England - 3rd Day.
The train stopped at Worcester Shrub Hill station and refused to move. Then there was that dreaded announcement, "A goods train has broken down ahead of us and there is a delay."
Groan!
Curses!
Within 5 minutes there is another announcement, "There's a delay of about one and a half hour."
So?
"So, we have arranged for a bus to take you the next station where a train is waiting for you."
We all troop down from our train. People queue up patiently in front of a bus.
The bus drives us to Cheltenham and sure enough there is a train, which starts the moment we get on it.
We reach Paddington, London just half an hour behind schedule.
Now, surely there is a lesson for the Indian Railways somewhere here.
This year's railway budget stressed on making good service a priority.
Ms. Mamata Bannerjee, you can start from here.
Funny: when we told our English hosts about this, they rolled their eyes and said, "British Rail! What else can you expect?" Clearly people do not appreciate what they already have.
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2 comments:
Yes, this sure should be a BIG lesson for our railways!
I agree,we do not look at what we have and focus too much on what we don't!!
Shilpa, my thoughts exactly. To be fair to Indian railways, at any given time there are at least 1500 passengers traveling on a train. To be able to arrange for an alternative transportation in case of a breakdown is difficult. But then what is required is the intention. Ways could be found out.
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