The fact that local trains in Mumbai are its lifeline is very well known. The sheer volume of people that commute is mind boggling. I have myself used the trains to get to work for a large part of my working life. Its only about 4 years back that I started to drive to work, and mind you its a long drive, 31 kms one way to be precise.
I love driving but the evening drive back turns out to be quite a pain albeit a necessary evil too. If you choose to drive to work, well you gotta drive back. So when your car goes into the service centre and stays there for more than 2 days for some major overhauls, more on that later, you have no choice but to get on to the trains.
Peak hour traffic is quite another thing. I got on to the 8:30 train to CST and man was I elbowed out before I fought back and got inside the train. Sure signs of aging and even solid signs that driving, even though boring & painful, beats the stress of train travel hands down. But once inside, the train gets you to your destination faster than road and suddenly the train sounds a better option. So I guess the key is to pick a time where you can get into the train without a push or a shove.
When I used to travel by train to work, we had a standard up-down practise. Basically go up to Thane in the train which eventually will move down to CST. It guarantees you a seat, a window if you are agile & lucky. But such luxuries are ill afforded these days so picking the right time is the key to a comfortable train travel.
I am planning to attempt to pick the right time and use the train to get to work for a few days next month. This is primarily for a change since I am really fed up of driving. So lets see how it works out.
