Western Railway – Lifeline of Mumbai

Below is ‘the’ very famous, very regular and always crowded Bandra Station Platform 4. The trains that halt here are mostly Virar Fast. Danger zone begins post 16:00 hrs IST. No train is ever on time. People are always hanging off the footboard until work hours end, approx 21:00 IST.
There will be different kinds of passengers – the one’s who’ll help everyone climb in, the one’s that will stand one coach ahead so they can jump into the train, the one’s who climb into the ‘handicapped compartment’, the one’s already ready to remove their day’s frustration on a co-passenger and then the small proportion of people who won’t let passengers get off at Borivali, just because it’s a ”Virar train.”

The Mumbai local is a true example of fast-paced life in this city. Everyday unfolds new drama in the ladies compartment. What a sight it is, until you are not the one getting yelled at by someone else for leaving your hair open. Let’s take a moment to thank our mom’s, wives, daughters, female colleagues and anyone else who travels at peak hours in these scary and jam-packed compartments. Honestly, they are the real hero’s. Even after such a tiring journey everyday, they make sure to do house chores, cooking, cleaning, any responsibilities assigned to them and living their days like “the boss ladies”.

Below is a visual representation of a 09:15 am image at Dadar railway station. This is one of the most crowded stations as it is the easiest route from Suburban Mumbai to Central Mumbai. The people at Dadar WR platform 1 are awaiting a train that started at Churchgate and will halt at Borivali. It’s a slow train as it makes about 18 – 20 stops. The one-way journey takes about an hour and ten minutes, but if you’re running late believe me, the journey could extend to a good 1 hour and 30 mins ride. Mumbai is the city that never sleeps but is also a city of dreams, contradictory you know? Cause you need to sleep to dream? But Mumbai doesn’t work that way. Long gone are those days, everything has changed. You can never be alone in Mumbai but you can be lonely. But these trains, they never make you feel like you’re by yourself. Someone or the other will always be around, skin-to-skin close and sometimes sneezing right in your face. But that’s the beauty of Mumbai, you will board that very train, the next very day, and that exact compartment. In that moment nothing else will matter. Just the journey, you and the person beside you. Two lines from a realistic perspective of Mumbai ‘ऐ दिल है मुश्किल जीना यहाँ, ज़रा हट के, ज़रा बच क, ये है Bombay मेरी जाँ’ (O heart, living here is difficult, move aside a bit, be cautious, this is Bombay, my beloved.)