Indian Railways and the Never-Ending Struggle 

Sad reality of Indian Railways

Indian Railways are amongst the largest rail network in the world. Yet, it has left no stones unturned to disappoint its passengers for basic needs. Recently, I was travelling in Indian Railways for my exam and saw a disclaimer written on the top of my admit card and then exam question paper. It stated that, “students sitting on the roof and doorsteps of the train would be eligible for the disqualification as it is a criminal offense.” I was wondering about people who are travelling without tickets are committing any offense or not.  

As public, we have thousands of pictures and videos surfacing on the internet of people forcefully making space to enter the train coaches. These forceful attempts not only create fuss around the coaches but also creates a nuisance for other people. They even end up harming themselves and others.  

People with confirmed tickets are made to stand in the name of humanity because older people are struggling to find a seat as they do not have a confirmed seat. It’s a common problem that has been witnessed by the public time and again. There’s no end to this. No one is paying any heed to this problem as if it doesn’t exist. If someone takes it to a public platform or social media platform to raise a voice against it, it goes in vain. The stereotypes associated with problems are ruling the minds of the public. If it’s not happening with us, then it’s not our headache to pay any attention.  

Social media response and public outrage

Several people took it to X to take out their frustration and disappointment with the Indian Railways. People with confirmed tickets are not able to board the train because of the crowd. The management might be taking a long nap to manage the crowd on the stations to avoid blocked pathways for people to board the train. People who board the train faces too many problems that makes it harder for people to rely on Indian Railways anymore. Problems like not able to reach their seats and if they do reach somehow then they’re forced to share it with other people leaving them uncomfortable throughout the journey.  

Safety and security issues

It’s getting unsafe day by day for women and children to travel via Indian Railways because of the unmanageable crowd who are allowed to board the train without confirmed tickets. The long queue in the coaches makes it harder for people to use even basic facilities such as washroom. And this is not the end of it, there are endless number of theft cases in such situations.

It is tormenting to see people struggling to pave a way for themselves through the crowded queues at stations. People who go through such harsh scenarios end up doing the same because of their unheard struggle and authorities’ ignorance.  

Especially if we talk about sleeper class, the situation is horrible. People having unreserved class tickets assume sleeper class as their substitute if they don’t get space in unreserved class coaches. It is not the fault of passengers having confirmed tickets. Everybody is not fortunate enough to get tickets of AC class because of availability and mainly due to the high charges and especially the dynamic charges. It is becoming difficult day by day for people with low income to travel in such hostile situation of the Indian Railways.

Responsibility as a citizen

Yes, it is the bitter truth that Railways are not doing anything to solve this issue but as public we can definitely make a change. Change starts with one person, if one person is willing to change then tomorrow there’ll be thousand. As an individual one can avoid travelling without confirmed ticket.  

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” 

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