Travails of Rail Travels

Travel and adventure are very close relatives. This relationship strengthens if you are travelling by the Indian railways. Add to it the natural calamities and you instantly have an adventure that is blown out of proportion. My conviction in the capability of the Indian Railways to take care of an adventurous journey was recently reinforced as I travelled from Bangalore to Jamshedpur and then to Delhi. I thanked my stars when the train started on time from Bangalore. Surprisingly, someone informed after a few hours that we were running ahead of schedule. But, this happinesswas short lived. As we reached Vishakhapatnam, the same old saga began. Here, the train kept just standing for more than one and a half hours even after the announcement for its departure was made.

That was the adventure of the night. To top it all, in the morning suddenly the train stopped somewhere between two stations in Orissa. I peeped out of the train after sometime to find the people standing on the nearby tracks. At first I thought it was a protest going on which had stopped my homeward journey but later on the news drifted to our compartment that engine had failed. I started looking around and found that it was a picturesque little place; the representationof the idyllic life we so often read about. I could see the women working in the fields and the children playing nearby. They got attracted to the standing train. Little boys with long umbrellas in their hands showed that the region was no stranger to sudden rains.

All the passengers looked thoroughly irritated and a correspondent from a regional newspaper complained numerous time how he would be late. The only person who derived a benefit from this episode was a banana seller. He managed to sell quite a number to the passengers who were stranded. After what seemed to be an eternity, the train finally began to move but in the opposite direction. I sincerely admit that by that time I had lost all my interest in the picturesque scenes.However, the train was pulled into a small station and engine was arranged. Finally, we started the journey again. But even nature did not favour us. Excessive rains caused floods getting the train delayed for 12 hours. I got down on a platform leaking at several places due to the rain but at last I reached home for which I am thankful.
The journey to Delhi was no less. Already the floods had taken care that all means of transport got delayed. And, the contradicting statements emanating from the Indian Railways took care of the rest. Result was chaos and confusion at the railway stations. Almost all the trains going to Delhi from Orissa and Jharkhand were cancelled due to incessant rains. Purushottam Express was an exception. The train instead of reaching Jamshedpur at 6.30 in the morning reached at4.30 in the evening. But this was not the worst part. The most troubling part was information being dished out by the railway authorities. They told the people on the station in the morning that the Delhi bound train will not be coming for at
least another four hours. This made us return home.

On our return, we called up the Railway Enquiry where we were told that the train is on the right time and will depart accordingly. This plunged us into confusion and we believed that we had missed the train. After several rounds of the railway station, my father got the confirmation that the train is yet to come. We reached, station in the afternoon and the suspense continued for another two hours till the train finally entered the station. I understand very well that rains and floods are unavoidable. Also, mechanical failures can occur in no man’s land which makes them doubly difficult to restore. But what about the information guffaws? You keepthe train rooted at a place for hours without informing the passengers what has happened. Rumours spread like wildfire, especially these days when the anti social elements have become so active. The misleading information given to the waiting passengers can lead to someone missing the train. No one has a control over natural calamities but at least the information systems can be kept updated so that the
travellers are not inconvenienced.

                                                                                                                                                                  Anumeha Verma is astudent of
                                                                                                                                                                 MS in Communication.
                                                                                                                                                                 She has recently completed
                                                                                                                                                                 her internship
                                                                                                                                                                 with the Asian Age, New Delhi.