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Rajasthan On Wheels
Since the princely kingdoms that make up
Rajasthan invested in their own railway
lines, making rail travel convenient by the
early years of this century, it is not
surprising that the network of tracks is
particularly well established. However, for
most part, these were metre gauge tracks,
which meant that the trains were of a
narrower width, and were slower than their
counterparts of the broad gauge. Another
problem was that the coaches being made at
the Madras Coach Factory were meant for
broad gauge trains, and therefore it was
more difficult to aircondition and vestibule
current running stock, and the coaches
needed renovation. It also meant that to
link with places in Rajasthan, passengers
had to terminate their journeys at some
mid-point (usually Delhi) and transfer from
broad gauge trains to its metre gauge
network, which was proving an irritant.
Some years back, therefore, it was decided
that all the tracks needed to be
standardised. Since then, tracks are being
changed all over the state: in many
stretched, this has already been achieved,
while work is on in other cases.
All major destinations are not only
inter-linked within the state, they are also
connected with the principal gateway points
of Delhi and Mumbai. One way to travel is on
overnighters so that the day can be spent in
sightseeing: however, since last-minute
reservations are not always possible,
visitors can also opt for the day
connections. Most trains are still not
vestibuled, but at the many stations where
they halt, it is easy enough to leave one's
coach to sit in the pantry car for a cup of
tea, snacks, or even a meal (only on day
trains). This service is also provided
within your compartments at no extra cost.
Railway platforms en route are able to
provide cool drinking water, though tourists
are best advised to stick with bottled
mineral water and colas. These stations also
have news vendors where you can pick up
books and magazines, though the choice of
English reading tends to be limited. Also,
you'll find a lot of regional specialities
being vended on wheeled carts, but if you
have a delicate constitution, be careful:
however, the pleasure of a railway journey
is compouned by the hot snacks one can pick
up at platforms. If you'd like to play it
safe, opt for packets of biscuits instead,
especially since the chillies in some of the
preparations can make you, literally, sweat.
There are air-conditioned and
non-air-conditioned classes of travel, and
obviously those air-conditioned are better,
even though they're more insular. Both have
first and second classes, and
air-conditioned berths come with bed linen.
Use bathrooms in most general trains only if
you must, and carry your own toilet kit. |
