I’m in a space 1.5 feet high, 5 feet long and 1 foot wide. Its something similar to the size of a coffin. 5 other people in equally sized coffins are either stacked above me or in an identical stack 1 foot to the right of me. I’m on my way from Varanasi to Jodphur — I’m told it will take around 26 hours. This is how you get around India.
The train system in India is … well, an experience. And the actual experience is far different than any Wes Anderson fairy tale depiction of the traveling world.
Space is tight (even in first class). Space is far tighter if you don’t have the means or forethought to get tickets early. I’ve seen people riding in food compartments, cargo cars and even the small spaces in between cars.
At the train station the real fun begins. Oceans of people crowd outside the station, including the vultures waiting for foreigners to get off the train. These people want the normal thing … to somehow financially benefit from your presence be it through getting you on their tuk-tuk, bringing you to their uncle’s hotel or something of a more shady nature.
While I’ve had a couple trains show up on time, this is far from the norm. Right now it looks like the entire Indian train system is running late. I’ve had trains show up anywhere from 20 minutes early to 7 hours late. So if you are planning on traveling in India, plan on spending a lot of time at train stations — and it would be most wise to factor in this variance into your travel schedule.
So if you can take this inconvenience with a shrug of the shoulders, getting around India is fairly straight forward. At least compared to traveling by train in China where you will not find any English schedules, signs or English train conductors to help point you in the right direction.
For me, this shrug of the shoulders is no problem and many times it means more time to see what’s going on at the train stations. And what’s going on is pretty interesting.
Children beg for food and money just about everywhere. Others walk down the tracks collecting trash which could be of value. The tracks themselves also function as a toilet for anyone who needs to go as well as a water source for the various animals who meander where trains drop their waste.
When the trains stop about twice as many people get on who will actually depart with the train. The extra people are selling chai, newspapers fruit, peanuts and snacks. They jump on the train while its parked and get off when it starts to move.
On the train, most people are packed like sardines — although some of the elite have it alright. I had one top class ticket where compartments have doors and only four beds in them. In this train I shared the space with an Indian pharmacist as well as an ex prime minister of the state of Bihar.
However, if you’re not sitting with the extremely privileged in these environments things change quickly — especially for female travelers. I am currently traveling with two female companions who I have to watch out for constantly here. On trains its very common for woman to be groped, grabbed or worse. In general, the respect the mass population shows woman (both Western and Indian) is very far from what we in the West would call appropriate. Notions of equality seem to be further behind other places in the developing world, and far behind China. More on this later …
Back on the train, the seemingly self contained moving society chugs along. These are certainly some of the slowest trains I’ve been on, but they do eventually get where they are going. For westerners going on long trips, make sure to bring plenty of safe food unless you want to be eating junk food for hours on end.
After leaving Delhi my next stop would be Bhaglapur, Bihar. This is not a tourist destination and had to do with the story I’m working on (still, more on this later). The first train was about 22 hours long and next post begins in this city’s chaotic market.
6 Responses to “Indian trains: Contemptibly cozy, crammed and claustrophobic”
Balaz2ta says:
Overall, better or worse than a Chinese train?
Jonah says:
The rail system itself is FAR behind China’s in speed — however, getting on the right train on the right platform is WAY easier. You can usually find someone who speaks English which is certainly never the case in China. But assuming you aren’t on one of those fancy high speed trains in China which are few and far between, the Indian first class is probably nicer. China’s bullet trains are certainly much nicer.
sanjay says:
i would like to share strange experience just the latest tour from Patna to Jammu by train.
I boarded on 26th feb 7.30 AM, at patna in train named as Archna express in coach s1, with in half an hour water got finshed in train, later for 30 hours we were with out water in toilets .You can imagine hardships we may have faced.
sanjay
Pat Shannahan says:
Looks like another cool adventure. Nice work.
Rajeev says:
Indian Railway is unique experience !!! yes some time it leaves bad taste but see the amount of people its carries everyday, so many people who travels ticketless, however it can not be an excuse for not running on time and cleanliness.
Its an integral part of common man’s India and don not add words like luxury and privilege with Indian railway. May be we have to wait for another 10 years for that…
Sue Anne says:
Nobody has expressed greater love for the train than Paul Theroux. I finished reading his “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star” where he travelled fom London to Tokyo and back to London. His description of the preferred reliability and languor of trains is often romantic, but perhaps only sometimes true.