Episode 1 World's Busiest Railway 2015


Episode 1

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Transcript


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Welcome to India.

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We are here in the busy, bustling heart of Mumbai,

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standing in front of this

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extraordinary edifice here,

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the Victorian Gothic Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus,

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known by the locals as CST.

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This is a transport hub on a huge scale.

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Trains coming in and out of this station

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carry the same amount of people every day

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as use the entire UK rail network,

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in just one city.

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It runs passenger trains 365 days of the year,

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21 hours a day, and we'll be going behind that beautiful facade

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as we've got access to every area of the station.

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And, over the next four programmes, we'll be showing you

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just what it takes to keep a place like this running.

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Here's what's coming up.

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Over the next four nights,

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we'll plunge you into the heart of this organised chaos.

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Tonight, it's all about rush-hour.

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These are the busiest trains on the planet.

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We'll see if we've got what it takes to join Mumbai's 5.5 million

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rail commuters.

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I'm literally not on my feet.

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I'm lying back on these people.

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Across the series, Anita is focused on the railway's

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super-sized logistical challenges.

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Whoa-ho!

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Tonight, she reveals a home-cooked lunch delivery service

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that defies belief.

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Do you get a dabba delivered at work?

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Yes, I get every day from my wife.

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Robert explores the feats of extreme engineering

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that underpin this station.

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Tonight, he discovers how they stop 1,500 daily trains colliding.

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This board looks so confusing -

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there's so many lines, so many numbers on it.

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'I'll be delving into the station's history

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'and experiencing life as a railway worker.'

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OK, the train's coming.

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We've been told to go quicker.

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And we're joined by John Sergeant,

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who rides the historic railway that brought tea to the English.

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Welcome to the world's busiest railway.

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Just before we immerse you in the mayhem of Mumbai's rush-hour,

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let's get our bearings.

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Mumbai is on the west coast of India,

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built on a peninsula of land surrounded by the Indian Ocean.

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The Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus

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is right at the southern tip of the city.

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The station was opened in 1887.

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It was built by the British.

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India, of course, back then, was part of the British Empire.

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The reason it was built here - quite simply,

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it was because Mumbai was and still is a major port.

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If you were coming to India from Britain,

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you'd arrive, chances are, right here,

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and that's why the first passenger-carrying lines

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in India are these ones just over here.

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People would continue their journey into the Indian interior by train.

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And it's being at the centre of that rail network,

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being so connected to the rest of India and the world, that turned

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Mumbai into an economic powerhouse, which it remains to this day.

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It's a remarkable city.

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This is India's city of dreams...

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..its financial capital...

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..home to billionaires

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and a magnet for ambitious Indians hoping to make their fortunes.

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Everyone here is trying to get ahead,

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which means it's busy, hot and extremely competitive.

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A century ago, there were a million people living here.

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Now, there's over 17 million.

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That's much, much bigger than the population of London,

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crammed into a space a third of the size.

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All that means that personal space here is really a premium.

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Property prices rival those of Manhattan.

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But the 55% of the population who can't afford this city's

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sky-high prices call these illegal slums home.

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There are extremes of wealth and poverty here.

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There's also a huge number of people in the middle.

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Office workers, teachers, professionals, all of them

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rely on this mega city to support themselves and their families.

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And there is just one way for most of these middle classes

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to get to and from work -

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the crowded suburban trains.

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More than 2.5 billion journeys are made on them every year.

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They are the essential lifelines of Mumbai.

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Without them, this pulsating city

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and all the wealth it creates would grind to a halt.

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And right at the very heart of this railway network is our station, CST.

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This is the suburban concourse.

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This is the beating heart,

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the terminus of the world's busiest commuter rail network.

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There are seven platforms here, and, at present, lots of them

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have got trains on. Tens of thousands of people

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are pouring through this station all the time.

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It is ten to ten in the morning.

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It's already absolutely sweltering in this station,

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but these people don't mind. They've got places to be.

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They are flowing out here through the exit there

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into the downtown business district of Mumbai.

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These are the foot soldiers of Mumbai's economic miracle.

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They've got places to be, like commuters all round the world,

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and they don't let anything stop them.

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We've got a train coming in here. Let's have a look at this.

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You'll see overhead electric cables,

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so they're not steam powered, as lots of people still think

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Indian trains are, but notice here, people are hanging out of the doors.

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There aren't any doors on these trains.

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Well, actually, there are doors but they never, ever get closed.

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And, look at this, as the train starts to slow down,

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what's going to happen is people are going to jump off.

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Look at those guys. They're jumping off a moving train.

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And that allows people to get on and off these trains

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very efficiently, very quickly. Quite dangerously, really.

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But this is a woman's... a ladies' carriage.

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So, here on this network, men and women travel separately.

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So here all the ladies coming,

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and beyond them a great tidal wave, a torrent of men,

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heading down this platform like a surging river in flood.

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It's quite intimidating, really.

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And the doors... No doors is one way they manage to get

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so many people in and out of this station. You don't have to wait

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for the doors to beep and open like you do in the UK.

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But what also allows people to get in and out of this station is

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the fact there are no ticket barriers on the end of this

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platform, no bottlenecks, so people just come piling out of these

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trains, charging down the platform and straight out through that exit

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ready to get on with their day's work.

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Now, as you can see, it's quite intimidating being in the heart

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of rush-hour. Particularly going the wrong way. I'm getting

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jostled here, pushed out the way.

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But Robert, Anita and I wanted to experience exactly what

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it's like to ride these trains,

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to experience the super-dense crush load,

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and we did so for ourselves at the height of a Mumbai rush-hour.

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It's just before 9am and, across Mumbai's 116 stations,

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5.5 million commuters are catching the train to work.

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What have we let ourselves in for?

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Right, here we go. I'm going in.

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Come on, Anita.

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You can get the Tube, you can get a Mumbai railway.

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We're right to be anxious -

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these are the most densely packed trains in the world.

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Inside, as many as 14 people can be crammed into

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a single square metre, the same size as a phone box.

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Conditions are so bad they have a special phrase to describe it.

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This is super-dense crush load.

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To see just how tough it is for Mumbai's commuters,

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we're travelling on different lines. Dan and I are on the Harbour line.

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And I'm on the Central line.

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Quite nervous about this.

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We're all used to commuting in the UK

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but this is going to be more like a contact sport.

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Just reaching the platforms is a challenge.

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I'm swimming against the stream.

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Got no choice where I'm going. Just being swept along.

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This isn't going to be like any commuting experience we've ever had.

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It's not just the crush on the trains that's coming as a shock.

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Commuters think nothing of crossing the tracks

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to move between platforms.

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Although it's illegal,

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it's so widespread that the authorities can't do much about it.

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Nine people are killed on Mumbai's suburban network every day.

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Most are run over on the tracks

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but commuters also regularly fall from the trains...

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..and these risks are constantly in your face.

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I'm worried for your safety! I'm worried for your safety!

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Whoa! Now that is aggressive.

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Oh, my God, the train's moving.

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Right, I'm going to get my train.

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How hard can this be?

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Here we go. This is the scramble now.

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It hasn't stopped yet and they're getting off already.

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'Commuters only have 15-35 seconds

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'while the train stops to get on or off.'

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ROBERT LAUGHS

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'It's terrifying to watch!'

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Oh, agh!

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'And genuinely physically intimidating.

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'Even for someone my size.'

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It's a fight. What is happening?

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I have never seen this many people get on a train in my life.

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It's going.

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Oh, I'm not getting involved in this.

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Good luck. Good luck.

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Good luck. Good luck.

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I don't fancy that.

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It looks really frightening and violent and yet everyone's grinning.

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They're all grinning away.

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That was just a huge bunfight to get on and off that train

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and everybody seems fine now.

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At this time of day,

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each of these trains is carrying close to 5,000 people.

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It won't get quieter until after 11 o'clock, so it's now or never.

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I think we're going to do this one. Come on.

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Yes.

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There we go.

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I'm literally not on my feet.

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I'm lying back on these people.

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I don't think I've been pressed up against this many men since...

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ladies' night at the Hammersmith Palais

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back in the '90s.

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Should be playing Come On, Eileen.

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Dan may have muscled his way on but in the ladies' carriage,

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I'm hoping it's more about strategy.

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What advice would you give me to get on a train?

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You have to push it, finally. Push? Yeah. A final push. Yeah.

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A push. A drastic push. You're not going to get in the train.

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OK, a drastic push otherwise I will die. OK, that sounds terrifying.

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Right, I'm getting on the next train.

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I'm getting on the next train. Here we go.

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ANITA LAUGHS

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OK, I missed it. You have to be like me. Again, I'm in a queue.

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I'm in a queue.

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I think women at the back are pushing women onto the train.

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'Male, female, old, young, there's just one rule - push or be pushed.'

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'Time for me and Anita to man up and do this.'

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I'm going to get on this one. This is the one.

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The next one, I'm getting on.

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'If it's not difficult enough already, we've got

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'to get our camera operators onboard to record the experience, too.'

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Stick with me.

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ROBERT LAUGHS Ow!

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Oh.

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All right, I'm getting on. Let's go. We're getting on, we're getting on.

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Oh!

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Yeah, I'm on.

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I'm on. We made it.

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I made the train!

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I think the one thing I'm not worried about is falling over.

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I'm not going to fall over.

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The temperature's pushing 40 degrees

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and we're travelling at 35km an hour.

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It's a full-on assault on the senses.

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Fresh air is a precious commodity.

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I'm beginning to understand the rules now.

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Part of the reason there's such a massive scrum is people are

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trying to get on but trying to stand near the door. I can see why.

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All the lights suddenly went off,

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but the fan is still working and that's the important thing.

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I don't need light but the air is a blessing, believe me.

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That fan blowing down is fantastic.

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Apparently it's not as crowded as it normally is.

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That's why I had it easy.

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That didn't seem easy. That wasn't easy.

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Hard to believe but, since I got on, it's actually thinned out a bit.

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I'm not completely crushed.

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I have to hold on or I'll fall over so I've got a bit of room now.

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Not much.

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This could be pretty gruelling having to do it day in, day out,

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your daily commute. This is your start to work.

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If I had to do this every single day, it would drive me mad.

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Well, that was the super-dense crush load at rush-hour

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and it does exactly what it says on the tin.

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I feel dense, even more dense than usual, and totally crushed.

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I'm actually, I reckon, a couple of millimetres taller

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because I've been squeezed like a tube of toothpaste.

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It's funny, isn't it, how there is an unspoken sort of culture

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and rules to it all? Everyone gets on and shuffles round.

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It's an interesting system.

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I mean, it's quite terrifying, the initial entrance,

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the transition from platform to carriage is quite tense

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and noisy and boisterous, I think it would be fair to say.

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I saw a few punches thrown.

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There's obviously an invisible line and when people cross that,

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voices are raised, punches thrown. I mean, it's a full-on experience.

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Once you're in and crushed then I was really happy.

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It was very funny, everyone was smiling and laughing.

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Nothing can happen to you. No, you can't go anywhere,

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you're not going to fall over! Absolutely extraordinary.

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But the thing I noticed when I got here -

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I hadn't looked in the mad panic - was that is my ticket.

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Five rupees, that's what it cost me to do that journey. Five pence.

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Five pence. And that was a journey of about...over 15 minutes.

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Definitely cheap. It's definitely cheap. You get your money's worth.

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Not got a lot of room but you get your money's worth.

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Of course, the way I guess they make it so cheap is those doors...

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Seeing those doors is extraordinary.

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People are just hanging on the outside,

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so many people heading into the middle of Mumbai.

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Absolutely extraordinary. I'd seen that from outside the trains before,

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people hanging outside, and you just get used to it.

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But when you're actually on the train,

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and you see the posts flying past, the danger.

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And they're hanging right outside of it.

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It's difficult to put it in context cos there's

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so many people travelling on so many trains it is just...

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it is incredibly dense and complicated

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and that's absolutely extraordinary.

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I mean, even when they stop at a suburban station,

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how short is that stop? 15 seconds sometimes. They hardly pause.

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But that's how you keep the speed up.

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That's how you get the density on the rail, isn't it?

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And when they get into here, the turnaround time in here...

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So trains are coming in, while we've been here, zooming in all the time,

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zooming out all the time and that turnaround is kept to

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the minimum time possible and that, I discovered, is called the headway.

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In peak hours, they aim to get a train in

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and out of each platform in 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

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Keeping this headway period to time is the secret to keeping

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everything running on schedule.

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With rush-hour easing off, Anita's got the chance to

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show us around a train and how the headway operation works.

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I'm on platform four.

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This is the slow train that's coming into CST,

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the end terminus where it will come to a standstill

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then it will have an optimum time of 3 minutes and 30 seconds

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to get itself ready to go back out. It's 5 to 11.

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You can still see it's very busy but rush-hour is over,

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cos most people have already got into their offices. But it's hot.

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Hello, madam. It's sweaty. There are thousands of people in there.

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Another unusual aspect of these trains

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are these double discharge platforms, introduced in 1990.

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Let's walk through this ladies' carriage,

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and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

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You can get on and off from both sides...

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..and that is to deal with the sheer volume.

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Everything here is just on a massive scale.

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Take the train for example - 12 carriages long.

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It can take, or it's supposed to take, 3,500 people.

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It can carry up to 5,000 people, all crammed in, give or take a few.

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To give you just something to think about - a capacity train

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running from Leeds to Manchester at rush-hour can take under 1,000.

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So you see the volume, the numbers are enormous here.

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Now, it has a first and a second class.

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I've been told that the difference is very little.

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The first class seats are padded, the second class aren't.

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But I've also been assured that first class is no more comfortable

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than second class. But the price difference is huge.

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Most people are commuters so they buy a monthly pass.

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In first class, that will set you back ?7.45, 745 rupees.

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In second class, it's only ?2.15.

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Now, how on earth are any of these tickets checked?

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Cos Dan pointed out there are no barriers.

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Well, I've been told that there are ticket checkers roaming,

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ten of them in the station today. They do randomly pop up,

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sometimes on a bridge, sometimes on the platform,

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and a brave conductor will even get on the train sometimes.

0:18:530:18:56

And if you're caught without a ticket,

0:18:560:18:58

the fine is relatively very steep. It's 200...

0:18:580:19:02

minimum 250 rupees, that's ?2.50.

0:19:020:19:05

But when you consider that an average daily wage

0:19:050:19:07

of a Mumbaikar is 340 rupees,

0:19:070:19:09

you can see that you would not want to be stung with that.

0:19:090:19:13

Now, how do any of these commuters know where they're going?

0:19:130:19:16

There is a board at the back that will tell us.

0:19:160:19:19

This train was due to depart at 10:56.

0:19:190:19:21

So it's already 1 minute and 39 seconds over.

0:19:210:19:25

It's going to Kurla, that's what the C stands for.

0:19:250:19:27

It's a slow train and it is a whopping 12 carriages long.

0:19:270:19:30

Now, we know that it has separate ladies' compartments, because there

0:19:300:19:33

is a picture of a beautiful lady in a sari there painted on the side.

0:19:330:19:36

But also there are signs at the top, at the middle

0:19:360:19:41

and at the back of the platform.

0:19:410:19:42

Now, when I rode in the ladies' carriage,

0:19:420:19:45

in the super-dense crush load,

0:19:450:19:47

I asked a very smiley, friendly woman

0:19:470:19:49

would she give up her seat for me if I were pregnant?

0:19:490:19:51

She smiled at me and said,

0:19:510:19:52

"No, madam, you could go in the disabled carriage."

0:19:520:19:55

So there is a separate disabled carriage.

0:19:550:19:57

It says for the disabled and people with cancer.

0:19:570:19:59

It is for anybody who's generally very sick.

0:19:590:20:02

Now, what is happening at the front of the train?

0:20:020:20:04

Well, whatever happens at the front goes on at the back.

0:20:040:20:07

So, a driver has jumped off as this train got in, a guard has jumped on

0:20:070:20:12

and at the front, a guard has jumped off and a driver has jumped on.

0:20:120:20:16

The sign at the front did say CST terminus. It's now saying Kurla.

0:20:160:20:21

What we are waiting for is this light to switch on.

0:20:210:20:25

It will tell us that this train is ready to depart.

0:20:250:20:28

BELL RINGS

0:20:290:20:30

The bell is ringing.

0:20:300:20:31

Somebody is waving, so she's expectant,

0:20:310:20:34

hoping that it's going to depart.

0:20:340:20:36

And off it goes.

0:20:360:20:37

That train took 4 minutes and 44 seconds.

0:20:390:20:42

A bit over time but not bad.

0:20:420:20:44

Now, as passengers, we kind of take it for granted that we're

0:20:450:20:48

going to end up exactly where we want to go,

0:20:480:20:51

but organising all these trains into all these platforms is

0:20:510:20:54

incredibly complicated and relies on maths and some clever automation.

0:20:540:20:59

At ground level, the huge scale of this station is hard to comprehend.

0:21:040:21:08

But up here on the roof, I've got a bird's-eye view.

0:21:110:21:14

This is an incredible sight. Wow.

0:21:180:21:20

It's so vast, it's so complicated.

0:21:200:21:23

There's just so many tracks, so many trains, constantly coming in and out.

0:21:230:21:27

It's amazing.

0:21:270:21:28

The station complex is spread over nearly 30,000 square metres.

0:21:280:21:33

There are 7 suburban platforms

0:21:330:21:35

and 11 more that connect it to the rest of India.

0:21:350:21:38

You realise how much organisation there's got to be to run these trains

0:21:410:21:44

because, you know, it's not like a car where you can

0:21:440:21:46

steer around someone else or go in different directions.

0:21:460:21:49

A train's on tracks, it hasn't got any choice,

0:21:490:21:51

it has to go where it's pointed.

0:21:510:21:53

This complex web of tracks creates a massive challenge

0:21:560:21:59

for the station's controllers.

0:21:590:22:02

To avoid disaster,

0:22:020:22:03

they must find a safe route through this maze for every single train.

0:22:030:22:07

They run 1,500 services a day here

0:22:090:22:11

and in rush-hour, trains are just 40 seconds apart.

0:22:110:22:15

The man in charge of this super-sized puzzle

0:22:160:22:19

is senior divisional operations manager KN Singh.

0:22:190:22:22

Please, Mr Robert. Oh, thank you. Please, please. Wow.

0:22:220:22:26

He's taking me to the heart of the network, the control room...

0:22:260:22:30

..to explain the systems they use to organise the traffic.

0:22:330:22:37

This is an extraordinary room. So what goes on in here?

0:22:370:22:40

This is our main TMS room, what we call Train Management System room,

0:22:400:22:44

and you are in the nerve centre.

0:22:440:22:47

This 12-metre-long LED screen is a live map of the station

0:22:470:22:51

and the lines that feed it.

0:22:510:22:53

It shows where every train across 53km of greater Mumbai is right now.

0:22:550:23:00

This board looks so confusing.

0:23:030:23:04

There's so many lines, so many numbers on it,

0:23:040:23:06

I can't make head or tail of it. What is this showing us?

0:23:060:23:09

You can see, like in platform number four,

0:23:090:23:11

the AN17 local is turning and you see the red... The red mark.

0:23:110:23:16

..the red mark. So the red section on each line,

0:23:160:23:19

that means that's actually a train in the platform at the moment.

0:23:190:23:22

Good, good, good. And if the route is free, it will show you green,

0:23:220:23:25

so train can move.

0:23:250:23:27

TRAIN HORN BLARES

0:23:270:23:29

Another train is moving.

0:23:290:23:31

Now the red signal is moving ahead.

0:23:320:23:34

And now it has covered a fairly large distance.

0:23:390:23:42

And now it is almost standing at signal L001.

0:23:450:23:49

Thanks to hundreds of kilometres of cables that transmit information

0:23:510:23:55

from the track to the control room, the Train Management System,

0:23:550:23:59

or TMS board, is able to pinpoint the exact location of every train.

0:23:590:24:04

Each section of track has a low electrical current

0:24:050:24:08

running through it.

0:24:080:24:09

When the track is clear,

0:24:110:24:12

the electrical circuit is complete

0:24:120:24:14

and a switch called a relay

0:24:140:24:16

is held closed.

0:24:160:24:18

On the board, the route shows as green.

0:24:190:24:22

But when a train enters

0:24:220:24:23

that section of track,

0:24:230:24:25

the circuit is broken

0:24:250:24:26

and the relay switch releases.

0:24:260:24:29

The track shows up as red - occupied.

0:24:290:24:31

The switches, or relays, that communicate this information

0:24:350:24:38

to the control room are housed here.

0:24:380:24:40

Goodness me.

0:24:410:24:43

That's a lot of wire.

0:24:430:24:44

I love all the little clicking that is going on. Yeah.

0:24:460:24:49

These relays are very instrumental in modern-day signalling.

0:24:490:24:53

Relays don't only tell the control room

0:24:550:24:58

and station controllers where the trains are.

0:24:580:25:01

They also control the movements of those trains

0:25:020:25:06

through the operation of points...

0:25:060:25:09

..and signals.

0:25:100:25:12

So, all these, then, these are the switches or the relays

0:25:130:25:17

coming from all over CST? Is that correct?

0:25:170:25:20

Yeah, all the relays are basically used to control

0:25:200:25:23

the entire system of... All the signals and the points.

0:25:230:25:26

..signal rows, points, track.

0:25:260:25:28

Have you seen the olden railways where we used to, uh...

0:25:300:25:32

The big levers? The big lever frame which we used to pull.

0:25:320:25:36

Now those jobs have been taken over by these relays.

0:25:370:25:40

Right, so that's what these are doing. That's what these relays are doing.

0:25:400:25:45

It's the connection between relays and signals that prevents accidents.

0:25:460:25:51

A track relay is linked to the signal

0:25:530:25:56

at the start of every section of track.

0:25:560:25:59

The signal shows green when the circuit is complete...

0:25:590:26:02

..telling the next train it's safe to proceed.

0:26:040:26:07

But when a train enters and breaks the circuit,

0:26:090:26:11

the signal defaults to red,

0:26:110:26:15

warning the following train to stop.

0:26:150:26:17

Although circuitry is doing most of the work,

0:26:190:26:22

humans are still a crucial part of this system.

0:26:220:26:25

At least eight people man this control room 24 hours a day.

0:26:280:26:33

The safe running of the trains is in their hands.

0:26:330:26:37

And in rush-hour, that's a nerve-racking task.

0:26:370:26:39

With 88 trains coming in and out every hour,

0:26:390:26:42

there's no space for error.

0:26:420:26:44

And most days, there's a problem the computers can't fix.

0:26:460:26:50

So, Mr Singh, what happens then if there is, like, a train breakdown

0:26:500:26:53

or a signal failure? What do you do then to deal with that?

0:26:530:26:57

If there's any failure of something, then my control takes over.

0:26:570:27:01

HE SPEAKS ON PHONE

0:27:010:27:03

If there is any problem, he will re-route,

0:27:050:27:07

he will divert, he will cancel.

0:27:070:27:09

See, he's constantly communicating with all the...

0:27:120:27:14

Yeah, he's always talking to people. Yeah, he's always talking to people.

0:27:140:27:17

So, if, say a train had broken down, he could talk to the engineering

0:27:170:27:20

department or whoever was involved to fix it or whatever? Right, right.

0:27:200:27:23

I mean, he talks to the engineer and he asks, "What is to be done?

0:27:230:27:26

"Just tell me within minutes." Right.

0:27:260:27:28

So, he decides everything in a split of a second.

0:27:280:27:31

The room is full of quietly concentrating people,

0:27:320:27:35

in stark contrast to the rest of the terminus.

0:27:350:27:38

It's the perfect alliance of humans and technology,

0:27:410:27:45

and meant that those rush-hour trains we caught earlier arrived safely.

0:27:450:27:49

And Mr KN Singh is with us here today. Now, Mr Singh,

0:27:520:27:55

we've seen how incredibly complicated it is to run this station.

0:27:550:27:58

We've seen it from the point of view of passengers and, of course,

0:27:580:28:01

from your controllers.

0:28:010:28:02

But what is the kind of capacity that you're running the station at?

0:28:020:28:06

Well, I mean, the station of CST is running in the peak hours.

0:28:060:28:10

It's running at almost 100% capacity.

0:28:100:28:13

We do not have a chance to have any extra train at the station.

0:28:130:28:17

During lean time, yes, we can do something,

0:28:170:28:19

but the demand is only for the peak time.

0:28:190:28:21

Everyone wants to travel in the peak time.

0:28:210:28:23

That must make your daily task in organising all this and all the

0:28:230:28:26

tracks that go right out of Mumbai... That's got to make that quite complicated.

0:28:260:28:29

It's a big responsibility to run the train punctually,

0:28:290:28:33

safely, I mean, all the time. It's a tough job. It's a tough job.

0:28:330:28:36

There's no doubt about it, because this entire city is dependent on you.

0:28:360:28:39

Now, would it be fair to say, though,

0:28:390:28:41

this is the most challenging station to run in the whole of India?

0:28:410:28:45

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

0:28:450:28:48

There are a lot of stations running a lot of trains but...

0:28:480:28:51

I don't think we can compare CST

0:28:510:28:54

with any other stations in India.

0:28:540:28:56

Here, the number of trains which we are running,

0:28:560:28:58

approximately 1,500 fast trains... Every day?

0:28:580:29:02

Oh, every day.

0:29:020:29:04

And both long-distance as well as suburban. Yeah.

0:29:040:29:07

That, again, makes it a unique station in India.

0:29:070:29:09

So, if you are running at peak times at 100% capacity,

0:29:090:29:14

if something goes slightly wrong, not a big disaster but, you know,

0:29:140:29:18

train breaks down, signals fail, all those sort of things, how on earth

0:29:180:29:22

do you cope with that and how long does it take to get back on track?

0:29:220:29:26

During peak time, we just pray to God that nothing should go wrong!

0:29:260:29:29

Number one, first thing,

0:29:290:29:31

because it's the performance at the peak hour that judges...

0:29:310:29:35

How the whole... Yes. ..my customer satisfaction.

0:29:350:29:38

At the same time, my satisfaction also. Yeah.

0:29:380:29:40

Any failure in peak times simply cripples the operation. Right.

0:29:400:29:44

Number one, it increases the overcrowding in trains.

0:29:440:29:47

Sometimes, if it persists for a long time,

0:29:470:29:49

then we have to cancel some trains.

0:29:490:29:51

So that's why we want that there should not be any

0:29:510:29:53

problem during peak times. Yes, so you really work towards making it all...

0:29:530:29:57

We work making sure that our target, that 100% punctuality

0:29:570:30:00

should be achieved during peak hours. Right.

0:30:000:30:02

I must say, I don't envy your task.

0:30:020:30:04

It sounds very stressful, very complicated. And you seem to deal

0:30:040:30:07

with it very well, so thank you very much, Mr Singh.

0:30:070:30:09

Thank you, Robert. Thank you.

0:30:090:30:11

Down here on the concourse, as Robert just heard,

0:30:120:30:15

this place is operating at capacity. Well, it certainly feels like it is.

0:30:150:30:19

Things would have been very different back in 1887,

0:30:190:30:22

when this station was completed.

0:30:220:30:25

Back then, there were just four platforms here.

0:30:250:30:27

It would have been a far more genteel scene.

0:30:270:30:29

Really, the reason this station exists,

0:30:290:30:31

the reason the Indian railways exist

0:30:310:30:33

is because they were planned and built by the British.

0:30:330:30:36

For that, we have to thank a man called Lord Dalhousie,

0:30:360:30:38

Governor-General of British India.

0:30:380:30:40

He's still commemorated on a bust on the front of this building.

0:30:400:30:44

But he wasn't interested in building railways for altruistic reasons,

0:30:440:30:47

he was interested in railways as strategic assets, moving soldiers

0:30:470:30:50

around the subcontinent fast to deal with any threats to British rule.

0:30:500:30:54

Also bringing valuable commodities out of the centre of India,

0:30:540:30:57

bringing them into Mumbai, sticking them on boats and getting them

0:30:570:31:00

out to trade with the rest of the world.

0:31:000:31:02

John Sergeant has been in Darjeeling, where he's

0:31:020:31:04

looking at how the history of one of those valuable commodities,

0:31:040:31:07

tea, is inextricably linked with the history of railways.

0:31:070:31:10

Far from this morning's Mumbai rush hour,

0:31:140:31:17

2,000km north-east,

0:31:170:31:19

John's journey to Darjeeling takes him close to the border with Nepal.

0:31:190:31:23

I'm in the mountains of northern India,

0:31:350:31:37

among the green hills of the Himalayas.

0:31:370:31:40

When officials from the British Raj came here,

0:31:400:31:43

in the 19th century, they made a momentous discovery.

0:31:430:31:47

They found this was the perfect place to grow these,

0:31:470:31:50

high-quality tea bushes.

0:31:500:31:53

The great Indian tea industry was born.

0:31:530:31:55

For many, the name Darjeeling means tea.

0:31:570:32:00

And the tea industry here is worth ?40 million a year.

0:32:020:32:05

All right, tell me what you have to do.

0:32:150:32:17

So, what about that one? Is that all right?

0:32:210:32:23

No? Not that one.

0:32:230:32:25

So it's just the tiny ones? OK.

0:32:250:32:27

Is that about that...all right?

0:32:270:32:30

Yes? OK.

0:32:300:32:32

So, we'll get going. Right.

0:32:320:32:34

I've got to try and do this as quickly, all right?

0:32:340:32:36

I'm not very fast. I think I need a bit more practice.

0:32:360:32:39

Right. Yeah? All right?

0:32:410:32:42

OK, right, so I have to do that, too. Right, ready? OK.

0:32:440:32:47

People have been plucking tea here since the 1840s.

0:32:510:32:54

But in those early days, it was difficult.

0:32:580:33:01

Darjeeling's remote location meant it took nearly a week to take

0:33:010:33:05

the tea, ready for export, to the Indian port of Kolkata,

0:33:050:33:09

650km away.

0:33:090:33:12

A quicker solution was needed.

0:33:130:33:15

And in 1881, it arrived,

0:33:170:33:20

in the shape of the Darjeeling Hill Railway.

0:33:200:33:23

It's one of only two remaining steam railways in India.

0:33:270:33:31

These antique locomotives were built in Britain

0:33:330:33:36

and shipped here specially for this line.

0:33:360:33:39

This is called the "toy train", but when it was built,

0:33:420:33:46

it was very far from being a toy.

0:33:460:33:49

It was a magnificent piece of engineering.

0:33:490:33:53

The line is 82km long

0:33:530:33:56

and rises more than 2,000 metres.

0:33:560:33:58

This is high, high up in the mountains.

0:33:590:34:02

For the engineers who built it, the only way to overcome the constant

0:34:050:34:09

twists and turns and steep gradient was to use a narrow two foot gauge.

0:34:090:34:15

This train made this whole area economically viable.

0:34:170:34:21

Without this train, you couldn't have had all the tea plantations

0:34:210:34:24

and you wouldn't have, in fact, known about Darjeeling.

0:34:240:34:28

Darjeeling tea? Why? Because of this train.

0:34:280:34:32

The opening of this line meant that the tea could be

0:34:330:34:36

moved from plantation to port in less than 24 hours.

0:34:360:34:41

And that was a big commercial advance.

0:34:410:34:44

As exports grew, demand increased,

0:34:460:34:49

and the plantations expanded.

0:34:490:34:51

Within three years, almost a third of India's tea exports

0:34:530:34:58

were carried by trains down these mountains.

0:34:580:35:02

The high-grade leaves produced the champagne of teas.

0:35:020:35:06

It was a precious cargo that brought much-needed wealth,

0:35:070:35:12

and for nearly 100 years, the railway thrived.

0:35:120:35:15

But the good times couldn't last.

0:35:180:35:21

It became cheaper to transport the tea on road trucks.

0:35:210:35:24

By the 1960s,

0:35:260:35:28

the trains stopped carrying tea altogether.

0:35:280:35:32

The relics of those glory days are tucked away in this railway workshop.

0:35:320:35:37

These are some of the old freight wagons,

0:35:390:35:41

still kept in this place, for some reason.

0:35:410:35:44

And that's terrific, isn't it? You can just imagine it.

0:35:440:35:47

This was built in 1926,

0:35:470:35:51

and so, at that time...

0:35:510:35:53

..something like 5,000 tonnes of tea

0:35:550:35:59

would be produced every year and carried in these wagons.

0:35:590:36:04

Memories of that time are fading.

0:36:040:36:07

But they're easily revived - over a cup of tea, obviously.

0:36:080:36:12

For these distinguished citizens,

0:36:130:36:16

the age of steam is not deep in the past.

0:36:160:36:20

How old are you?

0:36:200:36:22

HE TRANSLATES

0:36:220:36:24

90. 90? 90. Yes, right.

0:36:240:36:27

76. 94. 94.

0:36:270:36:31

What do you remember about the old days

0:36:310:36:34

when the tea trains would come in?

0:36:340:36:37

Nowadays, there are just three daily services.

0:37:090:37:13

Each morning, two of the Glasgow-built locos

0:37:150:37:18

are fired into life,

0:37:180:37:20

ready to make the round trip between Darjeeling and Ghoom.

0:37:200:37:25

Tourists have replaced the tea.

0:37:270:37:29

Thousands visit here each year,

0:37:290:37:32

keen to experience the romance of steam travel

0:37:320:37:36

and to see India's part in all that.

0:37:360:37:39

Time to hop aboard.

0:37:410:37:42

So, how long have we got before the train leaves?

0:37:440:37:47

Ah, 1:20, yes. 1:20, right. Yeah, yeah.

0:37:470:37:50

So... Just now, it's time. Well... Yeah!

0:37:500:37:52

Excuse me. Thank you.

0:37:560:37:58

Ha-ha! That was a close one.

0:37:590:38:01

For some of us, it's also an excuse to revisit our youth.

0:38:080:38:12

I'm Jill, by the way. Oh, are you? Jill. Jill what? Jill Hemmings.

0:38:150:38:18

Jill Hemmings. Hi, there.

0:38:180:38:20

What do you think about this? Oh, it's wonderful, yes.

0:38:200:38:23

Really exciting.

0:38:230:38:24

Yes, how often do you get a train running on the high street?

0:38:250:38:29

And there's that lovely...

0:38:290:38:31

And does that remind you of when you were a child, seeing steam engines?

0:38:310:38:35

Yes, yes. I like the noise. And the smell of it, isn't it?

0:38:350:38:38

Yes, and actually, there's the smut coming in through the window.

0:38:380:38:42

Oh, yes. When I was a child, we were told not to look out the windows.

0:38:420:38:46

Absolutely. But did you? Well, yes. Yes, so did I!

0:38:460:38:50

Along with my fellow passengers,

0:38:500:38:52

I've really enjoyed steaming into the past.

0:38:520:38:55

This is how we should travel.

0:38:570:38:59

In Mumbai, it's mid-morning,

0:39:070:39:11

and the commuters are being replaced by a new army of workers

0:39:110:39:15

who use these trains to feed the city.

0:39:150:39:17

It's just gone 11 o'clock

0:39:190:39:21

and food and the train

0:39:210:39:22

have a very unique and vital connection here in Mumbai.

0:39:220:39:26

This is platform seven at CST

0:39:260:39:27

and these fellows are known as the "dabbawalas".

0:39:270:39:30

"Dabba" means box, or in this context, lunchbox,

0:39:300:39:32

and "wala" means man,

0:39:320:39:33

so they're the lunchbox men. The system is really simple.

0:39:330:39:36

Basically, you trot off to work, somebody at home cooks your lunch,

0:39:360:39:39

and they will hand-deliver it to your office every day.

0:39:390:39:44

As we've seen, you've little chance of struggling onto a rush-hour

0:39:440:39:47

train with your lunch in a bag, so this is an extraordinary solution.

0:39:470:39:51

Someone at home hands your lunch to a dabbawala,

0:39:530:39:57

who then does a relay race with his colleagues across the city,

0:39:570:40:01

to get it to your desk.

0:40:010:40:03

Hundreds of thousands of ordinary families across Mumbai use

0:40:050:40:09

this service every day.

0:40:090:40:11

Here's how it works for one couple.

0:40:110:40:13

Hi, I'm Jignesh Ganatra. I live in the northern side of Bombay.

0:40:130:40:18

I work for a bank in south Mumbai.

0:40:190:40:22

I'm Dr Dipti Ginatra.

0:40:230:40:26

I'm a homoeopath by profession.

0:40:260:40:28

I stay with my mother-in-law, my husband,

0:40:280:40:32

my kid.

0:40:320:40:34

SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

0:40:340:40:36

And I have a maid. She helps me cook food,

0:40:360:40:39

and also take care of my kid and my mother-in-law.

0:40:390:40:42

Every morning, I cook food for my husband.

0:40:420:40:45

I put different things in different compartments.

0:40:480:40:50

It's okra, the ladyfinger...

0:40:500:40:54

vegetable.

0:40:540:40:56

The dal, rice and chapattis.

0:40:560:40:58

So the dabbawala is a person who takes lunch

0:40:580:41:02

in a box from home to the office area,

0:41:020:41:05

the place where a person works.

0:41:050:41:08

That's how he enjoys home-made food sitting in his office.

0:41:080:41:11

Using the services of dabbawala is important

0:41:120:41:15

because, in the morning when we commute by train,

0:41:150:41:18

it's pretty crowded

0:41:180:41:19

and it becomes really difficult to carry the dabba with us.

0:41:190:41:23

That's why we are using the service of the dabbawala.

0:41:230:41:26

In the afternoon, with lunch,

0:41:260:41:28

he has salad, he has achar,

0:41:280:41:31

he has buttermilk.

0:41:310:41:33

Achar is a pickle.

0:41:350:41:38

Home-made pickle.

0:41:380:41:39

When the dabbawala actually comes at ten,

0:41:420:41:45

they are so punctual that you can actually match your watch

0:41:450:41:48

with the time, they are so good at it.

0:41:480:41:50

My son, he hears the bell, and he is the one who shouts and yells,

0:41:500:41:54

"I'll be the one who gives the dabba",

0:41:540:41:56

so he goes, wherever he is in the house,

0:41:560:41:58

he just rushes to that place, takes the dabba in this particular way.

0:41:580:42:02

You give them the dabba and they are off in no time.

0:42:020:42:05

If you see the way the dabbawalas walk,

0:42:110:42:14

it's the amount of dabbas they carry every day.

0:42:140:42:17

It is just so mind-blowing... How do they manage the whole thing?

0:42:170:42:20

It's just unimaginable.

0:42:200:42:22

Dabbawalas have quite a harrowing time.

0:42:480:42:50

Come rain, come sun, whatever be the climate conditions,

0:42:500:42:54

they always ensure the dabbas reach the office on time.

0:42:540:42:58

They are very dedicated towards their task.

0:42:580:43:01

THEY SHOUT OVER THE CROWD

0:43:060:43:09

I think you can't think of dabbawalas without the trains.

0:43:190:43:23

It is not going to be possible, because the way the train schedules

0:43:230:43:26

are, they are generally, again, spot on time,

0:43:260:43:29

so the entire routine which they have

0:43:290:43:32

cannot be fulfilled without the trains being around.

0:43:320:43:35

The way the dabbawalas function, it's like 99.99% accuracy.

0:44:220:44:26

It never happens that a single dabba reaches a wrong hand.

0:44:260:44:30

My wife is a fabulous cook.

0:44:370:44:41

And more importantly, the food is cooked with love and affection,

0:44:410:44:44

so that makes the taste even more better.

0:44:440:44:46

Incredible, isn't it?

0:44:490:44:50

Well, I'm joined by Dr Pawan Agrawal,

0:44:500:44:53

who has studied the dabbawala, written a PhD all about them

0:44:530:44:55

and now helps educate their children.

0:44:550:44:57

So, Dr Agrawal, you're the perfect person to tell me

0:44:570:45:00

more about this fascinating system.

0:45:000:45:01

How many dabbawalas are there in Mumbai?

0:45:010:45:04

Total 5,000 dabbawalas are there.

0:45:040:45:07

They're delivering 200,000 tiffins every day.

0:45:070:45:10

That must weigh an absolute tonne. What's the weight of all of that?

0:45:100:45:14

How much are they carrying each?

0:45:140:45:15

They carry approximately 60-65kg weight,

0:45:150:45:18

because each person is carrying approximately 40 tiffins.

0:45:180:45:21

40 tiffins with food, with basket comes 60-65kg weight.

0:45:210:45:26

5,000 dabbawalas delivering 200,000, about 65kg on their backs.

0:45:260:45:31

Very strong men. How exactly does it work?

0:45:310:45:33

It starts from 50-60km away.

0:45:330:45:37

From my front door. Yes. I've cooked the meal.

0:45:370:45:39

You cooked the meal. Yes.

0:45:390:45:40

One person will come to collect from your front door.

0:45:400:45:43

He will bring to the nearest station.

0:45:430:45:45

He will hand it over in relay - second person.

0:45:450:45:48

That second person will drop at the third station,

0:45:480:45:51

and he will deliver to the last, fourth person.

0:45:510:45:54

In the case of Jignesh and Dipti Ganatra,

0:45:550:45:58

one dabbawala picks it up from their house by bike,

0:45:580:46:02

transfers it to another at Mulund Station,

0:46:020:46:05

and the final leg of its journey from CST

0:46:050:46:07

is made by a third dabbawala and a hand cart.

0:46:070:46:11

To make sure every lunch gets to the right person,

0:46:110:46:14

they use a special coding system.

0:46:140:46:16

I can see you've got some letters on this tiffin box...

0:46:160:46:19

It's a coding system. Right.

0:46:190:46:21

This is the residential area of the customer, Vile Parle.

0:46:210:46:23

The man who collects the tiffin from home.

0:46:230:46:26

This is the destination station.

0:46:260:46:27

Nariman Point, the business district.

0:46:270:46:31

This is the person who will pick it up from there,

0:46:310:46:33

he will deliver to the Express Tower building on the 12th floor.

0:46:330:46:36

That's brilliant. So it's like a postcode.

0:46:360:46:38

You've got the place where it's being picked up from,

0:46:380:46:41

that's Vile Parle, which is a suburb of Mumbai.

0:46:410:46:44

This is the chap that picks it up, his unique code.

0:46:440:46:46

This is the place it's being delivered to, Nariman Point,

0:46:460:46:49

the business district, and this is the chap

0:46:490:46:51

that will deliver it to him. They never do any mistakes.

0:46:510:46:53

It's 1 in 60 million. I would say more perfect than that.

0:46:530:46:58

Who's cooking the dabbas now?

0:46:580:46:59

Because a lot of women are going to work here, aren't they?

0:46:590:47:01

The food is cooked by a customer's wife, mother or sister.

0:47:010:47:04

But what if they go to work?

0:47:040:47:06

Cos the nuclear family is breaking up here

0:47:060:47:07

just like it is in any other developing nation.

0:47:070:47:10

It's true. Nowadays there is nuclear families.

0:47:100:47:12

But there are many families where a cook person is there,

0:47:120:47:14

maybe mother, sister, wife.

0:47:140:47:16

In those families, where there is nobody there to cook,

0:47:160:47:19

they ask to collect from a hotel or someplace.

0:47:190:47:22

Right, so they're getting it delivered

0:47:220:47:24

from a hotel or restaurants.

0:47:240:47:26

Do you get a dabba delivered at work?

0:47:260:47:27

Yes, I get it every day from my wife, because she cook very good.

0:47:270:47:31

You're a good husband for saying that. You have to say that.

0:47:310:47:35

Without the trains, would the dabbawala exist?

0:47:350:47:37

Would their system run without the train network?

0:47:370:47:39

No, it's impossible. Without local trains, they can't deliver.

0:47:390:47:42

If I wanted to use this service, how much would it cost me a month?

0:47:420:47:45

For one person each week, ?6 per month.

0:47:450:47:48

Is that quite reasonable, is that very affordable?

0:47:480:47:51

Yeah, very reasonable.

0:47:510:47:52

Even for dabbawalas, it's very reasonable.

0:47:520:47:54

They earn ?150 per month.

0:47:540:47:56

Mumbai is like any other big city in India,

0:47:560:47:58

there's lots of fast food joints, coffee shops opening up,

0:47:580:48:01

particularly in these business districts.

0:48:010:48:03

Will people stop getting home delivery food and start eating out?

0:48:030:48:07

I don't think they will stop. The reason behind this?

0:48:070:48:10

It is very important to take care of health.

0:48:100:48:14

Because of health, many people want home-cooked food.

0:48:140:48:17

Number two, outside, it's costly to eat.

0:48:170:48:20

So despite fast foods are available,

0:48:200:48:22

many people are only getting home-cooked services.

0:48:220:48:25

I feel it is continuing.

0:48:250:48:26

It's so ingrained in the culture here, isn't it?

0:48:260:48:28

People are very used to having home-cooked food in their office.

0:48:280:48:32

Yes, it's a culture, so they want to use it. I don't think it'll stop.

0:48:320:48:36

Dr Agarwal, thank you very much. Thank you so much.

0:48:360:48:39

Well, the system has been in place here since 1890,

0:48:390:48:42

running every single day.

0:48:420:48:44

The dabbawalas are almost as old as the station itself.

0:48:440:48:47

For more than 120 years,

0:48:500:48:51

this astonishing building has been a city icon.

0:48:510:48:55

Designed by British architect Frederick William Stevens,

0:48:560:49:00

the station was the earliest grand railway terminus built in India.

0:49:000:49:05

The great Indian Peninsula Railway, India's first railway company,

0:49:050:49:09

commissioned it as their headquarters.

0:49:090:49:12

Today, the original site has ballooned

0:49:120:49:15

to become a city in itself, with its own police force,

0:49:150:49:18

dormitories, court and kitchen.

0:49:180:49:21

3,500 people work here.

0:49:230:49:25

But it's the exterior that's attention-grabbing.

0:49:290:49:32

It was inspired by the designs of traditional Indian palaces

0:49:320:49:36

and European railway stations.

0:49:360:49:39

It's a style that's unique to Mumbai.

0:49:390:49:41

All right, everyone, follow me in.

0:49:430:49:45

We're now going to be entering

0:49:450:49:46

the Grand Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station.

0:49:460:49:50

Guide Viraat Kasliwal was brought up in Mumbai.

0:49:500:49:53

Today he shares his passion for the city

0:49:530:49:55

by taking tourists on walking tours.

0:49:550:49:59

Work started in 1878. It took ten years to complete

0:49:590:50:03

at a cost of ?260,000.

0:50:030:50:06

It was the most expensive building to have been

0:50:060:50:09

executed in Asia at that time.

0:50:090:50:10

Viraat knows all there is to know about this building.

0:50:130:50:16

But, like most Mumbaikars,

0:50:160:50:18

he's never set foot in the oldest part of it.

0:50:180:50:22

It's off limits to everyone,

0:50:220:50:24

except railway officials and invited guests.

0:50:240:50:27

Oh, my goodness me!

0:50:300:50:32

Anita's got special permission for a private tour.

0:50:340:50:37

So what do you think?

0:50:430:50:45

I think it's awe-inspiring.

0:50:450:50:49

It's absolutely fantastic to be in here under the main dome.

0:50:490:50:51

It feels like we've entered into a church.

0:50:510:50:53

It doesn't feel like a government office block.

0:50:530:50:56

It doesn't feel like a railway station.

0:50:560:50:57

It doesn't even feel like we're in India right now.

0:50:570:51:00

It feels like we're somewhere completely different.

0:51:000:51:02

Somewhere in Europe. Somewhere in the middle of Europe.

0:51:020:51:05

It's simply beautiful.

0:51:050:51:06

The decoration and beauty in here is astonishing.

0:51:090:51:13

Wow. Oh, my goodness.

0:51:150:51:18

I don't know what to look at first.

0:51:190:51:22

Every available surface is covered with flowers,

0:51:220:51:25

animals and railway motifs.

0:51:250:51:28

You've got the Statue of Progress up there and the gargoyles

0:51:280:51:31

and the beautiful sculpture work.

0:51:310:51:34

They're my favourites, the crocodiles.

0:51:340:51:36

Students from Mumbai's architectural college carved

0:51:360:51:39

the decoration from Indian sandstone and limestone.

0:51:390:51:43

It feels even more like a church up here.

0:51:430:51:45

It was actually designed in a very grand and imperialistic manner.

0:51:450:51:50

It was meant to stamp the authority of the British on the locals.

0:51:500:51:55

It really does that. It does. It's a very grand structure.

0:51:550:51:57

Imagine a time when there wasn't any development,

0:51:570:52:00

there was just raw mud roads.

0:52:000:52:01

When the station was completed,

0:52:050:52:06

there were no cars or buses on the roads,

0:52:060:52:09

just ox carts and pedestrians.

0:52:090:52:11

This building was an imposing statement for the one million people

0:52:160:52:20

who lived in Mumbai then,

0:52:200:52:21

just as it is today for its 17 million inhabitants.

0:52:210:52:26

Does the average Indian care about this building?

0:52:260:52:28

Do people driving past look up at it?

0:52:280:52:31

Mumbai is a very fast city

0:52:310:52:32

and a lot of people don't have a lot of time for anything other

0:52:320:52:34

than their work, but this is the one building that always gets people

0:52:340:52:38

to look up and take notice. It's a symbol for what's most important.

0:52:380:52:41

The railways are the most important thing to not just the country

0:52:410:52:43

but even the city and the functioning of the city.

0:52:430:52:46

And what a privilege to be allowed access up here. Absolutely.

0:52:460:52:49

Nobody gets to come up here!

0:52:490:52:50

Today the tickets hall is the only are of the historic building

0:52:530:52:56

the public can enter.

0:52:560:52:59

Local historian Shradda is showing me some overlooked features

0:52:590:53:03

in the hustle and bustle of the modern station.

0:53:030:53:06

I know it's a room full of people,

0:53:080:53:10

but the first thing I had to do was look up.

0:53:100:53:12

Yeah, the first thing you notice up here

0:53:120:53:14

is these beautifully painted stars.

0:53:140:53:17

That's why this chamber is also called Star Chamber.

0:53:170:53:20

The monogram there, it's quite interesting.

0:53:200:53:24

It's a coat of arms with an elephant, a locomotive,

0:53:240:53:26

St George's cross.

0:53:260:53:29

You can see the old mode of transport and the modern mode.

0:53:290:53:32

But this is the ticket hall, so this is the only bit of CST that

0:53:350:53:39

members of the public can come into, is that right?

0:53:390:53:42

Originally, when Frederick William Stevens,

0:53:420:53:45

the architect of the building, designed this particular hall,

0:53:450:53:48

he designed it as a booking office and a waiting room.

0:53:480:53:52

This today remains the only interface of this structure

0:53:550:53:59

with the public.

0:53:590:54:00

But now it's a really different place.

0:54:000:54:03

Now lots of people are buying tickets here to travel

0:54:030:54:05

locally around Mumbai. Yeah.

0:54:050:54:07

Today's commuters seem oblivious to the heritage around them,

0:54:080:54:12

but there's a piece of railway history hidden in the station

0:54:120:54:16

that predates the building and all the present-day structure.

0:54:160:54:19

Somehow we've managed to find the quietest bit of the station.

0:54:220:54:25

Where are you taking me?

0:54:250:54:26

To the end of this platform to show you

0:54:260:54:28

the place from where the first ever train in India ran,

0:54:280:54:32

way back in 1853.

0:54:320:54:34

Where was it going?

0:54:340:54:36

It was going to Thane, which was 21 miles from the station.

0:54:360:54:41

The station was called Bori Bunder at that time.

0:54:410:54:44

What does Bori Bunder mean?

0:54:440:54:45

Bori means sacks of cotton, and Bunder means port.

0:54:450:54:49

This area was called Bori Bunder

0:54:490:54:51

because of its vicinity with the port of Bombay.

0:54:510:54:56

Cotton was king in 19th century India, the country's biggest export.

0:54:560:55:00

And the original Bori Bunder station was perfectly positioned

0:55:000:55:04

to get cotton to the port.

0:55:040:55:06

So where would this platform have been?

0:55:090:55:11

Somewhere just before that bridge.

0:55:110:55:14

Just there? Just there, yes.

0:55:140:55:16

There's nothing to signify that it was here, there's no blue plaque.

0:55:160:55:19

I'm a little bit disappointed.

0:55:190:55:21

You're in Mumbai, so here change is the only constant.

0:55:220:55:26

The railways have been continuously running for the last 160 years,

0:55:260:55:30

so there have been a lot of changes.

0:55:300:55:32

There's no place for sentiment in this crowded station.

0:55:340:55:37

Tracks and signals have jostled history out of the way.

0:55:370:55:41

But what happened here laid the foundation

0:55:410:55:44

for India's modern rail network.

0:55:440:55:46

Today that system transports more passengers than any other on Earth.

0:55:480:55:54

This place is a palace to rail, isn't it?

0:55:570:55:59

It absolutely is, and intentionally so.

0:55:590:56:01

The British set out to make a real statement here.

0:56:010:56:04

They were saying, "You've seen those big, grand 19th century stations

0:56:040:56:07

"in Europe, well, this is going to cast all that in the shade."

0:56:070:56:09

You can read that building, there's a statue of progress on the top.

0:56:090:56:13

She's flanked by the statue of commerce and agriculture.

0:56:130:56:16

This building is saying that we're going to use this cutting-edge

0:56:160:56:19

new technology, the railways, to link India up, exploit this vast,

0:56:190:56:23

natural treasure house, and create an economic superpower.

0:56:230:56:26

Put it on the map and, of course, to a large extent,

0:56:260:56:28

that is what happened.

0:56:280:56:29

I think it's true that the railways have helped to make Mumbai

0:56:290:56:32

and India a major player in the global economy today.

0:56:320:56:35

Yeah, you're absolutely right.

0:56:350:56:37

It really is the central part of the city's transport hub.

0:56:370:56:40

But when you first look at it, what struck me is,

0:56:400:56:42

like the rest of India, it's completely insane - people hanging

0:56:420:56:46

off trains, millions of people, who knows where they're going -

0:56:460:56:49

but then you look closely

0:56:490:56:51

and you see that there is structure, it's pretty slick and it's precise.

0:56:510:56:54

But then it would have to be.

0:56:540:56:56

There is no way you could run an organisation this big

0:56:560:56:58

and this complex without some kind of ironclad system.

0:56:580:57:01

But then I don't think I could cope with that commute, not every day.

0:57:010:57:05

These Mumbaikars, they're a tough crowd, aren't they? They really are.

0:57:050:57:08

We have only just scratched the surface of this station.

0:57:080:57:11

Here's what's coming up next time.

0:57:110:57:13

Today, we immersed you in the madness

0:57:180:57:21

and chaos of a Mumbai rush hour.

0:57:210:57:23

Tomorrow, we'll transport you long-distance across India.

0:57:250:57:29

Anita escapes the rush-hour crowds

0:57:290:57:31

to ride one of the most popular trains,

0:57:310:57:34

but finds conditions onboard just as challenging.

0:57:340:57:38

It's every man and woman for themselves.

0:57:380:57:40

Squeeze in where you can.

0:57:400:57:42

I visit the extraordinary super-sized facility

0:57:440:57:47

meeting the needs of long-distance passengers.

0:57:470:57:50

This is a big pile of dirty laundry. How much comes in here every day?

0:57:500:57:54

Every day, around 25,000 bed sheets. 25,000? 25,000.

0:57:540:58:00

Jewellery, motorbikes and furniture,

0:58:000:58:02

Robert discovers what else travels alongside passengers.

0:58:020:58:06

I'm very confident that in these packages

0:58:060:58:09

there is a large amount of fish.

0:58:090:58:11

That is basically information that is going in through my nose.

0:58:110:58:14

And from fish to fine dining.

0:58:140:58:16

We take a tour of India's poshest train.

0:58:160:58:19

Who spends the most money?

0:58:190:58:22

The Russians.

0:58:220:58:23

All that coming up tomorrow.

0:58:230:58:24

Thanks for joining us here in Mumbai.

0:58:260:58:28

See you next time, but for now, goodbye. Bye. Bye.

0:58:280:58:31

# Here am I

0:59:030:59:07

# Sitting in a tin can... #

0:59:070:59:09

SONAR PINGS

0:59:090:59:11

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