Train Ride from Hell in India

Posted by Julia on Apr 16, 2010 in Transportation, Travel

Backpackers waiting for train
That’s us, waiting for the train

Our story unfolds with a loitering young man, an invalid ticket and an overbooked train. My friend Jenny and I were sitting comfortably in our supposed seats, preparing for the overnight, 27-hour journey from West Bengal to India’s capital city. We were approached and told we were in the wrong berth. I argued belligerently.  The conductor was summoned and, surprise surprise, he informed us that our second class A/C tickets are for the right day but the wrong month. Duh.

Lesson #1: When buying a train ticket, confirm all details and check the date before making a fool of yourself.

With nowhere to sit, we hopped off that train and killed time in yet another train station. Three hours of waiting before train #2 destination Delhi finally pulled into the station. We hobbled under heavy backpacks, through a thick crowd of commuting locals before reaching the new conductor. He explained that, without a reservation, we were again out of luck.  Desperate to be anywhere that wasn’t a train station, we hopped on board anyway, keeping our fingers crossed that seats might open up.

The conductor was right – all compartments were packed. Jenny and I shared worried glances. Where were we going to sit for the epic cross-country ride? With the promise of a long, uncomfortable night ahead, we had to improvise. We found a nook, positioned our backpacks and tried to get comfortable. We made the best of it: card games, Soduku puzzles, Pringles chips and “if you’re stranded on a desert island” type conversation. We couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of our situation.

Train through India
Passengers boarding the train

The train pulled into the station and our ‘seats’ were overtaken by passengers. “Chai, Chai” yelled a vendor, carrying a big thermos of hot milky tea. Leprous beggars with emaciated children hopped aboard to sell jasmine flowers.

Reluctant to move, we were jostled around by the luggage-carrying crowd scrambling to exit. The scene was cramped, hectic and some jerk stepped on my toe. A bag of water, which looked more like a silicone breast implant than it did a beverage, exploded on the floor and muddied our once comfortable nook.

Seated in the aftermath of what looked like a train Tsumami, we once again inquired about vacant seats. The conductor shook his head apologetically. With no place to sit, I stood in a corner between train compartments. It was time for dinner so the waiter shoved a tray of food in my hands. Hovering over my backpack, next to a public squat toilet, I ate curry and chapatti with a wet, semi-washed hand. Ahhh, the glamour of travel….

A man from Delhi befriended us and warned us about certain train dangers: “be careful of your bags and don’t drink or eat anything offered to you by strangers.” Great. Thanks buddy. that’s just what I wanted to hear. “Sorry, on behalf of India,” he said apologetically before disappearing into his air-conditioned compartment.

Our situation had turned from comical to desperate; our outlook chipper to miserable. “This sucks,” said a frustrated Jenny.

Typically, overnight trains are the most comfortable and painless way to commute long distances through India. But, I learned the hard way that bookings must be made in advance.

The train is divided into several classes of compartments: 1AC (Air-Conditioning) ,2AC, 3AC, Sleeper and then non-air-conditioning section and chairs. Each class differs in price, service, privacy and clientele. 2AC is a favorite among travelers, with four bunks per cabin, fresh sheets and a curtain for privacy.

Lesson #2: For long-distance rides always reserve seats a couple of days in advance.

A man from Mumbai saved the day. He invited us to sit with him and his family in one of his sleeper cars. We curled up at the foot of their beds and, despite the discomfort and freezing cold air-conditioning, tried to get some sleep.

Lesson #3: Trust strangers (within reason of course).

All over the world, countless kind people have gone out of their way to assist me. In my experience, strangers in foreign countries are more likely to help you than hurt you. The altruism I encountered over my travels has taught me to trust in humanity and pay-it-forward.

Though a complete saint, the man snored like an industrial generator. I looked at my watch. It had been seven hours of cramped travel and this veteran backpackers was beginning to crack. A determined Jenny flew out of the berth and stalked the conductor with a determined, almost psychotic gaze.

Whether it was good fortune or Jenny’s don’t-mess-with-me-attitude but two sleeper bunks miraculously opened up. We gave our deepest thanks to the family, climbed into our very own beds and happily fell asleep to the lullaby of a moving train.

Have you traveled by train in India? What were your experiences? Post your comments below…..

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  • AND, WHAT DO THESE GODDAM "WESTERNERS" THINK? THAT THEY CAN MAKE THEIR WAY INTO ANYTHING, AS THIS SO CALLED JENNY DID? HOW COULD SHE HAVE THE CHEEK TO DEMAND THINGS IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY THE WAY SHE WANTED? HAD I BEEN THE CONDUCTOR, I WOULD HAVE TAUGHT HER A LESSON IN MODERATION AND PATIENCE!
  • What does these "westerners" know about India? First of all, it is NOT A SINGLE ENTITY. Each state and region vastly differs from other, in every respect. So, to most of the "western" tourists, it is only in your ignorance and stupidity that you generalise everything "Indian". ( All  the more "East Indian", as those ignoramuses do in America!)
  • Julia
    Hey Subair,
    Thanks for taking the time to write. I totally agree with you and thank you for reiterating the point that India is vast and differs greatly from place to place. I had a chance to see only a tiny bit of the country Varanasi, Darjeeling, etc. but so many more places to visit! Wasn't trying to generalize the country as a whole and also I recognize my own stupidity in buying a ticket for the wrong date. Not my smartest moment but I certainly learned an important travel lesson that day :)
  • I have also visited India...Its not that bad...We see crowd everywhere in the world

    Royal solaris los cabos
  • Julia it seems that now you will never forget to book the tickets in advance....The thing that is happens with you in India,might also be happen in other countries too,if you forget to book the tickets in advance...
  • wow! Julia, this is my most fave off all your entries!
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  • Breathedreamgo
    I love taking the train in India and have had some wonderful experiences of serendipity. The best was when I showed up for my early morning train to Haridwar last March, during the Kumbh Mela - only to find out I only had a waiting list ticket. The train was completely booked up, as were all the trains leaving for the centre of the Kumbh Mela for weeks. I was feeling desperate when a very kindly Indian Railways conductor actually gave me his seat in second class. I couldn't believe it! I felt like I was dreaming. Another magical moment in India.

    Mariellen
    breathedreamgo.com
  • juliadimon
    All this talk about India makes me want to go back! Anyone planning any trips soon?
  • yup going to delhi on 1st april.
  • Bhupendra Sharma
    Hi Julia, Come to India again as my guest...
  • I'm going at the end of the year. I haven't been in years and I desperately need to getaway. I have some contacts at women's shelters in the south and will be doing some photography for them, then heading to Rajasthan for a few weeks and just enjoy the atmosphere, there's something about the state that I really connect with.
  • Scott
    Train travel in India is (IMHO) The Quintessential Indian Experience . . . and the longer the better. I've spent almost three years in India (over five trips) and have no got it honed to Varanasi . . . Only. Six months each time (twice for six months so far, once for three weeks)
    India, of anywhere I've been, is My Place.
  • I spent 10 weeks traveling round India by train back in 2001. I had an Indrail pass and reservations booked through the UK agent (no agent for the US), but the first train (New Jalpaiguri to Kolkata) turned out I wasn't on the list. I got lucky, though, and slept in 2AC. All the other trains the reservations worked fine. My train ride from hell was 22 hours in third class from the Malay border to Bangkok - turned out that you did need a reservation if you wanted a sleeper...
  • I just returned from India. I only took planes and buses, not trains, so I can't really comment about the train situation. I would like to return and take a train though. I think it would be an awesome experience and now I know what not to do, haha. These kinds of misadventures are terrible to go through, but they sure make for awesome stories after the fact. Plus, you realize just how tough you are! India was EXTRAORDINARY!!! I can't wait to be back there.
  • besttouroperator
    This is just Not True picture of India. i just say to visitors to come to India now and See the changes and new India Today. I must say to JULIA that you will feel "Heaven" not "Hell" in today's INDIA..
  • Booking in advance doesn't always help! On my first trip to India I learnt the hard way that there is only so much planning you can do in a country as (often entertainingly) capricious and contradictory as India turned out to be. On arrival in Delhi I diligently bought train tickets for the first part of my itinerary: to Agra, then Varanasi, Patna, Calcutta, all the way through to Darjeeling.

    The first leg to Agra was fine but the second leg to Varanasi destroyed any inflated sense of control I might have developed! We boarded the train late in the evening and found our bunks, tied in and nodded off after a long day exploring Fatehpur Sikri. Awaking in the morning with the train at a standstill and the carriage almost empty we wondered where we were. Leaning out of a door I looked out and saw a station behind us. I asked a passing official where we were and was told, "Agra". We had gone a few hundred metres in six hours... We were told to stay put as the train would be starting up again soon. Two hours later we started chugging slowly along the line and eventually reached Lucknow. By now a group of us backpackers had banded together and were laughing about our experience, little realising that it had just begun. We were shunted around the large train yards in Lucknow and again told to sit tight as another engine would be picking us up, though it was hard not to notice we were the only ones left aboard at this point. Several times during the next hours we were connected to an engine, shunted and abandoned. The temperature in the carriage was soaring and a German backpacker fell ill. We packed him off in a taxi to the nearest German speaking doctor (he had a list of all of them in India!) and spent the next half hour trying to find the train again which had been shunted somewhere in the meantime.

    I suppose we could have gotten off but we officials were adamant we stay put and there was a sense of shared adventure amongst us, sitting atop the carriage watching life in the station swirl around us was quite entertaining. Eventually we were hooked up one last time in the middle of the night and reached Varanasi without further incident, 36 hours after leaving Agra.

    I suppose that wasn't so much a train ride from hell (except for the German guy), as it was probably the perfect introduction to travelling in India!
  • Arun
    I mean *train travel
  • Arun
    Julia, I am from India, and have done worse trips than those. You learnt the lessons hard way.. but trail travel is something I miss now, being in America for the last couple of years. :)
  • joanna_haugen
    I've never traveled by train in India, but after reading this, I'm definitely going to book my seat in advance if I ever do!
  • Ahhh, trains, or travel in general in India. No matter how experienced you are at traveling, and no matter how many countries you've been to, there's just nothing like India. Hilarious story. We actually had great luck with most of our travel in India, but we were always on our toes, and you never know what can happen.
  • I was India in January of this year. We booked all of our trains at least a month in advance on the internet via makemytrip.com. It helped because we had everything printed out and ready to go for the conductor to check on his clipboard or to check our names on the paper taped to the side of the car sometimes. We traveled 3 times by train and didn't have any issues. This does take away from the spontaneity of travel though, but I would recommend planning out trains as far in advance as possible. Also, book an AC car if you can.

    A few more tips: make sure you know both names (the new and the old) of the city you are getting off at - we almost missed getting off the train because of that. And make sure you know your car number so you can run to it when the train runs to the station. I totally had an Amazing Race style run to our car at the other end of the station once.
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