Railways and the Raj by Christian Wolmar

Author:Christian Wolmar [Wolmar, Christian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RAILWAY

THE DISCONNECTION BETWEEN the experience of the European users of the railway and that of the average Indian was quite remarkable. It was as if the conditions endured by Indian travellers took place on a completely different system to the one used by passengers in the premium classes. The disparity was far greater even than between air travellers today. That is well illustrated by a lengthy analysis in the British-based Railway Gazette, which produced several special issues on Indian railways in the period before and after the First World War.

The anonymous reporters, who looked in depth at the operation of Indian railways, could not hide their enthusiasm for the system. The first impression was striking:

On an Indian railway, one is at once struck by the smart appearance of the guards and stationmasters in their white uniforms. The price of ‘ducks’ [cotton canvas trousers and jackets] and of washing being so much less than at home, clean suits are often donned daily … the permanent way on many of the lines is magnificently kept but there are exceptions to this remark as to that on cleanliness of the carriages … all station names and most notices are in English … and in many places given in four languages.1

It all seemed rather like back home, or, indeed, rather better: ‘The European waiting rooms are often, in smaller stations, arranged for the use of passengers by night (bringing of course their own bedding) with baths, and in most cases good meals … Good station gardens are sometimes to be found in the south and as a rule even the smaller stations offer successful examples.’2 Even the equivalent of W. H. Smith was available: ‘Book stalls are found at all the larger stations and refreshment rooms … the food is as good as that in the hotels (more cannot be honestly said) and reasonable in price.’3 The only complaint from the reporter who travelled on the North Western Railway for a later edition of the Gazette was that the menu on the train offered a bit too much choice:

Soup Italian

Boiled fish and butter sauce

Mutton cutlets

Teal salmi [strongly flavoured game duck]

Roast sirloin of beef

Cheese boondia [sweet little garam flour balls]

Albert pudding [a kind of bread pudding]

Strawberry cream and peaches

Cheese biscuit

Dessert and coffee

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