The Nilgiri Express is a night express train service operating between Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

 and Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is operated by Indian Railways

Indian Railways

Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....

.

Introduction

This train is named after the Nilgiri (Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 / Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 / Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

: English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 - (Nil - Blue; giri - Mountain)) Hills. The train is primarily intended for travellers to these hills, especially to the towns of Ooty, Coonoor

Coonoor

Coonoor is a town and a municipality in the Nilgiris district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for its production of Nilgiri tea....

 and Kotagiri

Kotagiri

Kotagiri is a panchayat town in The Nilgiris District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Kotagiri is situated at an elevation of around 1793 m above sea level and is one of the three popular hill stations located in the Nilgiris...

. Mettupalayam is at the foot of these hills, and the Nilgiri Express links to the Nilagiri passenger train operated by the Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a railway in Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras Railway Company. The railway still relies on its fleet of steam locomotives. NMR comes under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Salem Division...

 (NMR) at Mettupalayam station, enabling passengers to complete the journey to Udagamandalam by rail. Mettupalayam also has numerous road links to various parts of the Nilgiri hills via the Nilgiri Ghat Roads

Nilgiri Ghat Roads

Many Ghat Roads can be found in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Nearly all of the district is located in the Nilgiri Hills, part of the Western Ghats mountains. This area borders the states of Karnataka and Kerala. The hills consequently can be reached by road from three states...

.

Rake till 1997-98

This train had a dark blue colored rake distinctly spottable from other trains till 1997/98 when all the other train shad 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 nightly overnight service in both directions. Train number 12671 runs from Chennai to Mettupalayam, while train number 12672 runs from Mettupalayam to Chennai.

Stops and Distance Covered

Chennai Central

Chennai Central

Chennai Central , erstwhile Madras Central, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai . It is the home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India. The other major railway hub stations in the city are Chennai Egmore and Tambaram...

 (0 km)

Arakkonam

Arakkonam

Arakkonam is a mid-sized City in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with a population of about 101,626 as per the census 2011...

 (69 km)

Katpadi

Katpadi

Katpadi is an area in Vellore, at the northern most part of Vellore city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The place gained importance due to its strategic location on the broad gauge line between Chennai-Bangalore and Villupuram-Tirupati. It is known to house VIT, one of India's premier...

 Junction(130 km)

Salem Junction (334 km)

Erode

Erode

Erode is a city, a municipal corporation and the headquarters of Erode district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It is situated at the center of the South Indian Peninsula, about southwest from the state capital Chennai and on the banks of the rivers Cauvery and Bhavani, between 11° 19.5"...

 Junction (396 km)

Tiruppur (446 km)

Coimbatore North Junction

Coimbatore North Junction

Coimbatore North Junction is a railway junction located in city of Coimbatore, in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The railway line to Mettupalayam and onwards to Ooty branches off from here....

(494 km)

Coimbatore Junction

Coimbatore Junction

Coimbatore Junction erstwhile Kovai junction, is the railway station located in heart of the city Coimbatore. The station code is CBE. It has 6 platforms. It is a Major Railway junction in South India and the second busiest railway station in Tamil Nadu in terms of passenger movement...

 (497 km)

Mettupalayam (532 km)

Booking Quota

The train is intended for travellers to and from the Nilgiris District

The Nilgiris District

The Nilgiris District is in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri is also the name given to a range of mountains spread across the states of Tamilnadu as well as Karnataka and Kerala. The Nilgiri Hills are part of a larger mountain chain known as the Western Ghats...

 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

Coonoor

Coonoor is a town and a municipality in the Nilgiris district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for its production of Nilgiri tea....

, Wellington, Aruvankadu

Aruvankadu

Aruvankadu, is a small town located in The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located between Coonoor and Ooty on the NH 67, at distances 5 km and 12 km respectively. It houses the Cordite Factory, one of the 40 Indian Ordnance Factories. It is one of the oldest Defence Factories...

, Ketti

Ketti

Ketti is a small town nestled in a large valley of the same name. It is located in the The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu State, Southern India and is a Revenue Village of Coonoor Taluk...

, Kotagiri

Kotagiri

Kotagiri is a panchayat town in The Nilgiris District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Kotagiri is situated at an elevation of around 1793 m above sea level and is one of the three popular hill stations located in the Nilgiris...

 and Gudalur

Gudalur (Nilgiris district)

Gudalur , , , is a panchayat town and taluk in Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is said that Gudalur gets its name from Koodal + uru, meaning the Meeting Place.-Overview:...

all have this provision. Notably, the latter two do not even have any rail connectivity.