It was a cool and crisp January morning in Vadodara, Gujarat, India. The mighty WAP-5 electric locomotive of the Tejas Rajdhani Express pulled into the majestic Vadodara station, and with a powerful hum, it slipped by me. Indeed, I could hardly hear the train over the classic ensemble of sounds that make up a vibrant Indian railway station. My ticket to ride the colorful train had my coach and seat number, and I had positioned myself precisely for my coach given the digital signage. The doors opened, the attendants quickly moved in to help with the luggage, and within a minute I was taken to my seat. Just as I settled down, the train smoothly departed from the station, speeding out of the city of Vadodara through the farm lands on its way to Mumbai.
I purchased the ticket for the train just days prior to using the Indian Railways app on my phone. It took about 3 minutes to complete the transaction. In the process of booking the reservation, I looked for available seats on all the trains for the route. Among the range of choices, I decided to pick the Tejas as I wanted to try this new train that would get me into Borivali station (outskirts of Mumbai) by 12:30 PM and have me in HP office in the afternoon.
The conductor came with a smartphone and asked for me by my name “Chandrakant ji”. I acknowledged and commented to him about the amazing cyber physical experience of purchasing the ticket and riding the train. I compared the advancement to the days when as a child I took the train with my family from coast to coast. The ride itself was quite an experience of speed and service. I must say, sitting in the well sealed coach, I missed the audio signature of rail track that I had enjoyed as a child.
The train came to a stop at the Borivali station on time. The station, located about 20 minutes away by auto rickshaw or taxi from the HP office, had lifts and escalators to move the thousands of riders swiftly in and out.
Indian Railways: You have come a long way
It was a hot summer day in late 1960s. My excitement knew no bounds as my father and I arrived at the Dhanbad railway station in Bihar (now Jharkhand), India. The excitement stemmed from the summer holiday trip across the country from Dhanbad to Surat, Gujarat. The three day journey through exquisite vistas was as much a social event as a means to the destination. Indeed, the 3-day sojourn was the vacation.
But, I am getting ahead of myself because the journey was to take place in a month, and my father and I had just taken a 1 hour bus ride to come to the station to purchase the tickets. Specifically, reserve five berths on a second class three tier sleeper carriage.
My father had explained to me that the Howrah-Mumbai express, the train that would take us across the country, had a quota of 8 berths for Dhanbad. If we stayed in line all night, we may be able to secure five berths when the reservations ticket window at 6 AM. We may not get the date of our choosing, but we should be able to get the 5 berths.
On the date of departure, we would come to Dhanbad station with cases of luggage and bedding wrapped into a bundle. My father would walk around asking the porters, and the book stall vendors, regarding the likely location of the second class, three tier, sleeper coach (called bogie) on the Howrah-Mumbai mail. It was critical to be located close to the coach as the train only stopped for 3 minutes. When the train arrived, he had to find the coach, verify our names/berths tacked to the side of the carriage, get all the luggage in with the help of porters and find our berths. Only then, we would settle down and enjoy the three day trip.
Image credit: Author
Author:
Chandrakant D. Patel, PE
HP Senior Fellow, Technology Strategy and Leader of the Global Technical Community,
HP
