Local people and visitors led a campaign to return to steam locomotives in this section.

These were part of a batch built by the Avonside Engine Company in 1879 and 1880 for service in Afghanistan, but had been in store since 1887.

The NMR and all of its assets, including the stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India and are managed by the Ministry of Railways.

Between Mettupalayam and Coonoor, the line uses the Abt rack and pinion system to climb the steep gradient.

The X Class locomotives are up to eight decades old, but the newest was completed August 2021 at the Golden Rock Railway Workshops in India.

These locomotives give NMR a distinct charm, taking scores of passengers to Coonoor and Udhagamandalam, crossing 45.8 kilometres (28 mi), 108 curves, 16 tunnels and 250 bridges.

Like the locomotives, major work on the carriages takes place at one of the larger railway workshops.

[3] During Meter Gauge era in 1990s, The Nilgiri Express used to run between Chennai(then Madras) & Udhagamandalam(then Ooty) directly.

As of 2007, a daily train crosses the rack section, which starts from Mettupalayam at 07:10 and reaches Udhagamandalam at noon.

The train is scheduled to connect to the Nilgiri Express, which travels from Mettupalayam to Chennai via Coimbatore.