Train Etiquette - Part 1

What do you do when people push you even while getting in an uncrowded train and there's quite some gap between the platform and footboard?

Dhakka-mukki has become a trend... ab toh aadat si hai sabko dhakka maarne ki...
People are so used to rushing into crowded trains that sometimes even when the train is blissfully uncrowded, people tend to push others. This unnecessary haste has often led to people slipping onto the tracks and losing their limbs. So what do you do when something like this happens?

1. Ignore them and manage your balance
2. Give them some peace of mind and manage your balance
3. Let them move ahead
4. Other (pls specify in comments)

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Mumbai Local Train - A Musical Journey

Check out this cool video of Mumbai local train travel created by Arun Brahma.
Music: Floe Glassworks by Philip Glass

If you have something interesting / relevant to this site and wish to share it, do let us know in the comments section here.

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Man loses arm thanks to inhuman commuters, authorities

Date: September 24, 2011Time: 8.49 am
Location: Ambernath station 

Educated commuters travelling in Mumbai trains: Quite a few
Humans travelling by Mumbai trains: RARE

I am so furious at this moment that if I type for more than 10 minutes I might be using swear words. 

45-year old Shivaji Ambavale falls of a train (alright he made a mistake of trying to board a running train, but don't most of us do so?). He loses his arm and is bleeding profusely. Just imagine the pain you feel when you cut yourself while shaving / cutting veggies... now imagine his pain!!! At that peak hour, no one comes to help him! He himself has to jump on the tracks with all the pain and panic to retrieve his arm. Except for one good Samaritan Rajil Menon who helps him out.

Now this was the aam janta behaviour towards a man who was suffering. Do I need to mention the flaws in system and carelessness of authorties? GRP takes 15 minutes to come. He gets no first aid. Porters carry him to police chowky to make an official entry!!! Seriously was that so important???


As always, there's no mode of transport with station authorities and they try to catch an auto rickshaw. Don't they realise that most auto rickshawallahs care a damn about people and their suffering??? Quoting from the Mumbai Mirror article: Unable to find transport, the cops and the porters started running towards the nearest medical facility: the DG Chaya municipal hospital. This entire process took nearly 40 minutes. 

After that he is taken to 3 different hospitals. Read the link above for the entire story.

And at the end of all this, it is too late to fix his arm!!! He loses his arm to the ignorance of some Mumbaiites.

I wish I was there and could have helped him. I wish that the ones who ignored him read this and feel ashamed of themselves. I wish from next time on nobody suffers due indifferent 'humans'. I still keep wishing we have sufficient medical aid and ambulances near stations. 

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Mega block timings for 25 September 2011

Central Railway will operate a mega block today on Sunday, September 25, 2011. Here are the mega block timings you must be aware of if you are planning to travel by local trains in Mumbai today:

Mega block on Matunga to Mulund: Fast trains leaving CST between 10.28 am and 3.25 pm will run on slow track from Matunga to Mulund and will halt at all stations in between.

Harbour line trains from Panvel / Belapur / Vashi to CST will run on Central Main Fast Line from Kurla station to CST from 10.40 am to 3.54 pm. The trains will not halt at Currey Road and Chinchpokli stations.

Harbour line train services will remain suspended as follows:
Mega block from CST to Bandra / Andheri: 10.47 am to 4.03 pm
Mega block from Bandra / Andheri to CST: 10.41 am to 3.48 pm

Harbour line commuters for Bandra / Andheri can travel via main line / western line from 10 am to 6 pm during the mega block.

Info courtesy: Central Railway Notice

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Chaloge track se us paar, Pahunchoge zindagi ke us paar

Crossing railway tracks can take us to the ‘other side’ of the world. That’s not where we want to reach, is it?

Every other day there is news of someone dying / losing limbs while crossing railway tracks. We all know it’s dangerous, yet once in a while we tend to cross the tracks. 

PLEDGE you'll Never Cross Railway Tracks. Like this status message on Facebook / Post this as your status message and spread the word. Let's see how many people are serious about living.

 

Earlier posts on crossing railway tracks:

Woman dies crossing tracks, rescuers lose life too

Accidents

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Woman dies crossing tracks, rescuers lose life too

Yet again, a woman died while crossing tracks. Worse still, two people who tried to save her had to lose their life too!

On Sunday afternoon (19 September, 2011), Sangeeta Ahinkar decided to cross the railway tracks near Badlapur station instead of taking the foot-over-bridge at the same spot. She failed to notice a good train approaching.

Two men, Shivshankar Shrivastav and Dilip Bhawar, passing by the area noticed the risk the woman was taking. They ran to save her but unfortunately a local train started coming from the opposite direction. Impossible to make the right judgment at the moment, the trio were left completely confused. Eventually, all three of them were run over by the goods train.

Please do not cross the tracks. You are not just putting your life at risk but others too

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Central, Harbour line mega block on 18 September, 2011

Mega block on Matunga to Mulund: Fast trains leaving CST between 10.28 am and 3.25 pm will run on slow track from Matunga to Mulund and will halt at all stations in between.

Harbour line trains from Kurla to Vashi will not be operational between 10.21 am to 4.16 pm.
Special trains will run between CST and Kurla as well as between Vashi and Panvel during this time.

There's no mega block between Bandra / Andheri and CST
 

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Western line trains running late today

Western line trains are running late by a few minutes today.  Update at 9.30 am.

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No Mega Block Today

Due to Ganpati visarjan, there won't be a mega block today!

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How to identify First Class compartment in Mumbai trains

Often the non-regular / new Mumbai local train commuters are caught travelling in a first class compartment with a second-class ticket. While some are 'offenders on purpose', many commuters (especially ladies) are unable to differentiate between first class and second class compartments from outside. It is only after they board the first class compartment, they realise it!

I have often seen some ladies panicking after realising it and trying to jump off the moving train to avoid being caught by the ticket checkers. This as we all know can be fatal.

So if you are a new commuter of the Mumbai's lifeline, here's how to identify the first class compartment:

1. The compartments have stripes on the outer side. Refer the image. 
2. The section of platform where these compartments halt too have a portion painted in stripes (either the station name board stand / pole / floor / wall).
3. The seats of the first class compartments are cushioned.

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Harbour trains running late

Very few harbour line trains were operational between 9 and 10 am today. The up line trains were directed on Central Main line from Kurla.

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Central Railway Mega Block Timings Today

Central Railway will operate a mega block today on Sunday September 4, 2011. Here are the mega block timings you must be aware of if you are planning to travel by local trains in Mumbai today:

Mega block on Matunga to Mulund: Slow trains leaving Matunga between 10.33 am and 3.59 pm will run on fast track from Matunga to Mulund during this time and will halt at all stations between Sion and Mulund.


Mega block from Wadala to Bandra: 11 am to 4 pm
Mega block from Bandra to Wadala: 11 am to 4 pm

Harbour line trains from Panvel / Belapur / Vashi for CST will run on Central Main Fast Line from Kurla station to Byculla from 10.40 am to 3.54 pm. The trains will halt at Sion, Matunga, Dadar and Parel stations.

Harbour line train services will remain suspended as follows:
Mega block from CST to Bandra / Andheri: 10.47 am to 4.03 pm
Mega block from Bandra / Andheri to CST: 10.41 am to 3.48 pm

Harbour line commuters for Bandra / Andheri can travel via main line / western line from 10 am to 6 pm during the mega block.

Info courtesy: Central Railway, The Times of Navi Mumbai

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