Rail Travel
Our first experience of Indian railways was at Madras Central station, quite a monument to the Victorian builders, with an imposing clock tower. The scene within the terminal appeared like a Cecil B de Mille crowd scene with a cast of thousands, all races, all ages, colourfully dressed, ebbing and flowing in continuous streams around the clusters of folk sitting on the ground, piles of hessian stacks, luggage trolleys and porters (yes porters) in large numbers. The stations had all the ancillary offices that British stations used to have: parcels office, left luggage, luggage in advance etc.
The stations of quite small towns can accommodate lengthy trains. The approach of an express is heralded by recorded message announcements of the class of each carriage, which stop alongside the appropriate number marked on the platform. At one station, we heard a melodious bell warning of the imminent arrival of a train. A young lady in a sari repeatedly hit a two foot length of rail, hanging from the roof with a substantial bolt (of the sort used to fix rails together). I saw in the duty station master's office at one station modern signal displays and controls, but also - disused - an old signalling device that communicated messages by the deflection of compass needles.
Our journey to Coimbatore was in the relatively posh air-conditioned chair class. This meant that there were only 5 seats across, but the carriage was relatively spacious, albeit of a rather battered appearance. The typical express has 18 carriages, including a pantry car and a ladies car, and about 2000 passengers. A constant procession of snack vendors pass along the corridor, bearing all manner of goodies with enticing smells (which as westeners we dared not sample, and had to stick to depressingly bland hotel provided sandwiches). The carriage doors open inwards, which means you can stand or sit in the open doorway, enjoying the landscape.
The typical express had 18 carriages
As in the U.K where only part of the network is electrified, diesels cover the gaps between electrified parts. The difference is that the network is being expanded, with single tracks being doubled. Much track maintenance is still completely manual, with ladies taking part in the track gangs, sometimes with their young children playing alongside them.
Not everything has been modernised!