0:00:02 > 0:00:05India is the largest democracy in the world.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11The head of state is a Muslim, the head of government is a Sikh
0:00:11 > 0:00:16and the head of the ruling political party is an Italian Catholic immigrant.
0:00:19 > 0:00:24Such cultural and religious diversity is unparalleled in the developing world.
0:00:27 > 0:00:33400 years ago Bombay was gifted by the Portuguese to the British as a dowry -
0:00:33 > 0:00:36a wedding gift.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38THEY SING: "Jingle Bells".
0:00:40 > 0:00:45When the British left, they bequeathed the foundations of a secular society,
0:00:45 > 0:00:53of democracy, the law, the Anglican church and the greatest railway system in all Asia.
0:00:58 > 0:01:04India is undergoing unprecedented growth and Bombay is its financial powerhouse.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09The city promotes a positive vision of the future,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12a place where dreams can come true.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16And for many the railway is their lifeline to that dream.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Happy Christmas!
0:01:22 > 0:01:26This is the story of the Bombay Railway.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51Within 30 years India's economy could rival America's
0:01:51 > 0:01:54and its population could outstrip China.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Agriculture still provides work for more than half of the population,
0:02:02 > 0:02:07but as everywhere, they are migrating to the cities in their millions.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13The draw of the city, the promise of a better life,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15is a universal dream.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21At its heart is Bombay -
0:02:21 > 0:02:23the city of dreams.
0:02:37 > 0:02:44Last year 13,000 Indians became millionaires, and the majority were from Bombay.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49A city of success, celebrity and wealth where, if you don't become
0:02:49 > 0:02:53a Bollywood star or a millionaire, you can at least make a living.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57What made it all possible in India, was the coming of the railway.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11The British laid the first railway line in Bombay 150 years ago,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15since when Indian Railways have been adding to their system.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23Now it's the biggest railway system in Asia.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32Every year, they celebrate that first run, with a little bit of nostalgia and a lot of steam.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34The first railway train
0:03:34 > 0:03:38which ran in India was way back in 1853, 16th April.
0:03:41 > 0:03:48It was decided that 16th of April of every year will be declared as the Railway Week.
0:03:48 > 0:03:56This steam locomotive is a WP class of locomotive manufactured by Baldwin company of USA.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06It's a beautiful sight to see a steam locomotive fully steamed up, ready to go.
0:04:28 > 0:04:35But today we are handling about 60-65,000 passengers per hour.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41On both systems of Central Railway and Western Railway
0:04:41 > 0:04:44we carry more than six million passengers a day - a day!
0:04:59 > 0:05:03There are more than 2,000 trains a day on the suburban network
0:05:03 > 0:05:06and hundreds more on long distance routes.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10The suburban railway alone moves the equivalent of
0:05:10 > 0:05:14the entire population of a small country in and out of the city every day.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26The railway is reliable. It's cheap, and very, very crowded.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33They may have changed Bombay to Mumbai, but in an ever-changing city,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37the railway has remained the only constant in most peoples' lives.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48BIRDS CAW
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Mumbai rises early.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00The first ritual of the day is to bathe.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02WATER GUSHES
0:06:04 > 0:06:10Whether Hindu or Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Sikh,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13life revolves around hard work,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17duty to the family and devotion to your god.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21And the railway is a family.
0:06:21 > 0:06:28From father to son, generation to generation, the railway in India is so much more than a train ride.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30It's a way of life.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Hans Dev Sharma is a senior operations clerk.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58He works in the timetabling department which schedules thousands of trains a day.
0:06:58 > 0:07:06So Hans is an optimist and one of the railway's happiest employees.
0:07:06 > 0:07:07Morning, sir.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29It was a craze to get a government job and it was also saying that
0:07:29 > 0:07:32a government job was very relaxing job, nothing to do over there.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Before the railways, Hans started life as an actor,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49specialising in character roles, and comedy is his thing.
0:07:53 > 0:07:59When it's crowded, the faces of these handles becomes like this.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07And when it's empty the faces they becomes like, very happy.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Hans works at Churchgate, Mumbai's busiest railway station.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30He comes from a railway family.
0:08:30 > 0:08:36His father was in the signals department and Hans followed in his footsteps at the tender age of 21.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47She looks after me. I look after her work.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49That's it.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52She's Pradnia, colleague of mine.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54He's CITT.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Hans is just one of a million and a half employees of the Indian Railways -
0:08:59 > 0:09:02now the biggest civil employer in the world.
0:09:02 > 0:09:08It's an administrative hothouse invented by the British and expanded upon by the Indians.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11It generates a mountain of paperwork,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14but even with the introduction of computers,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Hans' office isn't quite paper-free.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Computers have helped him in working out the timetable.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Now it only takes half the time.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27So when the timetable's done, there's plenty of administration
0:09:27 > 0:09:30to deal with, some of which requires that personal touch.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Because the railways is state-owned, it's governed by the principals of the constitution.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57And to ensure that the organisation reflects the society it serves,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00it has employment quotas.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04It has a sports quota,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08a scheduled caste quota,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10a disabled quota
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and a cultural quota.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18Hans Dev Sharma was talent-spotted by the railways
0:10:18 > 0:10:20as an exceptional actor and dancer.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26He was auditioned and examined and subsequently offered a job.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I had seen Bollywood and I had reached to the mark,
0:10:31 > 0:10:37if I give more time to Bollywood I can be a good character artist, a renowned one.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41But I am not giving as well as I am giving preference to Railways first
0:10:41 > 0:10:43because that is my say, bread and butter.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51For the sake of his family, Hans the actor and comedian
0:10:51 > 0:10:53accepted a secure job with the railway,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56rather than pursue a career in Bollywood.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02In his time he's appeared in a few TV soaps, a couple of small
0:11:02 > 0:11:07budget films, and his son Arun also wants a career on the stage.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14MUSIC AND EXCITED CHATTER
0:11:15 > 0:11:19The mission of the cultural group is to entertain and enhance
0:11:19 > 0:11:22the cultural wellbeing of the railway workforce.
0:11:22 > 0:11:29Tonight's play is based upon a story from the Mahabharata, and Hans is playing Krishna, the lead role.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36I'm portraying a character whom everybody knows in India especially and abroad also.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Everybody is being known by Krishna, who is Krishna.
0:11:42 > 0:11:48For that purpose I have to play a cunning smile and an angry role.
0:11:48 > 0:11:49Tricky.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57EERIE MUSIC PLAYS
0:12:28 > 0:12:31The railway audience may not be huge,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35but acting is a vocation for Hans, so he has satisfaction in the art.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03TRAFFIC NOISE
0:13:09 > 0:13:16In a country where aspirations are rising, Mumbai is the epicentre of the modern Indian world.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Its population growth is staggering.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25And it remains India's most successful city. And it's Bollywood.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33More Indian films were released in Britain last year than British films.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38Stars are paid in millions and millions can even be won on TV game shows.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43And each week Indians buy a million new mobile phones.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Jagdish Paul is part of the new generation of Mumbaikers.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59Confident, educated, ambitious for the good things in life.
0:14:02 > 0:14:08The son of a Railway Catering Officer, Jagdish, like his father, always had an interest in food,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12but unlike his father he had no interest in the railway.
0:14:33 > 0:14:40Jagdish graduated in politics and economics, did a law degree and then became a fully qualified chef.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43But the railways were calling him back.
0:14:52 > 0:14:58You can travel anywhere on the subcontinent by long distance train from here.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03With journeys sometimes lasting days, passengers need just two things.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06A reservation, and something to eat.
0:15:07 > 0:15:14Catering on long distance trains has for some time been tendered out to private companies.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19In a sealed bid, Jagdish won the contract for one of the railway's
0:15:19 > 0:15:24most popular long-distance routes from Mumbai to Goa and the South.
0:16:49 > 0:16:56Mumbai is a city of dreams where, they say, the streets are paved with gold.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03They also say that the city never sleeps - and neither does the railway.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09In a city driven by profit, the suburban railway system runs
0:17:09 > 0:17:14at a loss, and it operates almost 24 hours of the day.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22The railway is a lifeline for the population and an essential service for the city it serves.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29All the growth that's taking place in this country, a lot of it can be attributed to the
0:17:29 > 0:17:32robust working of this organisation.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39You have areas where you can't make profits.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42But you can't abandon your people there.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45You have areas where you have only two trains going in a system.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49If you take them away, because they are not making profit, then the people
0:17:49 > 0:17:55will have nothing to fall back upon and probably it will in the long run
0:17:55 > 0:17:59work as an impediment to the economic progress of that area.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02CLICK
0:18:04 > 0:18:06BELL CHIMES TWICE
0:18:06 > 0:18:08TRAIN HORN BLOWS
0:18:22 > 0:18:27The first commuter train sets off from the outskirts of the city
0:18:27 > 0:18:28at 3.40 in the morning,
0:18:28 > 0:18:34and the first commuters are village people bringing their produce to market.
0:18:48 > 0:18:54Without the railway, millions of people and the families they support just could not survive.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41While we like to keep our head above water, yet we have
0:19:41 > 0:19:44been discharging our duties for the society everywhere
0:19:44 > 0:19:47and the Mumbai Suburban system is one of that.
0:19:59 > 0:20:06Mumtaz Khazi is the daughter of a railwayman and she drives commuter trains on the suburban network.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Mumtaz was brought up in a traditional Muslim family -
0:20:18 > 0:20:21a railway family.
0:20:21 > 0:20:28And like most railway families, their house was literally right by the side of the tracks.
0:21:34 > 0:21:40Mumtaz Khazi was studying at university, when she saw an ad in the newspaper.
0:22:26 > 0:22:33Mumtaz became Asia's first woman loco diesel driver and has driven trains all over India.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40But now she has a family of her own, and she's settled into the railway life in Mumbai,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43driving trains on the suburban network.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51She lives at Sion colony, just a few stations from where she grew up.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54All her immediate family emigrated to Canada.
0:22:54 > 0:23:02And now her father's retired there too, so Mumtaz is the only member left in Mumbai.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06And in a few days, her brother is coming from Toronto
0:23:06 > 0:23:11and she's been asked to find him a suitable wife and arrange his marriage.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Mumtaz has to find a wife for her brother,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31to get him married in Mumbai,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34and then back to Canada in just eight weeks.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53After independence, the constitution of India proclaimed it
0:23:53 > 0:23:57"a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republic."
0:23:57 > 0:24:05With 395 articles, it is perhaps the longest and most detailed constitution in the world.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06COMMANDS ARE SHOUTED
0:24:09 > 0:24:10CYMBALS CRASH
0:24:10 > 0:24:12TRUMPET PLAYS
0:24:12 > 0:24:15The railways were nationalised after independence and remains
0:24:15 > 0:24:21a state-funded organisation with a huge budget, second only to the Ministry of Defence.
0:24:25 > 0:24:30So, the railways celebrate Republic Day with all the pageantry befitting
0:24:30 > 0:24:34one of the country's most important national assets.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40But beneath the ceremony and ritual, the railway still remains
0:24:40 > 0:24:44quietly committed to all the principles of that constitution.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52So, when Mumbai's population is swelled by a couple of million pilgrims,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56the railway simply takes it in its stride.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Each year the city fathers and Indian Railways play host to
0:25:07 > 0:25:13an extra two million rural peoples who invade their city for four days.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15They are know as the Dalit -
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- the untouchable caste. - SHOUTING
0:25:19 > 0:25:23They're all devotees of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar -
0:25:23 > 0:25:30one of the architects of the Indian constitution and champion of the downtrodden poor of India.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33PEOPLE SING
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Before Ambedkar's intervention, the Dalit were virtual slaves.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Ambedkar opened up opportunities in education for them,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50made quotas for government jobs like the railways,
0:25:50 > 0:25:52and he secured their right to vote.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57SHOUTING AND CHEERING
0:25:57 > 0:26:00The railway provides these pilgrims with special free travel
0:26:00 > 0:26:04and the city gives them a free place to stay.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08Ambedkar gave them their freedom.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13For four days and nights they show their respect to the man who himself
0:26:13 > 0:26:17was born a Dalit, but who died a saint.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43At Mumbai's international airport, Mumtaz and her family
0:26:43 > 0:26:48are meeting her brother Feroz, who's just arrived from Canada.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50He's come in search of a wife.
0:26:50 > 0:26:56Mumtaz has the responsibility of finding a suitor and marrying him off in the next two months.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00In Toronto?
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Arranged marriages in India, whether Hindu, Muslim or even Christian,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12are what most people prefer.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17Mumtaz and Feroz come from a traditional Muslim background
0:27:17 > 0:27:23and although he may now live in Canada, the family believe his suitor is best found in Mumbai.
0:27:27 > 0:27:33Today, 90% of all marriages in India are arranged.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Yet less than 2% ever get divorced.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43An arranged marriage is a family affair -
0:27:43 > 0:27:49not just the joining of husband and wife, but the joining of two extended Indian families.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39He's sure he didn't put it in the bag that is lost.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Feroz is a product engineer,
0:28:41 > 0:28:45searching for a bride in Mumbai to take back to Canada.
0:28:45 > 0:28:52Finding a wife with a good education and a degree is must for this middle class Indian boy.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54No degree, no marriage.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01CAR HORNS HOOT
0:29:03 > 0:29:05HE SHOUTS AND THEY CHEER
0:29:05 > 0:29:10In a fast changing India, education is seen as the only route
0:29:10 > 0:29:15to a middle class life, secure, and free from poverty.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Private schools are full
0:29:20 > 0:29:25and colleges and universities are turning out graduates in record numbers.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30And they're all looking for a job.
0:29:42 > 0:29:48So whenever vacancies arise, Indian Railways are inundated with applications.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53You can pick up an application form around most stations
0:29:53 > 0:29:56and for a few rupees they'll show you how to fill it in.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03The railway receives so many applications in fact,
0:30:03 > 0:30:08that they have to hold examinations almost monthly at centres across the city.
0:30:12 > 0:30:18It's a high security operation with an armed escort by the railway's own police force.
0:30:44 > 0:30:52Whether you are a budding driver, a clerk or a signalman, the odds of success are about sixty to one.
0:30:59 > 0:31:06At exam centres around the city, 18,000 hopefuls are cramming up to the last minute.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11At stake are 300 vacancies for Group D clerical jobs.
0:31:21 > 0:31:28Many of the candidates are graduates and the exams are tough - in both English and Hindi.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34But the rewards are guaranteed.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37A job with the railways is an attractive proposition
0:31:37 > 0:31:40because if you are successful, it's a job for life.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44Free medical care, a pension, housing...
0:31:44 > 0:31:47security for you and your family in this life...
0:31:47 > 0:31:50and maybe beyond.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57In a city where there's a chronic shortage of housing
0:31:57 > 0:32:02and where seven million people live in slums, finding a home is difficult.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07But for railway employees, housing comes with the job.
0:32:07 > 0:32:13They're all allocated accommodation in one of the railway's many colonies.
0:32:13 > 0:32:19And Badhwar Park is the best railway address in town.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24It's home to Mumbai's top 250 railway officers and their families.
0:32:46 > 0:32:52In a city where real estate prices are as high as New York or London,
0:32:52 > 0:32:59to live in a three bedroom apartment in the centre of town is beyond the means of all but the very rich.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07I think the cost of our flats...
0:33:07 > 0:33:12the market value of that I'm telling you is more than 30 millions or so...
0:33:12 > 0:33:17In terms of Rupees, I'm telling you, more than 30 million to 40 million.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22We just can't imagine living in such a place.
0:33:24 > 0:33:29But officers of the railway live here with their families for just a nominal rent.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35The railway family of Badhwar Park is conservative and traditional.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Its clubs and societies reflect a colonial past.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43But its confidence and success are very much of today.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46I declare this meet open...
0:34:00 > 0:34:06Badhwar Park is an exclusive colony for the railway's top managers.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08And it's a one-off.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13You may be there for four years, maybe forty - it depends on your next posting.
0:34:32 > 0:34:38But for the majority of railway employees, colonies provide a simple but comfortable home.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Such care makes for a stable and traditional family environment.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51And most importantly,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53a contented workforce.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56This is my railway colony...
0:34:56 > 0:35:01and we are at the prime location of Bombay. That is Santa Cruz East.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05SMASHING GLASS HE LAUGHS
0:35:08 > 0:35:11We're giving rent - nominal rent.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15Free facilities, free maintenance, nothing to be bothered about.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20It is very near to airport.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Very near to station, obviously. TRAIN TOOTS
0:35:23 > 0:35:29Near to station means we are very much in a helping hand of railways -
0:35:29 > 0:35:33to go by railway, for the railways, to the railways.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38The concept of the railway colony as an essential ingredient
0:35:38 > 0:35:42for a happy and efficient workforce, was a British import.
0:35:42 > 0:35:4660 years after they left, it's still working well.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50There hasn't been a strike on the railways since 1972.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08The British construction of the railways revolutionised the economy of the country
0:36:08 > 0:36:12and transformed Mumbai into the commercial capital of the Arabian Sea.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25Victoria Terminus was positioned to face the port,
0:36:25 > 0:36:29a beacon of empire and international trade.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35It was a statement of imperial power and success.
0:36:42 > 0:36:48Built by the Great India Peninsula Railway in 1888 to house its headquarters,
0:36:48 > 0:36:52Victoria Terminus was to the British Empire
0:36:52 > 0:36:55what the Taj Mahal was to the Moguls.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02It's over a hundred years since VT was built.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07Now it's called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus -
0:37:07 > 0:37:11it's become a World Heritage site.
0:37:11 > 0:37:17The British brought the railways to India and now it's the railways that bring many of them back.
0:37:19 > 0:37:26At VT station a group of train enthusiasts are making a nostalgic journey into the world of steam.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29If you want to have a look, see where you're sitting...
0:37:32 > 0:37:38John and Les, Chris and Alex, and their leader, Peter - an accountant from Doncaster -
0:37:38 > 0:37:42have all come here to live the train spotter's dream.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46There's a travelling ticket inspector down at the bottom there where I want to take a picture...
0:37:46 > 0:37:51If anybody wants to wander down and have a look at the loco then by all means do.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54Should the train go while you're down there, just get in at
0:37:54 > 0:37:57the nearest doorway and amble back here at the first stop.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02We like trains, y'know...
0:38:02 > 0:38:07I've always had a big interest,
0:38:07 > 0:38:13but I've never quite found time to follow up as much as I would like.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18We're going to do this line to Matheran
0:38:18 > 0:38:23which has a locomotive which came originally from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27So we want to see that, photograph it, travel behind it.
0:38:27 > 0:38:33Unfortunately the line has been closed up to Matheran due to a landslide.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35We can go part way only.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42- It's a pocket atlas... - This is a very unhandy map!
0:38:45 > 0:38:46WHISTLE BLOWS
0:38:52 > 0:38:58It all stems from when I was a child and there was a railway at the bottom of the garden, I think.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01And I haven't recovered from that yet!
0:39:06 > 0:39:12I'm a signal engineer... I can bore for Britain on signals!
0:39:14 > 0:39:20When the heat of the plains became too hot for the Raj, they headed for the hills
0:39:20 > 0:39:26where a cooler climate, an airy bungalow and a cold beer could ease the burden of empire.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42TRAIN WHISTLE SHRIEKS
0:39:45 > 0:39:47TRAIN WHISTLES
0:39:51 > 0:39:56INDIAN MUSIC PLAYS
0:40:02 > 0:40:06The Matheran was a hill top resort with fresh air, stunning views
0:40:06 > 0:40:10and reportedly, 'free from any suspicion of malaria.'
0:40:10 > 0:40:13But to get there, they needed a railway.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22The line was built by the son of a wealthy Indian, who established the
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Matheran Steam Light Tramway Company which opened the line in 1907.
0:40:31 > 0:40:38Today's trip is only as far as Jumupatti Station - normally just an hour or so from the railhead.
0:40:38 > 0:40:44But with the train at their disposal, they're determined to get as many drive-bys as they can.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47So it could take much longer.
0:40:47 > 0:40:53Cameras loaded, cards sent, diaries written, it's the high point
0:40:53 > 0:40:58of a two week hill station tour, from where the British once ruled India.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Today, it's a very different story.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12I couldn't believe it when I heard they'd been bowled out for 323...
0:41:12 > 0:41:16The Matheran Railway was merely a means to an end for the British Raj.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20To these steam enthusiasts, it's a minor miracle.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24But today's Indian Railways has even greater ambitions...
0:41:24 > 0:41:26TRAINS HOOTS LOUDLY
0:41:38 > 0:41:44The British once dreamed of building a railway line along the coast from Mumbai to the south.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47But they decided it was too costly and too difficult.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52But in 1990, Indian Railways started building.
0:41:52 > 0:41:59Known as the Konkan Railway, it took eight years to complete, and it's recognised as an engineering marvel.
0:42:20 > 0:42:25Ninety one tunnels, over 2,000 bridges and 700 kilometres long,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28it runs to Kerala and the south.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36It was the railway's most ambitious project in the last ten years...
0:42:36 > 0:42:40and it's knocked eighteen hours off the journey time.
0:42:41 > 0:42:46Mumbai to Goa is the most popular and most profitable stretch on the Konkan line.
0:42:46 > 0:42:51In recent years it's become a regular route for the city's middle classes.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55THEY SING NOISILY
0:42:55 > 0:43:00Goa - a place to relax, suitable for family holidays, for those all important office away-days.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04And for the young, it's a place to party.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08Why Goa? Because a) the men have all the profit.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13After long working days, you have good-looking women, you have lots of water, you have lots of booze.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18As for the women, you have lots of good-looking men, lots of of water, lots of booze - that's why!
0:43:21 > 0:43:23It's a kind of a chill zone there.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26You don't think about your work there.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28It's completely free - relaxed.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31You just get up in the morning, and hit the beach...
0:43:31 > 0:43:34just laze around on the beach and do what you want.
0:43:43 > 0:43:50Jagdish Raj and his crew are in the pantry car cooking dinner for the passengers.
0:43:50 > 0:43:55At less than a pound for a chicken fried rice, it's cheap, very cheap.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:44:04 > 0:44:07Chicken fried rice, chicken chilli, chicken noodles...
0:44:07 > 0:44:09Chicken tikka, no?
0:44:09 > 0:44:12With a menu of simple continental, Chinese, and Indian food...
0:44:12 > 0:44:14a thousand passengers a day...
0:44:14 > 0:44:16seven days a week...
0:44:16 > 0:44:19it's a profitable franchise.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46Goa is the new playground of Mumbai.
0:44:46 > 0:44:4812 hours by overnight train.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55It's become India's favourite destination for honeymooning couples.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02And Goa is a golden opportunity for Jagdish,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05he's planning his dream future.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09A gambling casino, a boutique hotel, an Italian restaurant...
0:45:09 > 0:45:13but so far there are no plans to marry.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17Either a man is happy or married.
0:45:27 > 0:45:34With miles of unspoilt tropical beaches, Goa is also a favourite location for Bollywood scenes.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Twelve months ago, Arun, son of Hans, was cast in an ad
0:45:39 > 0:45:42for an American insurance company, shooting in Goa.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48The ad was successful so they're shooting another one.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55This time on VT Station,
0:45:55 > 0:45:57with the elephant.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05Arun is only eleven years old,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08but he's already following in father's footsteps.
0:46:17 > 0:46:23They gave me a hint - "OK, Hans, your kid has a spark of acting.
0:46:23 > 0:46:24"Just give him a push."
0:46:26 > 0:46:30I'm not expecting anything from him, I'm just doing my duty.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34That is his duty whether he can do it or not. I'm not expecting anything.
0:46:42 > 0:46:47The son is doing something better than his father, so that is a great part of that.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50And I feel very much proud of that. Very much proud.
0:46:57 > 0:46:58THE CHILDREN SHOUT
0:46:58 > 0:47:01THE ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:47:04 > 0:47:10Today, India's online middle classes number almost 400 million
0:47:10 > 0:47:13and they're on a spending spree.
0:47:15 > 0:47:22In suburban shopping malls, young Mumbaikers hang out just like their western counterparts.
0:47:22 > 0:47:27But when it comes to marriage, they follow the wishes of the family...
0:47:27 > 0:47:32and a tradition that has lasted for 5000 years.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40After two weeks of searching, Mumtaz has turned up several options
0:47:40 > 0:47:44for her brother and he's already met six of them.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49In Canada, their parents and the rest of the family are anxiously waiting for news.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08First option was a dentist.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11- She was a dentist and... - HE LAUGHS
0:48:11 > 0:48:13..but the girl was not good-looking.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16So...nobody liked that option.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21So then we went for the second option.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26She was a B. Pharm plus MBA.
0:48:26 > 0:48:32She was very good, very cute and even I liked her, everybody liked her.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50The real problem is that I don't have enough time.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52The time is running out from my hand.
0:49:06 > 0:49:12On the early morning train to Pune, Mumtaz and Feroz, and a tired young Taushib,
0:49:12 > 0:49:16are off to meet another selection of potential brides.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18But they're all graduates.
0:49:24 > 0:49:32One is doctor - MBBS, and one is MBA - Master of Business Administration.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36I think this will be the last chance!
0:49:38 > 0:49:41I can't go home empty-handed!
0:49:42 > 0:49:46Yeah, it's the decision of a lifetime...yeah...
0:49:48 > 0:49:52Whole...life depends on this.
0:50:21 > 0:50:27After two months of searching for his dream girl, it's finally happened.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31Her name is Shabana and she and Feroz are to be married
0:50:31 > 0:50:35at the Officers Club near Matunga Station.
0:50:36 > 0:50:42They met on the internet and their first face-to-face meeting was just two weeks ago.
0:50:42 > 0:50:49She's an MBA now working in Bahrain, and she flew to Mumbai to meet Feroz.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55The match was agreed, and now Shabana has married into a railway family.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31RADIO COMMENTARY DROWNED BY SHOUTING
0:52:31 > 0:52:35RADIO: Against Pakistan at Lahore in 2004 when India...
0:52:35 > 0:52:38RADIO CONTINUES FAINTLY
0:52:47 > 0:52:49INDISTINCT SPEECH
0:52:58 > 0:53:00I had applied for a tender for a particular train
0:53:00 > 0:53:04to run the onboard pantry car catering on the Mangalore express.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08And we had to bid for the train. I bid for the train,
0:53:08 > 0:53:12but somehow my bid was a bit low so I am not a successful bidder.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15They have sent my cheque back
0:53:15 > 0:53:18with a letter saying that the successful bidder's got the train.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52Jagdish Paul Raj grew up with the railway.
0:53:52 > 0:53:58Thanks to the railway he's become a successful player in the catering business.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00But we all grow up with some kind of dream.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04Everyone has a dream when they're growing up, they have a dream.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08Some dream of becoming a cricketer or a businessman or an engineer or a doctor...
0:54:08 > 0:54:10So everyone dreams.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12FIREWORKS EXPLODE
0:54:13 > 0:54:17I grew up listening to the sound of the train moving.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20I will always be associated with the railways.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22I will try to.
0:54:35 > 0:54:43Mumbai Railways, like the city it serves, is overcrowded, ambitious and optimistic.
0:54:45 > 0:54:52Thanks to the railways, operating officer Hans Dev Sharma is living the dream.
0:54:52 > 0:54:57Railways are his life and his stage.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04No doubt railways are bread and butter to me.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08And cultural activities in the railways
0:55:08 > 0:55:14are the juice - cup of juices - cup of milkshakes, cup of Bournvitas to me.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17They're boosting me up more and more.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20Bread and butter, the juices and all, you can live a good life.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48THEY SING BOLLYWOOD-STYLE
0:57:54 > 0:57:55WHISTLE BLOWS
0:58:12 > 0:58:16HE HUMS THE SAME TUNE
0:58:34 > 0:58:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:37 > 0:58:41E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk