On trains and trams

In Istanbul one can go about the city

in all kinds of trains

built right from the 19th
to the 21st century

Fun with a GPS

Since I am a big fan of maps, I knew that the first time I encountered a GPS it would be fun. On our trip to San Fransisco, Savita offered to take us to Muir woods. As soon as she pulled up in her car, I noticed a small square object sticking out from her windscreen. She punched in the destination and the thing started speaking back to her.

In India a GPS device is often associated with security and surveillance. But a GPS is a real help when you are new to a city and do not know the roads well. A standard device offers real-time voice support for every road turn and informs the driver about the current location as well as locations to be arrived at. It could also give you nearby points of interest such as ATMs, petrol pumps or restaurants. It is like a knowledgeable grandfather - and it also scolds you when you take a wrong turn or overshoot your destination.

In the grid plan based cities of Amrika this works. In a city like Delhi it can be confusing since the route chosen by the GPS may not be the ideal one - there might be a traffic jam or the road may have been shut down for repairs. I do not know whether there are systems which are updated regularly, but most people in the US use a combination of GPS and Google maps to get to a new place. There is no question of getting off and asking someone - something we do here often.

It does provide with you with entertainment. On our return Savita ended up at Lombard Street which is a the crookedest street in the world. With hair pin bends and twists and turns many times over you can barely control the car. The funny thing was on the GPS it showed up as a straight road !

We had to drop Aditi off at a museum and then wanted to catch up sitting at a cafe. I asked her whether there was a place where we could get good chai. I had not had boiled tea in a long time. On our way we passed a Pakistani joint but Savita did not know the way back. Nor did she know the road. And the GPS did not have the name of the restaurant in its database.

So we used the device in an innovative way. We punched in a destination which would take us away from the museum but in the same direction we came from. Once we had driven long enough, we punched in the museum again. But this time it took us through a different route and we never spotted the restaurant. Driving through the city and looking around we kept laughing at this idea of being dependent on a machine but even the GPS not knowing what we are looking for. It was like being in a video game. We were about to give up when we spotted another franchise of the same restaurant. Now for some desi chai.

Maybe the product could become a hit in India if it was sold as a gaming device...

Riding the Loop

Chicago has a quaint metro transit system with elevated stations in the downtown area. Each of these have their own unique character with trains to match.

This is the third busiest subway system in the US. Passes used on the metro can be used on buses too like NY. However many parts of the metro is still using old technologies and some of the overhead stations retain the wooden stations built on iron beams. These are smaller compared to stations in Delhi or New York. Many of the stations reminded me of The French Connection although that film was shot in New York.

Chicago is set along Lake Michigan and the city spreads out in three directions - north & south along the shoreline and to the west. Each of the metro lines which bring the suburban commuters to the city have to crisscross the city through the downtown area.


The interesting thing in the Chicago system is the Loop. This is a unique track system in downtown area that focuses trains towards a rectangular central loop. If you need to travel between suburbs you need to change trains at the Loop. This system must have evolved to avoid a traffic congestion. When they reach the downtown, trains simply have to go along the perimeter of the loop and pass each other without holding each other up. Something that was invented more than a hundred years ago and still works for the city.

As a visitor you can visit most of the areas in downtown just by riding along the Loop - hopping off and on wherever you want. And while you are walking the streets once in a a train passes overhead reminding you of a station nearby. It somewhat like the Ring Road Rail system in Delhi only smaller. Imagine having something like that between commercial areas in Delhi.

However I am not sure how long this system could be preserved. As commuter traffic increases would it be possible to retain the older stations and keep running on old trains?

A newcomer in a city

Some days back NY Times looked at the challenges immigrants faced when they come into the city. For example:

Newcomers suddenly realize either that the city is not working for them or that they are inexorably becoming part of it, or both. They find themselves walking and talking faster.

Somewhere later the writer points out :

People are everywhere, but ignore each other on the street. Friends might live in distant neighborhoods, and seeing them often requires booking time, like an appointment, weeks in advance.

In many places, I felt like that you could replace NY with Mumbai and the article would still make sense. As an outsider to both, I could see the similarities that so many people refer to. However in terms of one aspect NY is so much better - the public transportation system.

I am not talking about about the crowds in suburban trains of Mumbai and the stress of taking a train everyday. This is more about how the system is organized. On the New York map, the subway system (metro) looks like a series of lines snaking through the city. In some places these lines run parallel to the grid like streets but in most cases they have evolved over a century of demand from the suburbs. Mumbai has three main lines covering most of the city.

However it is the synergy between the trains and buses which is lacking in Mumbai. In NY when you step out of your house buses are available with five minutes of walk. Again when you step out of the metro, the bus stop is practically outside the subway station. This is not the case for most places in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Another aspect is that in NY the comparable time difference for a bus and a taxi ride would be very little, therefore no point in paying much more for the taxi. I know that many people in Mumbai use the bus-train system, but most of my friends often resort to taking an auto if they are running late since buses are very slow.

You could argue that Mumbai is more crowded and space is a constraint but then so would people say is the case with Manhattan - the main part of NY. But somehow they have kept the roads wider by forcing people to make taller buildings. The traffic flow is still smooth and people can think of using a bus. This is not practical in Mumbai and each day more people end up using private cars or autos thus chocking the roads even more. Trips which should take ten minutes end up taking an hour.

While the New York plan may not work for our cities, we still need to learn how to keep commuting easy for people who come to our cities to work.

The last tram outpost

Last week i spent some time in that city
which still has trams running as a regular mode of transport...

Kolkatta

crisscrossing the city i remembered Istanbul
Kolkatta has almost the same variety of travel options for the tourists
rickety buses
a metro with 80's style bogies
river ferries
cycle rickshaws
hand drawn rickshaws
and the trams

yes those rickety things that lumber along
and you can actually catch up on
your morning paper (twice over)
or catch up on your sleep




i encountered so many streets in the city like this one
where one could see
different technologies transporting
the people to their destinations

i think the tourism people here
should seriously consider
making a day tour schedule of the city's landmarks
using different modes of transport

after all many tourists
use Palace on Wheels to travel in Rajasthan
in the case of Kolkatta
this kind of a day tour would appeal to
the back packer tourist

a real sastaa way to see the city....

A better public transport

Conversation in a car in Kolkata.

"The Delhi Metro is better than Cal Metro."
"Come on, we had a Metro many years before you even thought of one."
"But ours is a larger network."
"Ours is much older."
"Our is air conditioned."
"Ours cheaper. Everyone can afford it."

This exchange set me thinking. The Kolkata Metro began construction in 1973 and the first line opened in 1984. But since the standard at that time was carriages with open windows and no air conditioning the trains look a little outdated.

But the present network has been in use for more than a decade and so is frequented by all kinds of people. Unlike in Delhi where people are still reluctant to completely abandon their cars, in Kolkata the metro is the first choice for most people living and working near the network. And since there is already a link to the Dum Dum airport, traveling by the metro is a practical option.

Like Istanbul, Kolkata has a variety of transport systems. Growing up in that city in the 1990's must have been fun. If you got bored of the Metro there was always the tram. At other times you could take a boat across the river. But the sad part is that apart from the Metro, the other transport systems are falling apart. Just eight months ago I was imagining that Kolkata was the nearest when it came to Istanbul, but the mind can play tricks when you are away.

This time when I had a closer look, in terms of travel options Kolkata has a long way to go in offering a variety of travel experiences to the international traveler. In the case of most tourist friendly cities around the world, good public transport is the one big plus point.

So instead of arguing whether the Delhi Metro is better than the one in Kolkata we need to look beyond the shores and compare our systems with the best in the world.

smart move

bought a smart card for the Metro yesterday

so now i can pretend to be busy

rush in and out of the stations

without standing in line for the tickets!

i started noticing actually a lot of the regular office goers and students

also use them

damn!

i thought i was the pioneer at least in this one

diwali rush

its that time of the year
when everyone packs their maruti vans with gifts
and starts doing the rounds
distributing them to their clients

just my luck that i decided to take an auto from CP
it was a long traffic jam all the way

half way
i just got off and walked to the next metro station
immense relief

better crowd
less smoke
home in ten minutes
(OK twenty if you count that i walked back from the station)

ride to Karim's

went with a couple of friends to karim's
yesterday night
with the evenings turning colder
the ride on the metro was fun

its surprising that
most dilliwalahs
are yet to take a ride on the metro
and each time i go with a friend
they are amazed how easy it has become
to go to purani dilli
earlier they would come to this side of town
once a year

of course the trip is a historian's delight
starting at green park
parking the car near rail bhavan
the India gate lit up at a distance
an auto to Old Delhi from CP
we returned by the Metro
from Chawri Bazaar

the entire area around Jama Masjid was lit up
(either they forgot to take off the lights after Id
or they were celebrating Dussehra in advance)
money changers and beggars roamed around in the crowds
i couldn't help noticing the the large number of families that were
walking the markets so late in the night

i really cannot
describe the meal in
english language
just a note to say
that as usual we ordered too much
yet my friends
asked for another phirni
in the end

we walked back to the station
since there was still time for the last train
(metro has trains running till 11 now)
we spotted a man holding five toy swords
(no doubt for his nephews and nieces)
and i was remined of Dussehra as a child

we finished the trip
with coffee at barista
(takeaways only since they do not serve after 11)
in three hours we had sampled
food products that spanned
several continents and centuries...

rush hour on the Metro

had to leave my car for servicing in CP
on my return i found that there were many people
waiting for the Dwarka train
i wondered where were they going?

Delhi
unlike Mumbai or Kolkatta
rarely has traffic flowing in one direction
and that seems to be the case with the Metro too

when i worked in Mumbai for a project
i had to travel from Andheri to Worli
the system i followed was this
if i had to go in for an edit
would be to catch the 8.40 train from Andheri
which was crowded but manageable
anything later was impossible

if i had meeting later in the day
i would catch the train at 11
and try returning by 4
in both cases the train would be empty
(this rule holds true in Delhi Metro too as of now)

however
during morning rush hour
the trains in Mumbai leaving from town
for the suburbs would be empty
but this is not the case in Delhi

mornings
people are travelling from Dwarka to CP and beyond
and there are people travelling to Dwarka line
to places like Jhandewalan, Rajendra Place & Karol Bagh

on the other line
students are rushing off to the University
while sarkari employees are coming to work
there is no escape

and when the metro expands to NOIDA
and Gurgaon
the situation will remain the same
(i know friends who drives from NOIDA to Gurgaon to work
and the other way)
of course the Metro
will cut down travel time
but the trains will be crowded
both ways

today
i decided
to hang around a bookshop
at the Metro station
and catch the train later
it was less crowded

how long will that be the case ?

make your token go the extra mile on the metro

On Sunday, I was off to Old Delhi. And the metro was crowded like hell. I guess a lot of the families were going to parathe wali gali and such like. Me and my friend forgot to get off at Chawri Bazaar. So we did the most natural thing. Got off the next (Chandni Chowk) station and then promptly got onto the train in the opposite direction.

You can do that with the Metro. As long as you do not spend more than two hours getting in and out, you can travel as much as you want. The trick is to not leave the station and get off at the destination where your ticket is valid. I can already see kids cruising the metro in the near future because of this loophole.

At the Chawri Bazaar station one ends up walking four flights of stairs to reach the exit points and if you have come from CP it looks like a different world. My friend who had come from Gurgaon ended up using three modes of transport – his car, the metro and rickshaw. I could see many tourists and families (south delhi types) heading off for excursions. The roads were half empty and most of the shops were shut. This sight always looks strange to me but there was a Japanese group walking through admiring the old buildings on the road leading to Jama Masjid. I’m sure they would not been able to survive Chandni Chowk for even a minute on Monday!!!

Hang Out Joint 1

Finally a bakery joint has opened up at East Patel Nagar Market–Breads & More. Delighted, I have become a regular, picking up different loaves (whole wheat and all that crap!). I thought the thing would not last, what with Punjabi aunties turning away from health food and all.

But these guys had it all figured out – they rolled out their cakes and pastries to attract the Punjabis. Last evening the place was full of people stuffing themselves. If you are anywhere near Patel Nagar check out the breads. Get off at the Patel Nagar station. It’s a short walk or take a rickshaw.

my longest ride

friday
i went out to meet a friend in mayur vihar
decided to take the metro

so here is the deal
as of now one gets to a station
called Indraprastha
and then there is a auto ride to trans Yamuna

At IP a funny thing happened the trained stopped
and shifted tracks back to the other platform
Once the metro extends
into mayur vihar
IP will no longer be the last stop
and this shunting will not happen
most end stations have the tracks merging
at the back away from the platforms

right now the train slows down as you
reach pragati maidan
rumbling over the greens
and the large bus terminal
with humayun's tomb and the yamuna
staring at you from the mist at the back

kashmere gate station 8:45pm

my first post in 2007

came back from dehradun after a shoot
took a bus which put me down at ISBT

normally the next ten minutes
would be spent arguing with
an auto guy and then a one hour ride
through traffic choked streets to
karol bagh
this time
i decided to take the metro

the station at the bus adda
is huge
and confusing
i know that the stations in old delhi
go down five floors and all that
but here i didnt even know
how many time i went up and down
before i reached the actual platform
one possible reason was that
i could not figure out which of the four was mine

anyways i get onto the train
an old gent asks me
whether it will go to haus qazi

i almost blurt out not yet maybe in a couple of years
someone else nods
turns out they were not talking about HAUZ KHAS
but HAUS QAZI
which is of course in old delhi
thankfully no one noticed my red face

a group of girls in burqa were making plans
to go to an ice cream joint
while a lala was talking
on his giant nokia phone
(the one that opens up)

the fun thing was the entire trip
(which meant changing trains at CP)
took about 25 mins

A was waiting at the pusa road station
and i was home in half hour
what fun !!!

yesterday at the metro

ended up using the metro many times over
it all started with me wanting to see DHOOM 2 at Satyam in Patel Nagar

I parked my car at "rajendra palace"
and climbed up the stairs
reaching the cinema which is beside the shadipur depot station (dont ask me why they advertise they are in patel nagar)
i found out that i had an hour to spare
i decided to go to patel nagar market
and have some tea at barista

so back it was to the metro
the guy at the ticket counter was surprised
i was buying a ticket for one station away

that set me thinking
five years back
either you had to walk
take a car or a rikshaw
now all three are impossible
on patel road