller said...

Thanks John. Will be booking the tickets well in advance, hope to get the first line tickets!!

KT said...

Seems you people really had a great experience on the toy train ride. Agreeably, it is an experience to be covered by everyone. The charm of nature and excitement of that diesel engine is awesome. We visited Ooty recently and here is a glimpse of our trip: http://www.expressions-kt.in/2016/02/nilgiri-mountain-railway-ootys-toy.html

Mahrukh said...

Need to know if a wheelchair can get into the first class compartment and in Coonoor how do we get to the other platform to return to ooty

Labels

401k ( 15 ) Abad Turtle Beach ( 1 ) Abrams Capital Management ( 5 ) Acoustic Electric Guitars ( 1 ) Acoustic Guitars ( 1 ) ACT ( 1 ) Activist ( 4 ) Address Change ( 2 ) Advanced Placement ( 4 ) air asia ( 2 ) airlines ( 2 ) Akre Capital Management ( 18 ) Alex Roepers ( 5 ) AP ( 4 ) apartments ( 2 ) Appaloosa ( 15 ) ARIUS ( 1 ) Arlington Value Capital ( 3 ) Atlantic Investment Management ( 5 ) Ayemenem ( 1 ) Bangalore ( 3 ) Bangkok ( 2 ) Bannerghatta National Park ( 1 ) barbuda ( 2 ) Battery Park ( 1 ) Baupost ( 2 ) Baupost Group ( 17 ) bay area ( 2 ) BDCs ( 3 ) Benjamin Graham ( 2 ) Benjamin Graham Model ( 2 ) Berijam Lake ( 2 ) Berkshire Hathaway ( 35 ) best sites ( 9 ) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ( 41 ) Bill Ackman ( 19 ) Bill Gates ( 40 ) Blue Ridge Capital ( 16 ) Blum Capital Partners ( 12 ) books ( 4 ) Boone Pickens ( 2 ) BP Capital Management ( 2 ) Brave Warrior ( 3 ) Brave Warrior Advisors ( 16 ) british honduras ( 2 ) Bruce Berkowitz ( 19 ) Bruce Fund ( 38 ) Camcorders ( 3 ) canada ( 4 ) cancun ( 3 ) CANROYs ( 7 ) Cantillon ( 12 ) carl icahn ( 9 ) Carl Ichan ( 8 ) casino ( 3 ) Casio ( 2 ) CBRE ( 2 ) CEF ( 2 ) Charles Akre ( 15 ) Charlie Munger ( 40 ) Chase Coleman ( 16 ) Chou Associates ( 29 ) Christmas gifts ( 7 ) Christopher H. Browne ( 7 ) Chuck Akre ( 13 ) Cisco ( 2 ) Class Action Settlements ( 2 ) CLEP ( 1 ) Coatue Management ( 28 ) Cochin ( 2 ) coin collecting ( 266 ) collectibles ( 266 ) Consumer Product Reviews ( 29 ) cook islands ( 2 ) coonoor ( 2 ) Covered Calls ( 2 ) credai ( 4 ) Daily Journal ( 37 ) Dalal Street ( 8 ) Dan Loeb ( 10 ) DAT ( 1 ) David Abrams ( 5 ) David Einhorn ( 22 ) David Swensen ( 17 ) David Tepper ( 15 ) David Winters ( 15 ) DCF ( 2 ) Digital Piano ( 3 ) Dinakar Singh ( 20 ) Donald Yacktman ( 10 ) dry bulk shipping ( 2 ) Duquesne ( 34 ) Education ( 37 ) Edward Lampert ( 21 ) Egerton Capital ( 39 ) Egypt ( 3 ) Elementary Education ( 10 ) Elementary School Textbooks ( 5 ) eReaders ( 2 ) Eric Mindich ( 13 ) ESL Investments ( 14 ) ESPP ( 6 ) ETF ( 2 ) ETN ( 2 ) Eton Park ( 13 ) Everyday Musings ( 58 ) Exam Prep ( 7 ) Exiting the rat race - how to? ( 19 ) EXPLORE ( 1 ) Fair Value Estimates ( 4 ) Fairfax Financial ( 4 ) Fairfax Financial Holdings ( 14 ) Fairholme ( 19 ) Fairpointe ( 28 ) Family Office ( 18 ) FD Laddering ( 1 ) Financial Independence ( 93 ) Fisher Asset Management ( 10 ) Flash Camcorders ( 3 ) flat ( 4 ) flats ( 2 ) Flip ( 3 ) Francis Chou ( 29 ) free ( 17 ) frugal ( 3 ) Frugal Living ( 34 ) Fund Holdings ( 961 ) futures ( 2 ) FVE ( 2 ) gambling ( 3 ) garmin ( 2 ) Genting ( 2 ) george soros ( 27 ) giveaway ( 15 ) Glenn Greenberg ( 20 ) Glenview Capital ( 14 ) GMAT ( 1 ) Google ( 2 ) Gotham Asset Management ( 7 ) gps ( 5 ) GRE ( 1 ) Greenlight Capital ( 22 ) Guitars ( 3 ) Half Marathon ( 2 ) Hawaii ( 2 ) Hedge Funds ( 1154 ) HELOC ( 1 ) High School Education ( 7 ) High School Textbooks ( 6 ) HOA ( 3 ) hobby ( 17 ) holiday shopping ( 7 ) Holidays ( 3 ) Holyland ( 11 ) Home Improvement ( 2 ) home ownership ( 5 ) Homes ( 18 ) Homeschool ( 18 ) Houses ( 2 ) Housing ( 3 ) Hykon ( 2 ) Ian Cumming ( 15 ) Icahn Enterprises ( 6 ) india real estate ( 5 ) Infinuvo ( 6 ) Insurance ( 3 ) invesco ( 17 ) investing strategies ( 3 ) Investment Portfolio ( 96 ) Investment Research ( 10 ) Investments ( 7 ) iRobot ( 5 ) Irving Kahn ( 13 ) israel ( 5 ) Jason Maynard ( 10 ) Jefferies ( 2 ) Jeffrey Bruce ( 39 ) Jeffrey Ubben ( 23 ) Jerusalem ( 2 ) Jim Chanos ( 20 ) Joel Greenblatt ( 7 ) John Armitage ( 40 ) John Griffin ( 16 ) John Paulson ( 17 ) Joho Capital ( 19 ) Jordan ( 3 ) Joseph Steinberg ( 9 ) Julian Robertson ( 4 ) Kahn Brothers ( 14 ) Kakkanad ( 4 ) Kanyakumari ( 2 ) Kawai ( 2 ) Ken Fisher ( 10 ) kerala real estate ( 5 ) Kids ( 49 ) Kids Yamaha ( 3 ) Kindle ( 2 ) kochi ( 8 ) Kodaikanal ( 2 ) Korg ( 2 ) Kraft ( 2 ) Kuala Lumpur ( 2 ) KWA ( 2 ) Kynikos ( 20 ) laptop ( 5 ) Larry Robbins ( 14 ) Las Vegas ( 2 ) Leon Cooperman ( 30 ) Leucadia ( 2 ) Leucadia National ( 13 ) Lone Pine Capital ( 9 ) long ( 6 ) long call ( 2 ) long puts ( 3 ) Lou Simpson ( 15 ) LSAT ( 1 ) Mahabalipuram ( 2 ) Malaysia ( 3 ) Marathon ( 2 ) Mark McGoldrick ( 10 ) Markel ( 23 ) Mason Hawkins ( 4 ) MCAT ( 1 ) Melinda Gates ( 31 ) memorabilia ( 266 ) MFP Investors ( 37 ) Michael Dell ( 22 ) Michael Price ( 40 ) Middle School Education ( 4 ) Middle School Textbooks ( 3 ) Mini Notebook ( 3 ) MODUS ( 1 ) Mohnish Pabrai ( 22 ) mortgage ( 2 ) Mount Kellett ( 10 ) MSD Capital ( 22 ) Music ( 6 ) Mutual Funds ( 8 ) mysore ( 2 ) Nelson Peltz ( 13 ) Netbook ( 4 ) Notebook ( 3 ) numismatics ( 266 ) O-Duster ( 1 ) Oahu ( 2 ) offers ( 2 ) Ole Andreas Halvorsen ( 10 ) Omega Advisors ( 29 ) online tax ( 4 ) ooty ( 2 ) Options ( 4 ) Pabrai Fund ( 17 ) passive income ( 7 ) pattaya ( 2 ) Paulson & Company ( 7 ) Paulson and Company ( 9 ) PEG ( 2 ) Pershing Square ( 19 ) Phil Fisher ( 5 ) philately ( 283 ) Philippe Laffont ( 28 ) Piano ( 9 ) PLAN Test ( 1 ) portfolio ( 4 ) Prem Watsa ( 17 ) product reviews ( 13 ) Property Taxes ( 2 ) PSAT ( 1 ) R2I ( 24 ) R2I Finances ( 3 ) R2I Housing ( 5 ) Raising Kids ( 41 ) Rat Race ( 15 ) RBS Partners ( 19 ) reading ( 5 ) real estate ( 6 ) Reducing Expenses ( 2 ) REIT ( 3 ) Retirement Portfolio ( 9 ) Reviews ( 81 ) Richard C. Blum ( 12 ) Robert Bruce ( 39 ) Robert Karr ( 19 ) Robotic Vacuum ( 4 ) Roland ( 2 ) Roomba ( 10 ) schooling ( 2 ) Sears ( 12 ) seeking alpha ( 2 ) Services - Reviews ( 33 ) Seth Klarman ( 19 ) Shipping ( 5 ) Shopping ( 3 ) short ( 5 ) short calls ( 2 ) short put ( 2 ) short puts ( 2 ) short selling ( 13 ) Ski ( 5 ) Sled ( 4 ) Solar Stocks ( 13 ) Soros Fund Management ( 14 ) Southeastern Asset Management ( 4 ) Southwest ( 2 ) spin-offs ( 2 ) SQ Advisors ( 15 ) stamp collecting ( 283 ) Stanley Druckenmiller ( 33 ) Statue of Liberty ( 2 ) Stephen Mandel ( 9 ) Stock Analysis ( 84 ) Stock Investments ( 4 ) Stock Portfolio Updates ( 6 ) stocks ( 3 ) summer ( 2 ) tax ( 7 ) TaxAct ( 3 ) TaxCut ( 1 ) Teacher's Editions ( 5 ) Technology ( 5 ) Test Prep ( 11 ) Thailand ( 3 ) Thekkady ( 2 ) theme park ( 2 ) Third Point ( 10 ) Thomas Gayner ( 40 ) Thyra Zerhusen ( 29 ) Tiger Cub ( 34 ) Tiger Global ( 17 ) Tiger Management ( 13 ) Time Square ( 2 ) TOEFL ( 1 ) TPG-Axon ( 20 ) Travel ( 278 ) Travel Reviews ( 82 ) Trian Fund Holdings ( 9 ) trip report ( 21 ) TurboTax ( 3 ) Tweedy Browne ( 10 ) Vacations ( 28 ) value investing ( 25 ) ValueAct ( 9 ) ValueAct Holdings ( 6 ) Vancouver ( 2 ) Video ( 3 ) Viking Global ( 10 ) Wallace Weitz ( 14 ) Warren Buffett ( 32 ) Wayanad ( 4 ) Weitz Investment Management ( 13 ) wilbur ross ( 17 ) William Von Mueffling ( 12 ) Wintergreen Advisors ( 15 ) Yacktman Asset Management ( 10 ) Yale Endowment ( 17 ) Yale University ( 7 ) Yamaha ( 7 ) YDP ( 1 ) YPG ( 1 )