Life on Indian Train

Trains link villages and megacities, carry workers and students, and cross plains and mountains. Delays are part of the way. A twelve hour route can turn into twenty. In one month I travelled 6,797 miles, about 10,940 kilometres, by train.

There is quiet and chatter, heat and fresh chai, vendors weaving through, luggage strapped to racks and a constant flow of people. Delays are common, so itineraries need to allow for them.

Classes shape different experiences. AC 2 Tier has air-conditioning and two tier berths with curtains for some privacy. AC 3 Tier keeps the air-conditioning and offers six berths per bay. Sleeper is open, without air-conditioning, with six berths. Second Class has hard seats and unreserved places. Chair Car provides seated rows for daytime routes.

In Sleeper and Second Class, passengers share water and spicy food, ask questions and use gestures when they do not speak the same language. Doors open at stations, air comes through the windows and seats turn into beds for the night.