And now for a story about a train. A train made of train cars that have been running since the 1950's (or so it seems) and regularly carry three times the passengers they're designed for. I have ridden the local train before, but today, caught it at the tail end of rush hour.

Boarding a train

It's already full, but they will probably all make it on. (Source)

Along the tracks

Enjoying the fresh air? Perhaps. But mostly they're overflowing because the inside is more than full. (Source)

Think intellect has made physical strength obsolete in cities? Think again! Only the strong can ride Mumbai local trains (unless you travel at odd hours). I nearly missed the train when 6 people squeezed into the 12 inches between me and the car. After getting on, another 10 or so piled in, pushed, and pulled to stay there. It was sort of like a wrestling match, except the goal is to get your opponents to take up less space. For a good portion, I think I nearly suffocated an unfortunate young man about 2 feet shorter than I. For another, I tried not to elbow an elderly man too hard. Surprisingly though... it wasn't as uncomfortable as I expected. Everyone was generally in good spirits, and after learning how to stick to solid walls and readjust for better positions in the 5 seconds of at stations, it was rather enjoyable. Not "MOM can we ride the local train again??" enjoyable, but more in a "what a fascinating life experience that I have now had and thus do not need to unnecessarily repeat thank you very much" way.

The cars themselves are of a most utilitarian style, with a soviet Russia feel to them. Plenty of fans keep air moving though, which I suppose helps prevent people from passing out. If one did pass out, I'm told by a friendly passenger I met, nobody would care. In fact, about 6 people die every day on the local trains in India. That's 2,000 souls lost each from crowding onto trains...and falling off. At one point today, I could have taken out 6 with one well-placed shove. That's a lot of trust in your fellow man...and so I join the ranks of millions who have survived the local train. We should print T-shirts...at least it's not quite as bad as Japan.

Onwards and upwards.

*I swore I wouldn't write such a thing as "I'm writing a blog" and "sorry for not updating" comprise about 75% of blog posts out there. Also, 68.6574% (+/- 2%) are made up on the spot. Blogging is more work than I thought! Kudos to those who do it well.