Letting the train take the strain

I shall return to Mattindia at the end of my stay, but I am now off for a week at the coast. I wasn’t bothered about lying on a beach; I just wanted peace and quiet to write and rest. It’s a 3-hour train journey to Varkala and I had no idea what to expect. With a 6am start, I needed to be up at 4.30 to take the auto-rickshaw to the station, 5km away, and so it was that I stood at the roadside in the humid night air, hoping the rickshaw driver had not over-slept.

20-0dd coaches and standing-room only

He hadn't, and he greeted me cheerfully. He had taken my much-loved Clarks sandals to be re-soled, and will have them for me when I return to Mattindia next month. The total cost for the cobbler's work and his job in driving around would be £4.92 - so I agreed happily. I was not the first passenger to arrive at the station, and I chatted to a school teacher who was waiting for the same train and continuing further, to a course in Trivandrum. Over the next half-hour more passengers arrived, in an alarming flow, until there were at least a hundred and more on the platform of this remote station in the middle of nowhere.

The ticket office opened and I bought my ticket for the 142 km,(88 miles,) 3-hour journey to Varkala. That set me back 40 rupees (39p) but with no reservation I wasn't guaranteed a seat. Joy, the owner of Mattindia, had told me I wouldn't need a reservation, but then he is about one third my size and with a wig, and without a moustache, he could probably travel for child-fare. 

When the train arrived I rushed to climb aboard but was quickly discouraged: "No, Sir. That is a ladies-only carriage." I charged further down the platform and climbed up to meet a sea of blank faces. There was a seat half-way down and with an extra-big smile, I asked if the place was free. "Reservations," came the reply,"this carriage is for reservations."  And so it was: and so it was for the next four carriages. These seats were reserved for people with pre-booked reservations. Finally, I decided to chance my luck and just sit down and see what happened. The bench-seats are for three passengers, which is fine for normal Indians but not for XXL Brits. Half of me balanced on the aisle seat . . . but it was better than standing.

Indian Railways is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km (71,000 miles) of track and 7,172 stations. Last year it carried more than 23 million passengers daily. I can believe it. The train trundled on, averaging less than 30mph, but it got me to Varkala very cheaply, and there were taxis at the station, vying for trade to take me to my home by the beach.

Arriving at Varkala station