Parallel Action in India

[jis]

The leads into Howrah Station of Kolkata, India's largest station, allows three or four trains to arrive or depart simultaneously. Theoretically the most simultaneous operation possible is 9 trains in a mix of in and outbound, but I don't think anyone has ever seen that. This of course provides no end of entertainment to railfans, specially those armed with a video camera. Here is an example of triple simultaneous departure. It involves three trains going eventually on three different routes.

The videographer is on the Ganadevata Express hauled by an Alco derivative WDM3A class diesel (most likely Barddhaman shed), and it will eventually travel along what is known as the Main Line of the Eastern Railway to Barddhaman. The train adjacent to it is the Ranchi Shatabdi Express pulled by a Bombardier derivative WAP7 class electric from Howrah shed, and it is the fastest of the three trains involved. It will eventually travel on the Howrah Barddhaman Chord Line of the Eastern Railway, which carries most of the fast trains towards Delhi and to the North and Northeast. And the third train which you see briefly behind the Shatabdi at a distance is the Dhauli Express pulled by an indigenous WAP4 class electric engine from Shantragachhi shed, and it will head down the Howrah Kharagpur Main Line of the South Eastern Railway which carries trains to Mumbai and Chennai.In the latter half of this video, the Dhauli Express has already veered off the south behind the carriage yards that you see. The video is well annotated.



Oh, and HOG stand for Head End Generating, as opposed to EOG for End On Generating which is done in a Generator Car rather than in the engine.

Notice that the name of the home loco shed is prominently displayed on each engine. It is a matter of pride for each loco shed to present their locos in the best image as much as they can. Shantragachhi is the carriage and loco facility for South Eastern Railway serving Howrah. The Howrah Electric shed of Eastern Railway is actually in Liluah, and occupies the location which was once the Howrah Steam shed which housed dozens of the venerable IR/Baldwin designed WP Class streamlined steam locomotives.

 

[caravanman]

Nice videos. I enjoyed the slight pang of distress at around 2.40 where it looks as if the White Wap 7 loco is on collision course with "our" train, before realising both trains were changing lines at the same time!

I am just starting to think about another visit to India this autumn... Time to get those seats reserved !

Cheers,

Ed.

 

[jis]

Here is Part 2 of the OP video:



Notice the white reservations charts pasted next to one of the doors of each passenger car on the Shatabdi Express. Naturally the Guard/Luggage/Generator cars at each end don't have them since they don't carry any revenue passengers.

 

[cirdan]

Somewhat concerned about the number of pedestrians walking around on the tracks with little apparent caution or safety precautions.

 

[caravanman]

I noticed the pedestrians, they look so relaxed about being on the tracks.

Ed.

 

[hermit]

I noticed the pedestrians, they look so relaxed about being on the tracks.

Ed.

I was thinking the same thing!

 

[jis]

Pedestrians are on tracks all over the place in India.You just get used to it after a while. While there are pdestrian related accidents, they are surprisingly few and far between considering how many seem to be on the tracks in general.

 

[ScouseAndy]

Thanks for sharing this video, makes me want to go and visit and ride their trains

 

[cirdan]

Pedestrians are on tracks all over the place in India.You just get used to it after a while. While there are pdestrian related accidents, they are surprisingly few and far between considering how many seem to be on the tracks in general.

Are incidsents genuinely rare, or are they maybe so common that the media don't see any value in reporting them?

If I was the engineer on that locomotive I'd be totally freaked out.

 

[caravanman]

There are very many pedestrian casualties on Indian Railway tracks. We don't see that many folk walking around on the tracks in Europe or America, yet out of the few, several seem to get killed.

The death toll is said to be around 15,000 per year in India, so quite high... but if you have ever seen the crowds swarm across the tracks to change platforms, instead of use a footbridge, you would wonder how it is only 15,000 !

Best wishes for safe rail travel for all.

Ed.

 

[jis]

Nothing is reported in press unless it involves many people in a single shot. But we learn about it in railroad statistics which is published by IR.

Given the total number of people that are hanging out on tracks 15,000 is a rather small percentage. Of that 15,000 around 3,000+ is in Mumbai Suburban zone alone.

Absolute numbers are large by western standards. Purely from a statistical perspective though, one needs to factor in (a) the population density differences and the total population difference and the fact that trditionally rail ROWs have been used as pedestrian paths specially in difficult terrain due to lack of reasonable alternatives. It is an undesirable situation. The railways are trying to change it, but it will take a long time to change in any big way, is my guess.

 

[ScouseAndy]

Does that 15,000 include people falling off the trains and being killed or is that a seperate statistic? Ive always wondered how they allow so many to cling on to the sides and roofs of trains as you see the typical image of an Indian train in western media (yes I am aware that this is mostly if not exclusively suburban trains travelling at low speeds and not intercity trains) and what the loss of life is.

 

[jis]

Does that 15,000 include people falling off the trains and being killed or is that a seperate statistic? Ive always wondered how they allow so many to cling on to the sides and roofs of trains as you see the typical image of an Indian train in western media (yes I am aware that this is mostly if not exclusively suburban trains travelling at low speeds and not intercity trains) and what the loss of life is.

I am not sure. I will have to check.

I don;t think there is a acceptable open way to prevent what people do in a country where entire governments fall when people are prevented from doing whatever they want to on trains and such. Actually the situation on buses specially in rural back country is even worse. Most buses inevitably become double deckers with every spot on the roof taken.

Politicians love their jobs more than trying to convince people to try to not get themselves killed unfortunately. So no one is willing to bell this cat. The only solution is to provide enough capacity, and that is a very very expensive proposition in and of itself given how much suppl in terms of seat and standing room inventory is outstripped by demand.

Oddly enough, in all my travels in India, I have never been on a train that involved a fatality - though admittedly most of my travels have been on longer distance trains and not on suburban trains. And even though I have traveled probably an order of magnitude more miles by train in India than in the US, I have been on a train in the US that involved a fatality more than once! This is not really indicative of anything but it is a strange coincidence I think.

 

[caravanman]

I enjoyed hanging out the "always open" doors on my trip into Mumbai on the local train, and standing at the open door of my long distance trains with camera in hand.

I have never seen any train in India with folk on the roof, with electrification of many lines that would not be a great idea, and must be confined to slow rural trains nowadays.

On my first visit in 1983, we were invited to walk across a railway bridge over a river, near Badami. We were assured no trains were due, and, as I am still breathing today, none did arrive!

At the end of the day, the population of India is huge, and many require to travel, so the pressing need to be somewhere else forces folk to try to board already full train and bus services.

Ed.