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Strikes, steep prices, congestion: Are British trains worse than Indian ones?
LONDON: The British may have introduced railways in India, where the rapidly improving network is one of the world’s largest, but things are not exactly the same
LONDON: The British may have introduced railways in India, where the rapidly improving network is one of the world’s largest, but things are not exactly the same in UK: strikes, steep prices and congestion have irked many commuters, who are now calling for its nationalisation.
So much so that when Indian-origin stand-up Nish Kumar used humour in a Monday article to cut through the complex issues and claimed that British trains were worse than Indian ones, many agreed, but some were thrown off-track.
“When I was growing up, and periodically going to India to visit my grandmother, my classmates would often ask me about the trains. There was an exotic fascination with people sitting on top of the carriages.”
“Well, just to clear this up, British trains are now worse than Indian trains. Even if you sat on the roof, at least you get a seat,” he wrote in The Guardian, provoking nearly 1,000 comments from readers comparing their experience of travelling in India, Britain and elsewhere.
The introduction of railways in India in 1853 is often cited as part of the “good” that British rule purportedly did in India, but critics have insisted that it was introduced to facilitate revenue extraction rather than to transport ‘natives’ across the subcontinent.
Today, Britain is reputed to have the highest train fares in Europe. “If you want to travel from London to Manchester, and have not booked a ticket, be prepared to sell a kidney or stay at home. Frequent travellers have to plan ahead, booking months in advance to avoid massive fares,” Kumar wrote.
One of the private companies running trains, Southern Rail, went on a five-day strike earlier this month, prompting renewed calls for nationalisation of the rail network. It is a cause espoused by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, winning him increasing supporters.
Kumar, who is performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, added: “Nationalisation might seem like the preserve of old-fashioned, duffel-coat-wearing, Red-Flag-singing socialists, but it also appears to be economically efficient.”
British rail was privatised by the John Major government, when the infrastructure, maintenance and ownership of trains were each sold off to private firms in a process that lasted three years from 1994. It led to investment, but also higher fares over the years.
Comments on Kumar’s article included good, bad and ugly experiences of Britons travelling on Indian trains, but many agreed that commuting by rail in Britain is anything but a pleasure any more.
