First Class

In the latest embarrassment for Melbourne's Connex suburban train service, up to 15 people rode in the driver's cabin of a train rather than cram into its packed carriages. Maybe its time to take a deep breath and remember the millions of commuters around the world struggling to move around their city.
First Class local travel on the Mumbai train network is the way we get around when we know we have to get somewhere on time. Driving is ridiculous as the roads are in poor condition and are extremely congested. The local joke about the roads is that there is a road digging crew and a road fixing crew and the road fixing crew are about 5 months behind, so it is left until they are ready... Things happen slowly here.

So what is First Class??
First class is a ticket which costs about 5 times that of a of Second and Third Class tciket, making it affordable for the middle class business types of the city who get to enjoy the plush surrounds.
The air conditioning is a mixture of ceiling fans and open windows and doors. None of that time consuming "doors closing, please stand clear" no doors, no problem! no "Mind the gap" or "behind the line is fine" either as time is of the essence with commiters very skilled at jumping on and off a moving train through a crowd of people.

The seats are a step up from the wooden slats of Second Class, although it is still frowned upon when feet are placed on the seats... when you can get a seat.
We were lucky this day, on the way home around 6pm from the city the train was empty for much of the journey, unlike the trip to the city 5 hours earlier.
Jo and I stood on Platform 4, Vile Parle Station, at the red and yellow markings on the platform signifying First Class carriages, scanning for the corresponding painted markings on the carriages. As they came to a halt we could see every carriage was bursting, men hanging out of the doors to get some air. So we split up in the hope of some space. Jo headed for the Ladies carriage, (there is one per train), and I pushed my way onto my First Class luxury and went about making some personal space for myself with my book and bag.

It was the First Class carriages on the Western Line which were targeted in the terrorist bomb blasts of July 11, 2006 which killed over 170 people in seven blasts. Our journey from Vile Parle to Churchgate takes us through the blast sites where the only reminder is that of posters, the same the world over, warning to be mindful of abandoned bags. Unfortunately the train is the only way to go in this city as you never know when traffic will strike and more hours of your life will be spent inching forard, breathing the exhaust of the car, bus and rickshaw surrounding you. The great thing is that the trains are inexpensive and if one is pulling out of the station as you arrive, you need only wait 2 to 5 minutes for the next one...