Punctuality of Bombay trains

12:05 Churchgate

Hmm, maybe it’s not just the London and Tokyo trains you can set your watch by. On the way back from my trip to Ullas Nagar, I was sitting at the Bandra station waiting for the 12:05 to Churchgate. (That’s 12:05AM — as in the middle of the night.) The train was late, and I was enjoying the last of my plum cakes on the platform.

Two old people clad in khadi strutted in, and looked at the display. It said “12:05 C”. The older one said, “Heck, we’ve missed the train. Let’s go to the next platform.”

“No, we couldn’t. It says ’12:05 C’. The train’s coming,” says the “younger”.

The older one purposefully turns towards the big clock on the station, points to it, and says, “Look. It’s 12:10. The 12:05 train has left.” End of argument.

Maybe there’s something to be said for the punctuality of local trains in Mumbai, after all.

3 thoughts on “Punctuality of Bombay trains”

  1. ullas nagar is not anywhere near on the bandra-churchgate railway link, but miles apart on different part of the town. don’t fool the people, learn bombay’s geography first

  2. and ullas nagar is not spelt as you have spelt it. It’s called Ulhas Nagar. And if you have missed the 12:05C train, you don’t have to change platforms, but simply wait there for arrival of the next train. you don’t change platforms for evry missed train. wake up, man.

  3. Raj, correction noted on the spelling of Ulhas Nagar. I was lugging furniture from Ulhas Nagar to my new house in Bandra. After moving it in, I was waiting to take the train to Churchgate, which was where my old house was. Trains from Bandra to Churchgate come on platforms 2 and 4. The 12:05 was on platform 2. The 12:10 was at Platform 4. You didn’t HAVE to change platforms, but catching the next train, in this case, meant you did.

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