Southern Railway plans to increase the number of services of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) in the upcoming season, officials from Salem Division said on Wednesday.
As many as seven steel coaches from Integral Coach Factory (ICF) arrived at Mettupalayam Junction on Tuesday, bringing the total number of new coaches to 15, officials told The Hindu.
With eight NMR services already available (six between Udhagamandalam and Coonoor and two between Mettupalayam and Udhagamandalam), Southern Railway is mulling to add two more services. However, the official announcement is expected by the end of March as NMR season will commence from April and will end in mid-July, officials noted.
In 2018, Salem Division of Southern Railway placed an order for 28 ICF coaches, out of which 15 coaches have arrived at Mettupalayam Junction. These coaches will be more spacious and will have a larger glass windows than the present coaches in NMR trains to serve the passengers better. The rest of the 13 coaches will arrive after the NMR season by the end of this year, railway officials said.
Southern Railway will also replace old and worn-out wooden coaches in NMR trains with these ICF steel coaches depending on the necessity, according to officials.