Train journey experiences!!!

maverick

i just went through the thread of worst flying experiences and it was really interesting to read all the different experiences. so why not start a thread on train journey? the good,the bad and the worst that you have enconuntered in india? any interesting incidents you would like to share?

as for me, i am not a regular long distance train traveller in india and in any case whenever i have travelled i have been with family or friends and plus since i am indian so i dont feel the need to discover india by talking to others nor would people singing or eating home made lunches or talking with co passengers seem odd to me. (infact indians are told to be more wary of "overfriendly" passengers as they can be scamsters !!)

finally , i do have one question for our european and japanese friends(as traditonally they are more famous for their trains) how can you stand the slow moving trains (but with very shaky compartements) in india with avg speeds less than half of that in your country !! maybe its ok as a tourist but really frustrating if you work in banglore with family in delhi !!!!

p.s: an intresting trivia..indian railways is the largest employer in the world !!!

pids

Train journeys, good and not so good.

First one was shatabahdi (spelling) from Delhi - Agra - Delhi, what a great trip with excellant food as well.

After a few more days o feating street food in Delhi we got another train to Ranthabhore where once again I ordered the food. An hour later when I was served with a cold congealed dinner I stupidly ate the meal and came down with Delhi Belly for three days. Own fault really.

A while later we went on another train journey, from Jaipur to Jodhpur overnight, sleeping compartment was three bunks either side. This was great until a family of Indian we were sharing with announced that they "needed" the lower bunks, even though we had the tickets to prove we had booked them.
Never mind, we were good and graciously gave up the bunks.
The one of them started to SNORE. LOUDLY. So loud in fact that a few people throughout the carriage commented upon this fact, so, unfortunately, when we next went over a crossing and the train rattled, I was unfortunately so jostled that my foot flew out of the bed and landed on the poor snorer - stopped the snoring I can tell you.
Not really proud of that, but it seemed to stop the snoring.

Trains in India are great from a tourist point of view, you really meet the real India, the food and service are generally excellant, the livlieness of the train stations is part of the reason for going to India.

And your trains are generally more punctual than in the UK.

__________________
If your head comes off your body it's all over.

Digital Drifter

After 2 trips by train in the UK, I'm struck by the magnitude of
difference in experiences of train journeys. Completely smooth
booking to placid travel with a sense of detached participation. Sure
it was my first trip but I felt I was back in the airport with a
little bit more of reality thrown in.

None of the crazy pell-mell direct in-your-face experiences that is
the norm in India. Oh well, let's see what happens when a footie match
gets over and I'm in the train.

cheers,

Digital Drifter

beach

Not any great experiences but some funny facts on Indian Railways

The distance covered by the 12 thousand trains on the Indian Railways equals three & a half time the distance to moon from earth, each day!!

And every day these trains carry about 13 million passengers. That is a fourth of the French population or two times the London’s population.

The main revenue earners for the Indian railways are the freight trains and not the passenger trains. Passenger trains are heavily subsidized at the cost of fright charges.

‘Srivenkatanarasimhrajuwaripet a’ is the longest name of the station located at the Andhra state on the Arakkonam to Renigunta route (next station to Renigunta in the Mumbai direction)

The shortest name of a station is ‘Ib’ on the Howrah to Nagpur route

Largest number of railway station names start with the letter S. About 500 stations.

SHIMLA

Not really a good or a bad experience, but a rather funny one :

This dates back to March 5, 2000. I was waiting on platform no. 1 at New Delhi station for the evening Shatabdi to Chandigarh. I had arrived well before time, as is my habit, and was taking in the typical Indian platform scene with elan. The routine loudspeaker announcements regarding arrivals, departures, being wary of pickpockets, stray bits of luggage, etc., continued almost non-stop.

After a while the empty Shatabdi rake arrived at the platform, in its crisp and freshly washed cream n blue livery. I was the first and at that point of time only person to board the train and made my way to seat no. 1, which was a window seat in the very first row from the entrance. Looking forward to a pleasant and relaxing journey, I was about to keep my suitcase on the overhead rack when I noticed an item of luggage - a satchel like bag - already kept there; and right above my seat!! I would normally not have bothered, but the fact that the rake had come in fresh from the yard had me wondering as to what was the satchel doing there! The loudspeaker announcements about stray luggage then started playing on my mind and immediately all sorts of thoughts entered my mind!! I was in two minds - whether to ignore the item or take some action! What if the bag indeed contained a bomb planted by some nasty terrorist intending to blow the compartment to smithereens?? Fear and a sense of duty both made me take a decision to report the satchel!! I got off from the compartment and started searching for authority.

As luck would have it, I did not have to go too far, for I spotted a couple of railway policemen chatting away on a bench on the platform. I approached them with some trepidation and reported what I had seen in the compartment.

Policeman (very casually) : "Kaun se dibbe mein hain" (Which bogie is it in).

I (nervously) :"C1".

Policeman (nonchalantly ) :"Kahan pe rakhi hain?"( Where is it kept).

I (more nervously ) : "Ek no. ke uppar".( Above seat no.1) .

Policeman (Without batting an eyelid, Ho Hum ) : " Woh meri hi bag hain, main ne rakhi hain!!!" ( Its my bag and I've kept it there!!!).

__________________
Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

beach

There is a very interesting book “Indian Railway Stories” published by ‘Penguin India’. . A compilation of rail stories by authors like Ruskin Bond, Khushwant Singh, R.K. Laxman etc

ISBN : 0140240667
Looks like a bit expensive at Amazon $ 45.83 (?)

Rs 200/- (Rs180 @ indiatimes.com ) for the India orders.


Does anyone know about the Rail magazine THE PIONEER ?

I got a copy by chance .An extremely intersting travel magazine. I could not get any other details about this Magazine .Nothing is mentioned in the magazine (like address etc) except the editorial details.

brianct

Both took place in south india in 2003, and should serve as warnings to neophytes.

1. While travelling by train from Orissa south by overnight train, on my way to Hampi. I had put my shoes under the lower bunk. That was a mistake. Sometime during the night, someone took my shoes! Luckily i had a pari of thongs with me as well. But bewarned. Keep your gear close by.

2. On this same trip, i ate some samosas bought from a station vendor. By next morning, as i was sick with delhi belly Beware that station food may not be properly cooked.

One way to treat delhi belly is with the homeopathic remedy Arsenicum Album: http://www.whatreallyworks.co.uk/sta...rticle_ID=1297
Unfortunately, i forgot to take any, but was able to find a homepath in Hampi.