Nilgiris mountain railway is dedicated to nation

The NMR, Velu said, got this recognition after fulfilling the tough criterion adopted by the UNESCO, which was a matter of pride for the Railways as well as the country.

‘‘We do not look at the balance sheet of the mountain railway. We see its real global heritage worth. The general public, willing to travel in a bus by spending Rs. 17 per head, should travel in the beautiful train, which charges Rs. 12.’’

Seeking public support for the NMR, Velu said he was ready to add additional coaches and added the village-on-wheels programme with 504 seats had evoked a good response from the people who could now travel several places in the country on a ticket of Rs. 7,950.

Assuring Railway Ministry’s help for promotion of tourism in Tamil Nadu, Velu asked State Tourism Minister A. Miller to convince Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for an initiative aiming at joint development of tourism in four Southern states.

Velu said Rs. 2 crore would be spent on improving the NMR stations and the track from Mettupalayam to Ooty. On 10 acres of wasteland at Ooty railway station, he said that after the Railway Land Authority Bill was passed, all railway land lying waste would be utilised commercially. However, care would be taken so that sufficient land was available for other projects.