The plight of Indian Railways - Part 2

So now you have spent few hours at stinky platforms, gazed around many things and observed the whole India. But story never ends here .. picture abhi baki hai mere dost !!

The Train : The conditions of trains are improving but they are yet far away from becoming truly world class. The trains are filthy and very less is being done to made it more comfortable. Some trains are in such poor shape that it is difficult to travel. Its almost next to impossible to travel in second class coach. The first class coaches are good but not very comfortable. The best thing about Indian Railways is the cost of tickets. AC coaches are usually affordable and the tickets for other classes are cheap, but the train in itself can be very dirty.

Trains are usually poorly maintained. Many fans are not working. The seats are not much comfortable. Sometimes the windows won't shut completely, so if you are traveling in winters and your seat is next to window, it can spoil your journey. AC coaches provide blankets etc but these are usually third grade, so it is advisable to carry your own blankets etc. Another point which usually people don't care about but then suffer lately is that "don't forget to loo before you leave from your home!". The toilets are perhaps the worst maintained toilets in the world. Avoid it as long as you can. All toilets even in AC coaches stink. Moreover people perhaps don't know how to use them, that could also be one of the reason to have you look at other people's shit on floor. It could be a worst experience really. If unfortunately you have to visit it try to be as fast as you can, though i don't need to advice here as no one would dare to sit for long. There is no soap available so don't forget to carry your own soap! And if you are a women probably all eyes would be on you, yes bear it and is a fact :(

The situation is so bad that in the rail budget of 2008-09 special fund was reserved to upgrade the toilets in trains. Also most of the toilets are of Indian style, so if you are an outsider or has little experience using hands better avoid it or learn it !

Inside The Train :Be advised that there are not only you (people with reserved tickets) there are many others to share the seat with you in a reserved compartment though they don't have reserved tickets ! Bribery is paramount in Indian railways and TTE usually charge the ticketless passengers (as bribe and not as fine) and allocate the seats at their own will. Sometimes there would be


many daily passengers who will storm inside the reserved compartment to disturb the passengers with tickets. These fellow passengers even don't have valid tickets to travel on that route yet they never pay any fine. They are huge in numbers so TTEs usually avoid ticket checking when they are in coaches. They talk rude with the fellow passengers sometimes using obscene language. They disturb the whole compartment causing inconvenience and revenue loss to railways. It would be appropriate to call them the 'goons of the trains'. I recently had a chance to look them more closely and i have uploaded a pic of them. The sardarji(one with a turban) in the photo was a genuine passenger with valid ticket who was forced to sit on the upper seat as his lower seat was occupied by these goons.

Other than these ticketless passengers, there are many unauthorized vendors selling chains to food items to household things. Some even sell medicines ! This makes the train crowded and noisy, however, many funny things can also happen ! So all in all it depends upto you to decide whether you enjoyed it or not !

Other Things : There could happen many nasty things. Baggage theft is common, there have been some incidents when passengers were intoxicated and looted away their belongings. Fight over seats are common. Almost all trains are crowded with baggers and for god sake don't give them anything. This usually encourage them ,though begging is an offense in India but is never checked. Its for your benefit to take care of your own belongings. Sights of slum dwellers are common near the railways stations and railway tracks. The railway tracks are usually considered as public toilets by many !

Again it is up to you to decide whether you want to opt for train for a particular destination.

Some facts about Indian railways :

01. The routes cover a total length of 63,465 kms.
02. 14,444 trains are run daily.
03. Rs 20,000 cr (US $ 50 bn cash surplus) in 2007.
04. It is world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.

Many new schemes are being announced for the upgradation of Indian Railways including increasing the speed of train which is at now 120 Kmph (max). Also high speed corridors are also considered. What will be the future of Indian Railways after 10 years? Only time has the answer !!

(concluded)