“The inconvenience caused to passenger is highly regretted,” these are the words which are very very, I mean too much familiar for every Mumbaikar who travels through the trains within this Golden city. It decides your daily horoscope whether you are going to get rewards for arriving on time at office or you are going to get scolded, burdened with work or no work at all, and last but not the least, get kicked off.

Mumbai is the city of dreams and the dream weavers. But this synthesis is not applicable to every Mumbaikar. People come to Mumbai to earn money to feed their families. They search jobs and do it with full dedication and take a long breath at the end of fulfilling the day duty, thinking his job is still intact and he can continue the job tomorrow too. He commutes back to his nest and sleep calculating tomorrow’s time and money statistics. But the indicator at the railway station again smiling at him and saying that “Even I don’s know what will happen next!” And the announcement bangs in his or her ear that his or her expected train is coming on another platform. He or she rushes to that unexpected platform and his voice over starts abusing and doubting on the Railway management, “If the railway has any technology to determine platform 10 minites, at least 5 minites before the train arrives on platform?” But his abusing and doubting has no place in Railway policy, the parrot of horoscope already have started moving his cards.  Train arrives on that platform before he gets on that platform being a part of that crowd. Either he gets into the train or he blames himself for being so incapable of getting into the train tiffin box. Railway’s sweet voiced announcer woman only pays her regrets towards the dear commuters.

But all dear commuters are not the habituated for this regrets and the rushes made after the “On time announcements.” Today (23rd November 2017) I saw such an incident which shake my soul. I was about to go to the station master and was eager to show the consequences of their regrets. But neither had I time to do so nor that woman who can be a victim of Railway’s inconvenience.


I was at Mira Road Station and the train was schedule on platform number 4. It was only 1 minute to arrive the train, suddenly I hear the announcement that the train is coming on platform number 2 and the inconvenience caused to passenger is highly regretted.” I and other commuter rushed towards the staircase and ran towards platform number 2. I got on platform number 2 and the train also touched the platform and it was slowly moving to take a halt. Suddenly an havoc came from the staircase and I saw that a man fall on the staircase. He fall because  a woman coming on his slipped on his foot. He fall, and on his back she fall. I saw her, she was a muslim lady, this is just a guess as she was wearing Burka. Her Burka has covered her from head to toe, yes but her pencil hill footwear can be visible. The most important and the pitiful thing is that she was carrying her might be 1 or 2 year old baby with her. She had a purse on her shoulder. I cannot see if anyone was with her or not. In the hurry to get in the train she might not justify the staircase and her long burka might have grab her leg and her long hills could not give her proper balance, the result, she fall with her baby. People help her to manage herself. She got up and first saw that train is standing on the platform and then rushed to the train. We all keep looking at her and abusing as, “Why she was rushing madly? Was this a last train? She should have take care of her baby?” Yes, all this questions arrived but we did not blame the Railway’s management at once. Because we are habituated for that shameful announcement. And we think that Railway has all the right to play a puppet with the commuters and then make a shameful or shameless announcement year after year. And we are habituated for the incident after incidents and accident after accidents. Even once we did not thought that the lady might be waiting for the train at platform number 4 and after the announcement she rushed to the platform number 2 holding her baby and her Burka.

Railway has its own secretariat, it has its own national and state wise budget. It’s the only budget after Nation’s Union Budget. Is it impossible for railway to set up a modern technology to schedule the voyage? Is railway is paid to build the most glamorous and the most glorified, Spirit of Mumbai?


Mumbai’s local rail network is the busiest commuter train system in the world; with 7.5 million people using the trains to commute daily. Yes, it is over-crowded. It has reached beyond the idle proportions. But can it be a reason to forgive Railway for the silly mistakes like the non-determination of the arrival of the train? In this era of extreme modern technology where we use GPRS to find the places, commuters ask their pre-station commuters about the train, can’t railway has any kind of this technology or at least any kind of cheapest communication system? For what Railway is paying the engineers and the station staff? Is the railway has the budget to regret about their poor management after every 15 minutes? Isn’t it the worst thing is to get the commuters to use to for it?

 

Well, I as a commuter of Mumbai Railway, is been annoyed by the behavior of Railways and the continuous regret. I don’t want to forget and forgive the Railways more. People are facing many problems due to the decentralization of industries in Mumbai. But Railway can make it little easier by being little keen and zealous towards its duties. Otherwise we are not interested in the regrets; we will keep on travelling and exploring our spirits, not to forget that spirits are released after the death. It’s a spiritual saying.