The NMR, which left Mettupalayam at 7.10 AM for Udhagamandalam, with 145 passengers stopped at Kallar for some time on hearing about the landslide in the hope of carrying out its onward journey after clearing the debris, railway sources said.
However, due to heavy rains in the Nilgiris District, the operation was delayed, following which the journey was cancelled and the empty train returned to Mettupalayam.
The passengers were taken to Udhagamandalam by road, they said.