Ladies Compartment in Mumbai Local Train

A view inside the Ladies Compartment of new Mumbai local train. The train has a new look, purple and silver on the outside, and steel on the inside with comfortable seating, and good quality fans. The upgrade was long due and these 12 coach rakes have been welcomed by the commuters.

Monochrome Monday #11

SUICIDAL BREEZE

MUMBAI LOCAL TRAIN IN MONOCHROME

I think I'm obsessed with Mumbai local train travel, and leave no opportunity to show it to my readers. This is another crowded Mumbai local train at peak hours. Look at the two young boys sitting on the train roof to enjoy fresh air and avoid the crowd.

When asked, a boy sitting on the roof of my compartment said he was smarter than the rest, and didn't want to choke inside the compartment.

Statistics reveal that more than 3500 people die on the Mumbai railway tracks every year. Shocking, isn't it?  It is believed to be the highest number of fatalities on any urban or suburban railway system.

Most of the deaths are of passengers crossing the railway tracks on foot, instead of using footover bridges provided for going from one platform to another, and are hit by passing trains. Some of the passengers die when they sit on train roofs to avoid crowds and are electrocuted by overhead electric wires, or hang from doors and even worse when they clasp the edge of the roof of the train and stand on window bars.

My World #1

Mumbai Local Train

Click on image to view full size

Being born and brought up in Mumbai, Mumbai Local Train is very much an important part of my world just like any other Mumbaikar. So, I choose to share this photo of a crowded train in the morning peak hours, as my first photo of 'my world'.

Mumbai local train is the lifeline of Mumbai. You might not find a Mumbai resident who has never travelled by train atleast once. From the children of age 3 to senior citizens, each one will have their tale to tell about their experiences while travelling by local  train.

ABC Wednesday - 'L' for LAUGHTER

'L' for LAUGHTER

I have clicked this set of photos on TV on a show called 'The Great Indian Laughter Challenge' which was one of the very successful reality shows on Indian television, about a year ago.

The comedian in the photo is Umer Shariff, a Pakistani comedian, stage, film and TV actor, director and producer. Before he began his act each time he came on stage, he began with funny exppressions & faces like this, and we burst out laughing even before he spoke.

My TV picture quality is excellent, but I took the photos too close, so the poor picture quality :-(

They are not very clear with all those lines but that make the photos look even more funny.

This beautiful lady, Parizad Kolah was the host of the show.

'L' for LIFELINE & LOCAL TRAIN

Mumbai's local train is Mumbai's lifeline.

Mumbai train travel seems like madness to someone who is new to the city or a visitor in the city of dreams. The Mumbai local trains carry more than 6.1 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger density of any urban railway system in the world. Overcrowding is a major problem, especially during peak (office going) hours

To view more photos about Mumbai Local train, click here.

Happy ABC Wednesday.

Saturday Photo Hunters Theme: WILD

WILD CROWD

Wild crowd trying to get into/get out of the train at Kurla station.

The commuters pounce into the train even before it has halted, with little thought for others around them. There is a mad rush to get in, even if it means shoving the fellow commuter out of the  train.

If you are at the station for the first time, make sure you avoid peak hours. People hanging  out of the train at the door is a common sight even during non-peak hours. If you manage to set your feet on the train, it is important to squeeze yourself inside enough to be safe.

For more details and photos on Mumbai local train travel, click Mumbai Local Train

September 2008 Monthly Theme: Sister Cities

Navi Mumbai is Mumbai's sister city, also known as twin city of Mumbai. It is one of the largest planned cities in the world.

Navi Mumbai is the only Indian city to be featured in the National Geographic Channel's Super Cities of the World and was declared one of the best cities of the world by the National Geographic experts.

Navi Mumbai's Railway Stations are one of the very few stations in India which boast of beautiful infrastructure. The newly designed train stations in Navi Mumbai are a contrast with the old, congested and overcrowded stations within the Mumbai city limits.

Of the many landmarks, beautiful buildings, flyovers and bridges, malls & parks, and religious places, stations, I chose this photo of Panvel Railway Station for today's theme.

(Click on the photos to view the large size)

Panvel is the last station on the harbour line in Navi Mumbai.

The 14 self-contained nodal townships of Navi Mumbai are strung along the mass rapid transport corridors, designed to minimise travel time and distance between nodes and neighbouring cities. The major wholesale markets and industrial belts are evenly distributed in outer areas. Intervening nodes are for predominantly residential settlements. Each node is self-contained with educational health, social, religious, cultural, sports and recreational facilities.



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Weekend Snapshot: Train Travel

This weekend we travel by train to granny's house (my mom's place) which my son calls 'Nani Ghar' and looks forward to meeting his grandparents. I have always been fond of travelling by train, and now my little preschooler does too. Our journey by train is about one and half hour.

Train journey to us means watching people get in and get out of the train and learning names of stations, observing hawkers call out loudly to sell their wares, some shopping and lots of skywatch through the train window. Also, we look forward to the bhel wala selling yummy bhel for Rs.5 a packet.
We both carry our own cameras, mine a Sony Cybershot and his, a toy camera.
As I click photographs, he imitates me and looks for an angle to take his shot
;-) and pretends he got a cool shot.
I make sure we are not travelling during peak hours and having fun.

Have a great weekend and lots of fun.

Train Ads

Advertisements on Mumbai Local trains have become very common nowadays.

Ads like this one 'A TV soap about shaadi- marriage, sasural - home after marriage, usually a joint family, sasumaa -mom in law' are best advertised on Ladies compartments, and increase the TRP of TV soaps. As soon as women passengers see a train like this, they begin to discuss the storyline and lo --the soap is soon popular.

This one 'Mera Sasural' is on all the compartments of the train.

Shopping In Mumbai Local Train

The girl in the photo was fascinated by the choice of earrings she had in the Mumbai local train.
Many sellers with goods like hairbands, bindis, bracelets, earrings, long necklaces and hair accessories are a common sight in the ladies compartment of Mumbai local train. These earrings are priced at only Rs. 10.

CST (VT Station)

This is the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (commonly known as Victoria Terminus or VT Station) at 5 pm in the evening, when the office crowd begins to rush to the station.

Train Adventures

The young boy in the photo is standing on the window sill of the ladies compartment window and holding on tight. And the train wasn't very crowded but he was doing this for thrill. I'm speechless.

Mumbai Train At Peak Hours

The Mumbai Local Train Week ( extended to 9 days till today) would have been incomplete without this photo.

The Mumbai train is always overcrowded at peak hours in the morning and evening. Even women in the ladies compartment travel like that in the photo. I won't blame people standing near the door coz I do it myself. I stand near the door facing the direction in which the train will move, to get breeze. In a crowded train, it sometimes gets suffocating inside if you are not seated near the window.

Ladies Only

A week of Mumbai train travel is over, but I'll end it with a couple of more photos and some information.

The Mumbai local train has two ladies compartments, one at the end and the other is the middle ladies compartment. Each compartment has 3 entry doors. The compartment at the end of the train is for ladies for 24 hours. It's advisable to travel by this one at late hours for security reasons, as it is adjacent to the driver's cabin.

The middle compartment has two sections, a larger one that is accessible from two entry doors and the other (smaller one) from one entrance. The two sections are seperated by a partition with a window. The larger section is for ladies for 24 hours, but the smaller section is either ladies or common compartment according to the timings put up at the entrance. This one's tricky coz you must complete your journey within the timings, else you'll find an impatient crowd of men jumping in at the next station, saying it's already the common timing. And don't expect good manners, as everyone is in survival mode. The timings are different in the Central and Western railway trains.

So, attention ladies! If you are new to train travel in the city, forget about peak hour travel (take a bus that's not overcrowded instead) which are usually from 8 am to 9.30 am and from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm. Anyways, you may find trains crowded even during non-peak hours. So, please don't rush into any compartment, especially the common one. Miss a train, stand at the right place to board the train (the railway stall staff is very helpful in giving directions), wear stable footwear, hold your belongings tight and get ready for the journey. Good Luck!

The Fan

The fans in the Mumbai trains are very old. But they are dear to the daily commuters. Most of them prefer to be seated in a direction so as to get more breeze from the fan. It's amusing when the fan doesn't work, and some women (in the ladies compartment) stand up on the seats, with a pen in the hand, trying to move the fan blades, but in vain. Ok, this sometimes works.

A. H. Wheeler Book Stall

You will see the A.H Wheeler bookstall at every station in the city, and also at stations outside Mumbai in India. From Classics to love stories, newspapers, magazines, comics and books in English and regional languages, it's all there. The reading culture it has instilled among travelling Indians is beyond praise.

Dadar Railway Station

Dadar is the only railway station in Mumbai, common to both, the central line and the western line. It is a transit point and the most crowded railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway. The crowd you see in the photo is at non peak hours.(Oops, I'm a bit late. My internet connection had a problem)

Ladies Compartment

The ladies compartment in Mumbai local trains is also very crowded in peak hours. This photo is of a ladies compartment in an Andheri bound train from Churchgate in the afternoon.
You will find women and young boys selling all kinds of articles like hair clips, bindis, fancy key chains, bangles, money purses, and sometimes even salwar kameez dress material. Some of it is good quality stuff and a good bargain too.

Mumbai Local Train Week

Mumbai local train is the lifeline of Mumbai. If you visit Mumbai, you must experience a ride in the local train. Try avoiding peak hours. This week will be Mumbai Train Travel Week. The Mumbai local trains carry more than 6.1 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger density of any urban railway system in the world. Overcrowding is a major problem, especially during peak (office going) hours.