Alert driver halts Ooty train after landslide, averts mishap

COIMBATORE: An alert driver today averted a mishap when he stopped in time the famous mountain train bound for the hill resort town of Udhagamandalam in Tamil Nanu after noticing boulders falling on the track following a landslide.

The train left Mettupalayam at the foothills, about 40 km from here, at 7.10 AM and was near Hillgrove station after around a one-and-half hour journey when the driver noticed the landslide, the police said.

The driver stopped the train ahead of the point of occurrence, thus averting a mishap, they said.

Some railway workers in the train and passengers managed to clear the debris on the track and the train continued its onward journey, they said.

The passengers thanked the driver for his timely action, the police added.

The more than a century-old Nilgiris Mountain Railway train, declared as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, is a star attraction among the tourists as it climbs the mountain offering a visual treat of picturesque valleys and reaches Udhagamandalam in about four hours.