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ShareSuch is the symbiotic relationship between the railways and city life. Contrast this with what happened after the September 11 attacks in the US. Air services were grounded
and even George Bush Sr could not take off!
We Mumbaikars need to pause and salute the persevering spirit of the faceless motormen and rail employees who keep the mega city on the move. All through Independence Day, engineers and workers toiled to refurbish the Masjid station.
The work included dismantling of the old road over-bridge at the Kalyan-end of the station, and extending the length of mainline platform to accommodate 12-bogie trains. All that was accomplished in just 48 hours!
The railways recently introduced a service in which commuters can send a text message to the administration and report a fused light bulb or a dead ceiling fan. Railway workers carry out the repairs when the train reaches the next station. In private airlines, you will be lucky to find a seat you have reported as broken repaired the next time you fly.
Similarly, try changing the tariff plan of your mobile phone. You will find yourself listening patiently to a jarring on-hold tone for 20 minutes or unsuccessfully trying to explain your problem to a clueless call-centre executive.
The suburban railways' responsiveness is all the more remarkable because the system is the most complex, densely loaded and intensively utilised network in the world. It has the highest passenger density on earth, a staggering 6 million commuters per day. Its route is spread over 319 km while 191 rakes (train sets) of 9-car and 12-car trains deliver 2,226 services.
The railways live up to its social responsibility quietly and without fuss. It employs physically handicapped people as schedule announcers. One such announcer saved many lives on November 26, 2008, by alerting several passengers about the presence of trigger-happy Ajmal Kasab and his fellow-crazed killer.
The railways are among the most egalitarian organisations in the country. Where else would you find a picture of A Ramji, the then divisional railway manager of Central Railway, and Brahmin to boot, adorning the walls of the All India Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Railway Employees Union office? You can check, it's at Byculla station.
During peak periods, such as summer vacations, the railways invariably increase the number of trains. To cope with the sweltering summer, it plans to start air-conditioned rakes. Wi-fi facilities and supermarket conveniences at railway stations are not far away. Sadly, most of the railway's efforts go unsung.
In fact, it often bears the brunt of lobotomised mobs. Trains have been set on fire by protestors for the flimsiest of non-reasons; and railway motormen have been punched mercilessly for no fault of theirs.
Oh, Mumbai! Try telling a pilot that the six-hour delay was his fault!
