Tamil Nadu Timeline

InfrastructureBritish Crown rule

Nilgiri Mountain Railway opens to Coonoor

· Coonoor

Nilgiri Mountain Railway opens to Coonoor
A.M.Hurrell (photo)No machine-readable author provided. AHEMSLTD~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

In June 1899 the Nilgiris rack railway between Mettupalayam and Coonoor was finished and began carrying traffic.

The purpose of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway was to link Mettupalayam on the plains with the hill stations of the Nilgiris. Work was finished and the line opened to traffic in June 1899. On the steep stretch from Kallar to Coonoor, trains climb with the help of the Abt rack and pinion system. An extension later took the line on from Coonoor to Ooty. Today the railway is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site within the Mountain Railways of India.

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