Indian Railways is one of the largest railway networks in the world, transporting more than 23 million passengers every single day. It is not just a mode of transportation—it’s the backbone of India’s economy and a daily necessity for workers, students, families, and migrant laborers. While the government celebrates the launch of high-speed trains like Vande Bharat and the proposed Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train, the reality for the common Indian traveler remains grim. The poor and middle-class citizens continue to suffer due to overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, safety lapses, poor sanitation, and mismanagement. They pay for their journeys like any other traveler, but receive the least in return.

Booking Tickets: A Game of Luck
The process of booking train tickets, especially online through the IRCTC website, has become highly competitive and often frustrating.

Key Issues:

• Tatkal bookings vanish in seconds, leaving genuine emergency travelers helpless.
• Waiting List (WL) passengers are left in suspense until the final chart is prepared, not knowing if they’ll get a seat.
• Emergency Quota (EQ) tickets are given in limited cases and often favor people with influence or connections.
• Many people get their tickets cancelled at the last moment, especially during festivals or rush seasons, causing panic and distress.
• RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) ticket allows travel with a shared seat but not a confirmed berth.

General Class: A Daily Struggle for Survival
The General (Unreserved) Coaches are perhaps the most overburdened and ignored part of Indian Railways. This is where India’s poorest travel—those who can’t afford reserved tickets or need to travel on short notice.

Ground Reality:

• Double or triple the capacity of passengers crowd into each bogie.
• People fight for seats, sometimes violently, leading to injuries or bloodshed.
• Children, elderly, and women are forced to stand for hours without rest.
• Many sit on the floor, near doors, or next to filthy toilets, enduring unhygienic and inhumane conditions.
• Passengers tie towels to metal rods to create makeshift beds in desperation.
• Some sit and even sleep inside washrooms, due to lack of space.

Sleeper Coaches and the “Challan” System
When general compartments are unbearable and tickets are unavailable, many travelers board sleeper coaches without a reservation. They often pay a challan (official fine) to the TTE to be allowed to sit in an empty berth or a seat meant for someone else.

Consequences:

• Sleeper coaches get overcrowded with unauthorized passengers.
• Fights and arguments occur between reserved passengers and those entering with a challan.
• Some passengers allow others to sit or sleep on their seats, while others resist, leading to tension and discomfort.
• This defeats the purpose of reserved travel, and no one gets a peaceful journey.

Women, Infants, and the Forgotten Passengers
Women, children, the disabled, and the elderly are the most vulnerable in the current system. Their needs are frequently overlooked.

Serious Concerns:

• No proper cabins for mothers to breastfeed or rest with babies.
• Pregnant women and senior citizens are forced to stand or sit in cramped conditions.
• No separate bogie for the disabled or elderly on most trains.
• Safety and privacy for women is a major concern in general and sleeper coaches, especially at night.

Sanitation and Cleanliness: A National Shame
Cleanliness is one of the biggest challenges on Indian trains, particularly in unreserved compartments.

Dirty Reality:

• Toilets are often unusable, with broken taps, no water, and foul smell.
• People throw garbage out of windows and onto the floor of the coaches.
• Lack of dustbins, regular cleaning, and staff accountability contributes to unhygienic conditions.
• Passengers often eat and throw leftovers under the seats, attracting pests.

Safety and Security: Constant Threats
Traveling by train has become increasingly unsafe, especially for night passengers and women.

Threats to Safety:

• Theft of money, phones, and luggage is common in crowded trains.
• People board and deboard running trains, risking their lives due to lack of platform control.
• Doors remain open during the journey, increasing accident risks.
• No proper scanning or ticket-checking system at many stations allows unauthorized or ticketless travelers to enter freely.

Ticket Overselling: Why Sell Tickets Without Seats?
One of the most frustrating issues is that tickets are sold even when no seats are available. Passengers end up paying for a journey but don’t get a place to sit or rest.

The Problem:

• Indian Railways continues to sell general and unreserved tickets beyond the train’s physical capacity.
• This leads to overcrowding, suffocation, and extreme discomfort for paying passengers.
• The system prioritizes revenue generation over passenger dignity and safety.

Vande Bharat & Bullet Trains: Who Benefits?
While India showcases modern trains and rapid connectivity, most common people don’t benefit from these high-end services.

The Disparity:

• Tickets for Vande Bharat and proposed bullet trains are too expensive for poor and middle-class passengers.
• These services only operate on select routes, leaving most of rural and semi-urban India untouched.
• The investment in high-speed rail does little to improve the everyday train experience for millions of Indians.

Food and Hygiene: A Neglected Priority in Indian Railways

Food safety and hygiene in Indian Railways continue to be overlooked, especially for passengers in general and sleeper class. While select trains operated by IRCTC may serve decent meals, the overall quality is often average, inconsistent, and unhygienic. Many passengers complain about stale food, lack of variety, and unhygienic packaging. The situation is worse at small and mid-level stations, where unauthorized vendors freely enter trains and sell gutka, tobacco, deep-fried snacks, sugary sodas, and expired packaged goods—all of which pose serious health risks. What’s more alarming is that even official IRCTC stalls and railway-authorized outlets at platforms regularly sell highly salted chips, deep-fried namkeens, processed snacks, and sugar-loaded beverages, including soft drinks. These are unhealthy for children, adults, and especially senior citizens, and contribute to long-term health problems like obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Adding to the concern is the fact that many passengers, especially in general bogies, carry alcohol or consume weed and other intoxicants openly, without any proper checking by the authorities. There are no routine baggage scans or security checks, and RPF or GRP presence is minimal, making trains unsafe for families and women travelers. If Indian Railways is serious about passenger well-being, it must implement strict food quality regulations, restrict vendors to licensed and hygienic sellers only, and stop selling junk food through its own outlets. Simultaneously, there must be strict surveillance and random checks to prevent the entry of illegal substances, protect passengers from harmful food, and ensure a safe and clean travel environment for all.

What the Government and Railways Must Do
To make Indian Railways truly for the people, immediate reforms are needed, especially for general and sleeper class passengers.

Actionable Suggestions:

• Add extra general coaches to long-distance and high-demand trains.
• Dedicated Coaches for Vulnerable Passengers
• Stop selling unreserved tickets once the train reaches capacity.
• Implement Metro-style Entry and Exit Systems
• Install metro-style gates and scanning systems at platforms to control crowding and ticketless travel.
• Improve Cleanliness and Sanitation
• Stop Selling Unhealthy Food and Drinks
• Approve Only Hygienic, Trusted Vendors
• Ban Alcohol and Drug Use on Trains

Create dedicated compartments for:

• Women
• Senior citizens
• Disabled passengers
• Mothers with infants
• Deploy more RPF (Railway Protection Force) personnel on trains for better security.
• Fine passengers who litter, spit, or damage railway property. Use challans or impose 24-hour jail for repeat offenders.
• Train TTEs and staff to assist passengers respectfully, especially during crowd management.
• Introduce awareness campaigns about cleanliness, respect, and discipline while traveling.

Final Thoughts: A Call for Dignity and Reform
The common people of India are not asking for luxury—they are demanding the basic right to travel with dignity. Every passenger, whether rich or poor, deserves a safe, clean, and respectful journey. The government must stop treating these passengers as mere revenue sources and start seeing them as citizens who deserve fair service.

Modernizing trains is important, but uplifting the daily travel conditions of millions should be the first priority. It’s time to fix the foundation before building towers of speed and technology. Indian Railways must stand not only as a marvel of engineering but also as a symbol of care, equality, and service for all.