There aren't many who take positives for the mumbai suburban trains but yet it's termed as the father to every mumbaikar....who carry the world's largest crowd on its shoulders, teaches a lot, and never closes its eyes....!!!
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, the public transport system in Mumbai, is a state run Indian Railways running in two parts - Western Line and Central Line. Apart from this it also extends to the new lines built at Navi Mumbai, Asia's biggest planned city, called Harbour Line.
Being the world's crowdest railway system, it carries more than 7 million commuters on a daily basis which is more than half of the daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways. The heart of the mumbai has the highest density than any other urban railway system in the world.
Welcome to Mumbai Suburban Railways..!!! Here - this Father is called -
"Local"
The Mumbai Suburban railway was first built by the British in India in 1853. It's also the oldest railway system in Asia. Even outsiders, not familiar with the Local, know that the first train ran between Mumbai and Thane with a distance of 34 kms. Today the same runs in more than 150 kms only on the western line.
The Suburban Railway system operates on 1500 V DC / 25000 V AC (Virar-Borivali) power supply hanging overhead with a deadly touch. You'll observe the pony of the train at its head slowly moving up to get the feel of electricity from the wires and then moving down once it's gulped enough to run. The trains are electronically called EMU (Electric Multiple Units) cars.There are more than 170 trains running in a 9-car and 12-car combination, a 15-car EMU just introduced in late 2009, with over 2400 kms of up and down daily.
How far can you imagine to stuff a train more than its capacity? The Locals carry more than 5000 passengers in its normal 9-car EMU during Rush hours, sorry, Peak hours (since Rush hours here are 24*7), as against a rated capacity of 1700 passengers. Trust me, you wouldn't even stuff your travel bag with so much times its capacity to clothes. The load is known as "Super-Dense Crush Load", the only one title carried by mumbai local than any other train in the world.
Mumbai suburban trains, locals, are the only trains in the world which run a seperate Ladies train specially for women during the peak hours. It runs from Virar to Churchgate, up in the morning and down in the evening everyday. And as a male gender, if you don't know where you're boarding, never-ever try to make the mistake of boarding the ladies train. And if you do, then they'll make sure you don't committ that mistake again or ever in your life.
Knowing that they're the world's most crowded railway system existing today, a newbie would face his life's worst horrors while traveling during peak hours. Nobody can travel the suburban trains without proper guidance and directions. And trust me, if you're making a visit to mumbai, make sure your travel is not during rush hours, sorry, peak hours. Although, in mumbai rush hours means 24*7, but peak hours would fall between 08:00 hrs to 11:00 hrs in the morning and 18:00 hrs to 21:00 hrs in the evening.
So, If you ask me that, as a mumbaikar what's the one best thing you like about mumbai?...... "The 1st Class compartments of the locals during weekends"....no less than heavenly feeling standing beside the door and getting the fantastic cool breeze while the train rushes past the stations at full speed and what you feel is like a winner!!!...esp. when you know the empty compartment you're traveling in is the same but looks so different than the normal crowded one.
Mumbai is among those unusual cities which would scare you like hell by seeing the crowd.....but some time spent and it makes you feel like your own. Mumbai is among those few cities in the world, where no doubt how much one keeps craping and complaining about it, but when it comes to trains....the feeling of being a proud local train traveller is what you'll find in the heart.
The suburban trains are the lifelines here and no doubt it's just not said, but believed in true sense. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the financial industry of india runs on the schedule of mumbai suburban trains. The corporate world at this place moves at the pace of the trains. Trains late.....offices late.....offices late....work late.... and there're only 2 scenarios where one will find the Locals are halted.....1. The offical closure hours of somewhere between 02:00 hrs to 04:00 hrs and 2.during the rainy season but only for few hours....and that too rarely, only if the tracks are really filled with water unable to move the trains.
And terrorists?? Well no amount of terroism can the stop this city. The fight to survive, the fight to rise higher, the fight to run a happy family and the fight to enjoy the very right to live runs in the blood of every mumbaikar. And trust me, no matter what's the amount of crowd, the trains are the most easiest way of commuting. From CEOs to Punes, everyone travels here with only one motto...."Get up and move"
We, the people of mumbai, have an unwritten pledge running in our veins, that no one can be kept down and out unless one doesn't give up himself/herself. These trains stand to our thoughts and beliefs, no matter whatever hurdles come in our way, we must overcome them to keep running. That's our life and that's what we live for. I would wish to write more of this stuff and would love to hear to your comments. Post it, if you feel its worth. I would like to thank the world wide web for providing me this useful data esp. wikipedia. I think we make an amazing world only when we believe we can. I think that's what mumbai locals teach you, no matter how much crowd, you gotta move that extra mile..!!!
