Traveling in Trains in Mumbai

Mumbai a City where 20 million people live, dream a better future, travel for their day-to-day activities. Trains in Mumbai play a very important role to run this financial and bollywood capital of India. Originally built by the British, the democratic Indian took over the maintenance and expansion of the Mumbai train in 1947. Victoria terminus now know as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is the main station in Mumbai for the central and harbor lines, while churchgate is main station of the Western line. There are only three lines in Mumbai. Central, Harbor and Western lines, each of them travels at least about 60 to 100 kilometers in one direction.

Crowd
Traveling in Mumbai train is a challenge for a western tourist. The trains are always full; one would be lucky to easily find a place even in the last train at night. The train doors are always open and people are dangerously hanging on to the doors, either enjoying fresh air in otherwise a highly congested place or having no other option since the train is so full that no one can move anymore inside the train. If you are not traveling end-to-end destinations of the train route getting inside or outside the train could as well be life threatening. One should as well take care of their valuables since there are often thefts taking place in crowded trains.

Commerce
it is surprising to see that even in the crowded train you can see transactions taking place. There are people trying to sell all kinds of things fruits, books, combs, toys, magazines & newspapers etc in the moving train. There are as well people begging in the train and I must say that Indians are charitable people often helping the blind and handicap beggars on the train.

Cost
The train in Mumbai is built thinking of common man. Around eighty percent of Mumbai’s population moves with the help of trains. The ticket price of second-class compartment is very cheap as compared to western standards. The prices of first-class compartment are significantly higher than the second-class compartment. One would be wrong to think about getting a place to sit in first class due to its cost, sometimes first class are more crowded than second class due to less compartments allocated to it.

Delays
There are often delays taking place, especially in the monsoon season. Heavy monsoon rain cause the water to be accumulated on the tracks due to which the trains are often not working for days or hours in monsoon season.

Farhan Syed is an Indian travel journalist and the owner of travelguideindia.net. Visit today for new articles on Travels in India, Lonavala and Khandala, Mahabaleshwar trip, About Ganpatipule and Alibag Beach.