Commuter Trains

And you thought your commute was bad.


This is a pretty accurate look at Mumbai commuter trains… and a great commercial that’s currently running. I’d like to take a local train but I’ve been warned off because of the pushing, the squishing and the fact that they really do hang out the doors and windows because they’re too crowded.

It’s the end of the commercial that’s so good — because despite all of the above, there really is this positivity and “we’re all in this together” feeling. I have seen little to no road-rage, pedestrian rage or any type of entitled “rage” that Westerners (or Americans at least) get from someone invading their space or holding them up in any way.

Here's an amateur video:



I gotta tell you though, Indians could use a lesson in “letting people off before boarding the train” — holy moly. It’s a battle — particularly trying to get off. People start shoving as soon as the train slows in the station - and people on the platform run along side the train to get on before it has stopped. You just have to push and shove and try not to take it personally… although I did witness a fight when exiting my train from Goa when a young man tried to shove past an old woman to get on and was neatly collared by a man who then proceeded to slap and shove him down the platform. The young man didn’t defend himself, merely looked like a bad dog, cowering as the slaps rained down.