Indian Railways - reminiscent of our past

Few weeks ago I had an opportunity to make a train trip to one of the most beautiful beaches in India. After ruling out lot of options we decided to make the overnight journey by train. I was anxiously looking forward to it as its been nearly thirteen years since I last traveled by The Indian Railways.... over these years as I grew up and graduated, post graduated and got myself more involved in the capital markets, I read a lot of how the dynamic railway ministers like Laloo Prasad Yadav had turned around the Indian Railways for the good. Even Harvard Business School had invited Mr Yadav to give a guest lecture on how he turned around the second largest employer in the World (for those who don't know, Indian Railways is the second largest employer in the World, after Walmart!!!).

But what really prompted me to write here is the fact that nothing seems to have changed in the last 13 years!! Definitely a lot many trains would have been added on newer routes but the quality of service and train journey remains the same. You still see the cockroaches in the cabins, the blankets, pillows and sheets still are not the most hygienic to be used and not to mention the same sorry state of the toilets.

I loved the food that used to be served in the trains in my childhood days as it gave me a feeling of an adventure outing, a change from the healthy home food. The menu hasn't really changed much in these 13 long years!! You still get the cutlet bread with butter and sauce for veggies and omelette bread for the non-veggies. The ubiquitous idli-vada sambhar chutney also has not lost its place from the menu options. The chai-chai-chai monotone immediately takes you back to your childhood days when the sound of bottle opener being swiped on cola bottles used to immediately lighten up the eyes knowing the cola man was coming...

In a way I feel the Railways have definitely preserved our past for the generations to come ahead. In our fast paced life when we don't think of any other option other than taking the flight in order to save time, I think one should make a train trip once in a while to feel the roots and also see the country side of the heartland. But nevertheless I think the government should take up a separate project to modernize the Indian railways. High speed trains like the ones that are a common sight in Europe and even our Asian neighbours of Japan and China should be introduced here. Heritage railways should be preserved separately!!