COIMBATORE: Railway services between Mettupalayam and Udagamandalam resumed after a gap of 20 days in the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) on Tuesday.
Passengers from States such as Karanataka, Maharastra and Kerala, apart from Tamil Nadu took the train. The NMR made its way into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world heritage site list back in 2005.
According to sources, the train with 180 passengers (out of a total of capacity of 200) departed from Mettupalayam railway station at 7.10 am and reached Udagamandalam railway station at noon.
Salem railway division officials said that they will operate the regular and weekly services as usual from now on as restoration works were completed by Monday evening.
"Ticket rates are fixed at `470 for first-class, Rs 145 for second class and Rs 75 for the general class. Passengers can also avail of tickets online. Moreover, 40 general tickets will be available at the Mettupalayam railway station on a regular basis. General tickets can be booked only after the station master issues a token," said officials.
Officials were forced to cancel the train services from November 19 after boulders started falling on the railway lines in the NMR section following heavy rains.
The stretch that was most affected was between Kallar railway station and Hillgrove railway station.
Even though the railway staff cleared the boulders off the tracks and resumed services on December 1, the train was stopped due to landslips near Kallar station.
Unable to move it further forwards, officials asked that the train be brought back to Mettupalayam railway station.
The railways engineering team found that landslides had occurred at 19 spots between Mettupalayam and Coonoor railway station.