Did You Know These 5 Fun Facts About Bombay Trains?

The Mumbai Suburban Railway Network is the oldest railway system in Asia. Here are 5 fun facts about ‘Bombay Trains’.

Traffic moves in front of the Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus railway station as it is illuminated ahead of India’s Independence Day celebrations in Mumbai, August, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

There are many things that you identify a city with. Their landmarks, for example. Their funny accents and their culture – or the lack of it, thereof.

It’s pretty much the same with Mumbai. If you’re not from Mumbai, you will have identified it with glorious monsoons, by ‘Mannat’ and ‘Jalsa’ and other star bungalows that stand in for famous monuments – and of course, the Mumbaikar’s complete lack of understanding of the concept of personal space.

For someone from Mumbai, however, if you can’t smell what the other person had for breakfast that morning, you are at a reasonable distance. This concept owes its inception to the glorious railway network which at peak hours carries three times the load it is supposed to and forces uncomfortable intimacy on its hapless passengers.

Here are some interesting facts about the Mumbai Suburban Railway Network that you may not have known!

It’s a Classic

On April 16, 2015, the 160th anniversary of the first passenger train, the trains received the ultimate honour — a Google Doodle. 

The Mumbai Suburban Railway Network is the oldest railway system in Asia. On April 16, 1853,  the first train tooted its horn as it chugged along from Bori Bunder (which is now CST) to Thane in a journey that lasted 1 hour 25 minutes. On April 16, 2015, the 160th anniversary of the first passenger train, the trains received the ultimate honour — a Google Doodle.

I bet Sheldon knew this.

It’s Getting Moolah for a Makeover

Commuters disembark from crowded suburban trains during the morning rush hour at Churchgate railway station in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters)

In January 2015, the Central Railway Ministry and the state government approved a Rs. 2000-crore joint project to revamp 20 railway stations on the suburban railway network. This could potentially mean better facilities for ticketing, improved access and more connectivity.

Or it could simply mean that the stations are going to get three more light bulbs. It’s tricky, this promise.

World Travel is Possible

Commuters stand at open doorways of a suburban train as they head toward their destination in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters)

Between just the Western and the Central lines, the Mumbai locals travel a distance of 114,084 train kilometres. To put that into perspective, that’s the distance you would cover if you went to and fro from India to Brazil about 4 times.

Why you are going back and forth from Brazil 4 times is anybody’s guess. And this is everyday. Hypothetically, this means that if you sat in every train for every journey, you would have traveled the circumference of the earth, three times over.

Pocket-friendly and How

A child tries to hold onto the handrails in a crowded suburban train during rush hour in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters)

What can 5 rupees buy you? Not much. You could get a few expletives from a beggar for being so miserly — but I assume that’s not what you are gunning for.

Yet, wait a bit — hang on to those 5 rupees. They can get you a ride on the Mumbai local! Yes, even today, the price of a basic ticket on the Mumbai trains is Rs. 5. If that isn’t cheap commute, I don’t know what is — even vada pav, which is Mumbai’s favourite snack, costs at least Rs. 10.

There are Unwritten Rules

A group of commuters play a card game on a suitcase held between their legs inside a crowded rush hour suburban train in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters)

While there are laws for travelling without tickets and for being a nuisance, there are also unwritten rules for travelling in the Mumbai locals.  For example, you don’t stand at the door unless you are getting off at the next station. Steadfastly refusing to move will mean the crowd will heave you out and dump you at the platform and you won’t even get a chance to get back on.

All 3 seaters are meant for 4 people. And it’s perfectly acceptable to ask anyone what their destination is. Not intrusive at all.

(Mansi Shah is founder of the blog Damsel in Destress which reviews experiences as varied as spas, books and plays. Mansi is, by her own admission, “clueless” at 30 with an easy penchant for humour.)