Recall your last scenic ride aboard Indian trains — what do you remember? Fields of green rolling expansively as far as your eyes could see? Passing over serpentine rivers and mighty seas on sturdy bridges? Or do you remember being cooped up in your seat, incarcerated to your berth because your fellow passengers couldn’t be bothered to vacate a seat for you to sit? If you, like thousand others, have come to dread the idea of quibbling with your co-passengers to secure the tiniest possible edge of a seat, the Indian Railways has some relief in store for you. A circular issued last month mandates that passengers will now be allowed to sleep on the berths from 10 pm to 6 am only.
This is expected to help reduce the number of fights that often ensue on journeys that exceed 12 hours. Commuters who tend to occupy the full berth while sleeping even during the day will be discouraged by this circular and passengers inconvenienced by such rude behaviour will now be able to put more pressure on the erring party. Chances are that this circular will become a dead letter unless the Railways follows it up with a detailed guideline that chalks out the authority to be approached in case of a fight and a comprehensive set of checks and balances. Otherwise, perforce, the only possible solution to these fights will be to imbibe a strong civic sense that is respectful of the needs of others, particularly the aged, the disabled, pregnant women and children.
