How about this for a stunning statistic? Indian railways: 2,16,717 wagons, 39,236 coaches, 14,444 daily trains, more than a million tonnes of freight everyday and 14 million passengers everyday covering 6,856 stations daily! (The stats)
Now, to come back to this post, I probably take, say, six train journeys a year, which makes 12 return train journeys… that is, well, about 2.2% of all trains in a year. Am not even calculating my proportion to the total number of passengers. I have had confirmed tickets, waitlisted tickets and RAC tickets. I have stood with a hundred others, waiting to peep over taller shoulders to see my name on the list.
And number of times the Indian railways has made a mistake in either mislocating my PNR number, putting me on a wrong seat, a wrong cabin or even a wrong train? None. Zilch. Zero. Not a single mistake. Ever.
I would say that is pretty stupendous. Not to say that they NEVER make a mistake. But, jesus, look at the odds! As for me, I am a fan of the Indian railways. It is one of the greatest levellers. Whether you are first class, second AC or a sleeper class passenger, you HAVE to jostle neck to neck with everyone else when the passenger charts are put up. And the best? We all get there at the same time….
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