Lalu Prasad has made the Indian Railways sexy. When the “white elephant” started delivering profits, the third largest rail network in the world started turning heads at Harvard, Wharton, IIM, and its ceo was hailed as a manager even the best business minds could learn from.

But the Railways doesn’t need to be out of the red for many of us to love it. It doesn’t have to be clean, fast or run on time. All it needs to do is keep swaying through paddy fields that stretch to the horizon, through the bustle of stations and the cries of chai-caafi. There is a romance that no airline — and definitely no low-cost carrier or cattle class — can compete with, no matter what the chic girls in red skirts try to sell you...

Love story

Size, in this case, doesn’t matter. Yes, the Indian Railways is huge. Born in 1853, it now has 72,029 kilometres of track, runs 11,000 trains a day of which 7,000 ferry 13 million passengers — all of which call for a staff strength of 1.54 million, making it one of the world’s largest employers. But none of this substantially adds to the allure.

What does?

Sipping milky tea at dimly-lit, unknown stations. Waking up in the middle of the night to see shadowy rivers, mines or houses passing by and watching the sun rise with bleary eyes. Unpacking cartons of luchi-alu dum that never tasted half as good at home. Striking up conversations with the man in the bunk opposite yours whom you will never see again. Blowing up an air pillow and preparing to go to bed in the narrow, rocking berth…

And then, there is cinema. Not everyone understands Kareena Kapoor in Jab We Met identifying every crisis in her life with the feeling that she is missing a train (“aisa lag raha tha jaise koi train chhoot raha tha”); but almost all can relate to her love for a train journey.

The train has served as incubator for many a love story, backdrop for a fight sequence and platform for comedy and searing chemistry alike (see box).

Away from time

“I like the rocking movement of the train. It’s very de-stressing,” says Arijit Nag, team leader at a content writing firm. It takes you places you wouldn’t otherwise go. “It gives a feel of rural India,” muses Devleena Chakraverty, a media professional. It is like living in a place without time. “I enjoy the leisurely pace of the journey and the scenes that pass by,” feels Anish Roychowdhury, 29.

It is more fun when you have a big group of friends or family travelling with you. “Once we tried doing a planchet in a train while on a school trip. So there were about 60 hyperactive, highly-excitable 14-year-olds trying to contact spirits! Fellow passengers and teachers accompanying us were not very amused,” laughs Sonal Gupta, a 22-year-old student.

Travelling alone has its entertaining moments, too. Devleena remembers the time she was travelling alone and in the middle of the night one woman in the next berth had rolled off her bunk. “I woke up on hearing a thud and found that this middle-aged lady in the next berth had fallen off. She wasn’t hurt, but was really dazed,” she recalls.

And then that first crush. “I was in Class VI at the time and was travelling by train to Jodhpur. During the journey I met this girl roughly my age and that was the first crush of my life,” smiles Sudipto Karmakar, a 23-year-old student.

The trains even have their own fan club — the Indian Railways Fan Club, or IRFCA. It is a discussion group that connects “railfans” in India and the rest of the world. The ‘A’ stands for America as it was originally started by a bunch of Indian students studying there. There are 5,000 railfans in India, of whom 20 are from Calcutta. This is too small a number, feel members. “You cannot imagine how many fans of the railways are there in the US and the UK,” says Samit Roychoudhury, who has written the Great Indian Railways Atlas.

Another passion is station food. Piping hot samosas, muri and telebhaja, alu-puri, syrupy jalebis, omelettes and cutlets, ice lollies and the regional delicacy of whichever area the train might be passing through.

Pet peeves

Topping the list is the bathroom. Enough to put even the staunchest lover of trains off the journey. Perhaps the promised “green loos” will help improve the situation on the platform, but what about the train?

But we won’t raise a stink here. A more critical logistic hurdle — and this is where low-cost air-travel really wins — is time. “An overnight train journey is good enough, but after that it begins to get boring. For work, I always prefer to take a flight,” explains Devleena.

Srijita Datta, a 23-year-old Master’s student, avoids taking the train when she travels to appear for entrance exams. “Who needs the stress of turning up late?” she asks.

Travellers demand that trains learn to follow the time-table. “A lot of trains have hiked fares and have been renamed super-fast, with little or no change in speed,” complains government employee Tamal Bhattacharyya who travels from Dhanbad to Calcutta every weekend. “All of us keep a window of at least one hour if we have plans on the day we are reaching our destination,” adds Mrinalini Ray, a business analyst.

Ticket booking trouble, difficulty accessing information and poor quality food are other complaints. Security issues are a more pressing concern. Mrinalini recalls being woken up and forced to accommodate a family of three on one berth. “People who don’t have reservation should be stopped from boarding coaches. There should be more guards.” “All I need is a smoking zone,” sighs Diptish Bose, a software professional.

Daily distress

For daily passengers, trains are a mixed blessing. “I have been travelling on the Khardah-Sealdah route since 1991, first as a student and then for work. There are advantages; it is fast and there is less pollution,” explains Subhasish Roy, an employee at HSBC bank. But the many drawbacks often make it difficult to enjoy the benefits. “Trains need to be more punctual. It’s improved a little of late, but there’s scope for much more. The infrastructure is so poor that a mild storm can disrupt services.”

Trains should have more coaches to handle the rush. And they should definitely run on time. A bit of luxury wouldn’t be off the mark, either. “I would welcome first-class compartments on local trains, the way they have in Mumbai. They will have better seats and the higher fare will ensure that it’s not too crowded,” says Roy.

Roll on

No one can blame Indian Railways for not having moved with the times. Online bookings, enquiry, a website that offers information on the latest schemes, benefits for the frequent traveller... technology has improved accessibility. “Between April 2007 and February 2008, Eastern Railways has carried 84 crore passengers, an increase of four crore from the corresponding period in the previous year. One reason why trains continue to be popular is the fare. Indian Railways have not really hiked fares in the past five years,” says a source at Eastern Railways. Even those who don’t take trains anymore miss those days of languorous travel. Rues Devleena: “When I was a kid, train travel was a big event. It took time and planning. Now you hop on to a plane, go somewhere and fly back the same day. The charm is gone.”

When taking a train means two days of precious time off coaxed out of a reluctant boss, trains are all but ruled out. But the memories are still as sweet.