A squirm and a scrum

Travel in the Delhi Metro has plenty of leaky patches.

The Metro rail service has been the pride of Delhi, and you cannot miss the the coolest urban mass transport solution the country has to offer. But for this column we decided to do a status check on the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) service on a single route.

Peak hour at Pragati Maidan Station, from where the Blue Line to Dwarka Sector 9 gets busier. The customary frisking at entry was brief. Buying the token was easy and the clerk handled a Rs 100 note with a smile. The joy was shortlived. It ended as soon as I crossed the turnstile. Well, nature calls at the most inappropriate moments and I had to look for the non-existent sign pointing to the loo.

I turned to the help desk: “It is downstairs outside the station, sir.” And how to get out? Ditch the token. The next convenience inside the turnstiles, I was told, was at Rajiv Chowk.

At Rajiv Chowk, I abandoned the warm steel Metro seat for bodily nirvana. Again, no signage, and it took a gun-toting guard to point me to a remote corner of the platform at one of the busiest stations. Release came after squirming in a queue for three minutes for a shot at one of the two urinals. Sulabh International need to be praised for their general efforts towards sanitation, but surely a Metro station deserves better. Wonder who forgot to provide free, clean and modern toilets in the Metro? And why not have them near the platforms at all stations?

Relieved, I returned to a train. There was no way to get a seat. The queue waited to be shoved into the train. The DMRC does its rudimentary best with a few hired private hands who extricate commuters from closing doors, causing delays. I managed to squirm in and stood luckily directly beneath the air-conditioning, cooling my fuming head.

A note on the typical Delhi Metro commuter. He/she parks right at the door irrespective of inconvenience caused, will not budge to offer seats to those who need them more, will talk loudly into the mobile and sneeze into other people’s faces, and rush to use the elevator at stations, meant for those with special mobility needs.

The ride was otherwise smooth and comfortable, ignoring the screech from the wheels of a braking train.

I was quite bored by Dwarka Main Station, so returned.

Score: 5/10. The Metro must improve, but Delhiites need etiquette lessons.

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