Bhartiya Rail ...... the most spread enterprise around the world . It covers so many thousands of kilometers and infact is the lifeline of India. Statistically they say that every day the railways carried some 1.5 crore people which is the population of say Australia. And forget the goods transport which would be equally the same in number.
From my childhood i had been in awe of the railways. My father used to take me to the railway station every sunday when i between 4-7 to see the Howrah Express . Such was my fascination that i had remembered the stoppages of Gitanjali Exp between Bombay and Howrah. And everything about this liking got fulfilled since my house is just 250 meters from the railway track. Visting the railway line in the evening has been some of the best moments. Putting a coin on the rail so that the train runs over it and one gets to see the "chaplela" coin.
Also i have been very fulfilled since i travelled with the railways to so many parts of India, meter guage,broad guage and narrow guage. Travelling to Khandwa by meter guage is such a beautiful journey.
In my late teens i started another type of journey which is "Up-Down" or commuting as is the name. Going to college some 100kms away every monday and returning every saturday made me a regular traveller. How economical it was to travel like that ....... And railways can offer one of the cheapest fares if you travel by a "Passenger". Imagine Rs.14 for a 100km journey and mind you it was done in just 3 hrs ... not so slow ... huh..
Travelling in mumbai in the local trains gave me some more joy. The ethos of the travel is just fabulous. The frequency of the trains, the different routes, different types of trains all is very captivating. Another journey that i relish is travelling through the ghats. Mostly i have travelled in the Kasara and Khandala ghats. It's truly majestic to be there.
And above all i enjoy travelling II class sleeper. It's such a common place environment with lots of people and importantly interactive people unlike in the AC. Well i do admit that travelling in summer in II class gives lot of problems but otherwise it's the best travel.
All in all the railways has been a big part of my life. My adulation for them grows each day. So many trains, so many routes to manage, complex time tables of the trains but they are doing a very good job i feel. And now with the outstanding reservation system in place ..... i think it has made travel a lot easy ....
Kudos to Railways ....
No comments:
Post a Comment