New ‘X’ Class steam locomotive for Nilgiri Mountain Railway lands at Mettupalayam near Coimbatore

COIMBATORE The ‘X’ Class steam locomotive, the first indigenous high-speed diesel (HSD) oil-fired st

The ‘X’ Class steam locomotive, the first indigenous high-speed diesel (HSD) oil-fired steam locomotive, has landed in Mettupalayam for use in the Nilgiri Mountain Railway(NMR).

The newocomotive (metre gauge) X-37401, dispatched from the Golden Rock railway workshop, reached Mettupalayam on October 7 and it was placed on the track on Saturday, the Salem Railway Division said in a release.

The vehicle, which costs roughly ₹9.3 crore, was flagged off by General Manager of Southern Railway B.G. Mallya at the Golden Rock workshop in Tiruchi on September 27, an official said.

"The engine has been fitted with rack and pinion arrangements to chug in the hilly terrain of the Nilgiris. It will undergo extensive trial runs in the NMR stretch before being inducted into service." If there are any issues, it would be rectified in Mettupalayam, the official said.

He added the new system eliminates the use of coal.

"The new engine is 10.38-meters-long and weighs 50.3 tonnes. It has two oil tanks — a main tank with a 1,600-litre capacity and a 725-litre rear tank. The water tank can hold 4,500 litres," the division said.