The chain, with a handle and painted red, was a fixture that we'd got used to seeing in all the trains during the years of train travel that were undertaken in the course of our lives. It would have served the purpose of bringing the train to a halt in case of dire emergencies in the days of old. Lately, it's been misused to stop the train at unscheduled stations or more commonly, at the outer of a busy station to make a quick getaway to either cover a ticket less travel or to head for a destination without having to cut through the town's messy roads, causing undue delays for the passengers who're continuing with their journey!
All these would now become a thing of the past with the Indian Railways building new coaches sans the chain. In these days of sophisticated communications - cellphones, satellite phones et all - informing the driver, to stop the train if required, is easily possible. Technological advancements must be incorporated to keep important services meaningful, state of the art and user friendly.
Let me try to recount at least ten changes that I've seen in train travel since my childhood days and I shall try to put them down chronologically, to the extent feasible and so, here, I go:-
* The substitution of the steam locomotives with diesel and electric traction.
* The much reduced incidents of connecting up carriages, broken from one train to be hitched on
to another due to the increased number of trains and better connectivity.
* The vestibule connectivity because of which one can disembark from and reembark on to the
train as per convenience.
* No requirement to eat at/from the railway eateries as the vendors give you packed meals at your
seats.
* The loss of feel (One could ship in plenty of dust and soot in the process) of the nature and its breathtaking sights while travelling in air conditioned carriages.
* One hardly comes across even the names of the stations enroute because of the advent of
super fast trains which have minimum stoppages.
* No requirement to collect drinking water from railway stations as bottled water has come to
stay.
* The use of computers and recharging of cellphones in carriages have become more common.
* Computerisation has helped people to buy their tickets online, reducing/eliminating the time
required at standing queues at the stations!
* Improved communications have brought about a 'virtual reduction' of distances, thereby
reducing the need to 'see off' people departing by train. Perhaps, a platform ticket @ Rs.10/-
is an added dampener.
* Personal luggage accompanying the passengers have been reduced to a couple of pieces or
at the most, three to four because of efficient road freight and permissible during one's transfer!
Tailpiece.
It's against this backdrop that I'd like to recall my first journey to the NDA on 10 Jan '73:-
- The journey from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam was by meter gauge. The entire family,
including my grandparents, had come to see me off at the station and it was an occasion for many
moist eyes!
- From Ernakulam Junction, there was a carriage earmarked as the 'NDA Special' which was
hitched on to the Kerala Express, bound for Madras.
- At Arkonam, our carriage with five others were broken for a six hour halt, before being hitched
on to the Madras-Dadar Express.
- Poona - as Pune was known then - was reached at 0830h on the third day since I'd commenced
my journey!
All these would now become a thing of the past with the Indian Railways building new coaches sans the chain. In these days of sophisticated communications - cellphones, satellite phones et all - informing the driver, to stop the train if required, is easily possible. Technological advancements must be incorporated to keep important services meaningful, state of the art and user friendly.
Let me try to recount at least ten changes that I've seen in train travel since my childhood days and I shall try to put them down chronologically, to the extent feasible and so, here, I go:-
* The substitution of the steam locomotives with diesel and electric traction.
* The much reduced incidents of connecting up carriages, broken from one train to be hitched on
to another due to the increased number of trains and better connectivity.
* The vestibule connectivity because of which one can disembark from and reembark on to the
train as per convenience.
* No requirement to eat at/from the railway eateries as the vendors give you packed meals at your
seats.
* The loss of feel (One could ship in plenty of dust and soot in the process) of the nature and its breathtaking sights while travelling in air conditioned carriages.
* One hardly comes across even the names of the stations enroute because of the advent of
super fast trains which have minimum stoppages.
* No requirement to collect drinking water from railway stations as bottled water has come to
stay.
* The use of computers and recharging of cellphones in carriages have become more common.
* Computerisation has helped people to buy their tickets online, reducing/eliminating the time
required at standing queues at the stations!
* Improved communications have brought about a 'virtual reduction' of distances, thereby
reducing the need to 'see off' people departing by train. Perhaps, a platform ticket @ Rs.10/-
is an added dampener.
* Personal luggage accompanying the passengers have been reduced to a couple of pieces or
at the most, three to four because of efficient road freight and permissible during one's transfer!
Tailpiece.
It's against this backdrop that I'd like to recall my first journey to the NDA on 10 Jan '73:-
- The journey from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam was by meter gauge. The entire family,
including my grandparents, had come to see me off at the station and it was an occasion for many
moist eyes!
- From Ernakulam Junction, there was a carriage earmarked as the 'NDA Special' which was
hitched on to the Kerala Express, bound for Madras.
- At Arkonam, our carriage with five others were broken for a six hour halt, before being hitched
on to the Madras-Dadar Express.
- Poona - as Pune was known then - was reached at 0830h on the third day since I'd commenced
my journey!
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