Nilgiri Express

Nilagiri (Blue Mountain) Express Route map

The Nilgiri Express (Also known as the Blue Mountain Express, or Nilagiri Express) is a night express train service operating between Chennai Central and Mettupalayam, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India.^[1] It is operated by Indian Railways.

Introduction

This train is named after the Nilgiri (Tamil : English - (Nil - Blue; giri - Mountain)) Hills. The train is primarily intended for travellers to these hills, especially to the towns of Ooty, Coonoor and Kotagiri. Mettupalayam is near Coimbatore, which is at the foot of these hills, and the Nilgiri Express links to the Nilagiri passenger train operated by the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) at Mettupalayam station, enabling passengers to complete the journey to Udagamandalam by rail. During Meter Gauge era in 1990s, The Nilgiri Express used to run between Chennai(then Madras) & Udhagamandalam(then Ooty) directly. Timings were:- Madras 21.00; Ooty 10.20 & in return:- Ooty 16.30; Madras 05.50.But it was stopped after NMR got UNESCO World Heritage Tag in 1994. Mettupalayam also has numerous road links to various parts of the Nilgiri hills via the Nilgiri Ghat Roads.

Rake till 1997-98

This train had a dark blue colored rake with white stripes above and below the windows, distinctly spottable from other trains till 1997/98 when all the other trains had maroon/brick colored coaches. When the rake color of the other train changed for conversion to Vacuum brakes even this train got the same color as the other trains.

Train Numbers

There is a daily overnight service in both directions. Train number 12671 runs from Chennai Central to Mettupalayam, while train number 12672 runs from Mettupalayam to Chennai Central.

Stops and Distance Covered

MGR Chennai Central 0 kilometres (0 mi)
Arakkonam Junction 69.7 kilometres (43.3 mi)
Katpadi Junction130.2 kilometres (80.9 mi)
Salem Junction 334.5 kilometres (207.8 mi)
Erode Junction 394.5 kilometres (245.1 mi)
Tiruppur 444 kilometres (276 mi)
Coimbatore North Junction498 kilometres (309 mi)
Coimbatore Junction 494 kilometres (307 mi)
Mettupalayam 532 kilometres (331 mi)^[2]

Booking Quota

The train is intended for travellers to and from the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. Though the train does not enter the district, the main towns in the Nilgiris have designated seats and berths on this train allocated for sale at local booking offices. Ooty, Coonoor, Wellington, Aruvankadu, Ketti, Kotagiri and Gudalur all have this provision. Notably, the latter two do not even have any rail connectivity.

Loco Links

The train is hauled by an Erode Junction(ED) WAP7 or Arakkonam Junction(AJJ) WAP4 or a Royapuram(RPM) WAP7 electric locomotive from MGR Chennai Central(MAS) to Mettupalayam(MTP) and the return journey. At Coimbatore Junction(CBE), there is a loco & rake reversal. The 38 kilometres (24 mi)Coimbatore-Mettupalayam stretch was electrified in 2007, and the same locomotive is used to haul the train in this section in both directions.