Nearly 180 tourists travelling by the famous Nilgiri Mountain Rail service were stranded for about three hours near Hillgrove station this morning following a landslide on the track, railway sources said.

A huge boulder and loose soil fell on the track at a spot, displacing the train’s rack and pinion system and blocking its movement, they said.

The train had started from Mettupalayam around 7.15 a.m.

A few workers brought in from Coonoor, about 11 km from the spot, removed the boulder and soil and repaired the system after nearly two hours.

The train later left Hillgrove and was expected to reach Coonoor around 1.30 p.m., a delay of more than three hours, the sources said.

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