TRAINS, TALES, AND TIME: 172 YEARS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS

The romance of Indian Railways lies not merely in nostalgia but in its living, breathing poetry. Ask any Indian and they'll have a train story: the thrill of the window seat, the lullaby of wheels on track, the intrigue of foil-packed meals, or the chaos and charm of a packed compartment.

- DR. SUDHANSHU MANI

Even as we congratulate Indian Railways (IR) on completing 172 years, I reflected on recent news. And although one is aware that IR is increasingly caught in the gravitational pull of grandstanding, the experience bordered on the surreal.

In a brisk 10-minute scan, one came across news gems like the Mumbai-Pune and Delhi-Jaipur Hyperloop projects that would allegedly slash travel time to 25 minutes and better still, a Chennai-Bengaluru corridor was under consideration to bring the cities just 15 minutes apart. Never mind that all that is on the ground is a student-level scaled-down experimental model at IIT Madras.

Another report claimed that a Delhi-Varanasi high-speed rail would complete the journey in 3.5 hours with a 15-km tunnel under construction. Reality check: no such project has even been sanctioned.

Laudatory headlines celebrated record earnings in FY 25, but the annual growth in revenue is a paltry 1.7%, salvaged largely by increased carriage of polluting coal. On the passenger front, IR announced the rollout of 50 Amrit Bharat trains with ergonomic seats and fancy pantry designs but completely silent on the plight of General Class passengers who still travel standing in appalling conditions.

One might argue that these are media exaggerations. Yet, most reports sources, and we have seen no clarifications or retractions.

Take the recent Fevicol advertisement featuring passengers clinging to the door of a Mumbai local. IR took umbrage and had it pulled down. But while the ad may have nudged the boundaries of taste, the image it portrayed is sadly all too familiar.

A LEGACY THAT ECHOES ON THE TRACKS