My sons had never traveled by First AC before. During our Kulu-Manali trip, I booked our return tickets from Delhi in First AC. We were all so tired that as soon as the train departed, we crashed into the berths. It was a peaceful, relaxing, and enjoyable journey back.

Non-AC First Class compartments have almost vanished from the trains now. However, trains with AC compartments include First AC as part of the options. With limited seats, my wife and I would travel First AC whenever we visited our Family Deity, benefiting from concessional rates for senior citizens. Although it was only a five-hour journey, it was a day train with berths, perhaps because the return journey was overnight. It was a comfortable experience where we could relax and lie down.

Last year, when both our sons and their families visited, we booked tickets for the same train, and almost the entire First AC portion was ours. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it, with plenty of snacks and space to move from bay to bay, up and down the berths, giggling and laughing. They were excited to see landmarks, especially the Kollidam River, which they had seen in the movie Ponniyin Selvan. This movie had piqued their interest in seeing the Cauvery River and Raja Raja Cholan Temple in real life. Perhaps that’s why they agreed to this pilgrimage—just kidding!

On the return trip from Tiruchi, we took the Tejas Express, another ultra-modern train. It was an Executive Class with only seating. The train featured electronic doors, charging ports, comfortable pushback seats, and snacks available throughout the journey. The non-stop four-hour trip back to Chennai was amazing. No more charts or paper tickets—just e-tickets shown on the phone and a fashionable ticket examiner with a state-of-the-art iPad checking them in seconds. How far we’ve come!

Indian trains are a lot of fun to travel on, and with trains becoming more modern, with better facilities, faster speeds, and great connectivity, why look for another mode of transport?

Since I had to rewrite yesterday’s post, I accidentally included a few instances from this one. I’m letting it go but will share a few more train travel experiences.

One memorable trip was when I took an AC Chair Car from Delhi to Bombay. Returning to Chennai with my family, my parents and youngest sister were coming separately. Because I had to report immediately to a rural branch, I traveled by second class at my own expense. In Poona, a large crowd of rough-looking commuters boarded our reserved compartment and sat wherever they could, even on the top berth. It was sleep time, and we tried to protest, but to no avail. We later learned this was a daily occurrence, and one had to endure quietly. Among them was a large, threatening-looking man who seemed drunk. My 18-month-old son was disturbed by the noise and developed a fever. We were praying that no one misbehaved. After two or three hours, they finally disembarked at Dhond, I think. It was a harrowing experience, and the ticket examiner conveniently vanished during this episode.

The family trip to our Family Deity’s temple in Tanjore also resulted in a scary experience. While boarding the train at Tiruchi, I had to climb two steps. So, when disembarking at Egmore, I assumed I had to climb down two steps as well. But the platform was flush with the train, and I nearly stepped into the gap between the train and the platform. Fortunately, my young son was trying to help me, and I fell on him, narrowly avoiding the gap. Why can’t such things be standardized? There is much to be done for differently-abled people in public transport.

I’ll end with one more interesting experience. A few years ago, my wife and I took the same train to our Family Deity’s Temple. At Vaitheeswaran Temple Station, the train stops for just one minute. When we opened the door, there was no visible platform, just ground with stones. How were we to get out? I shouted for the conductor. The train had started moving, but luckily the conductor rushed to us, asked us to remain calm, and explained that the platform was shorter than the train. It would stop again after moving a few yards.

But the experience at Egmore, where I nearly fell into the gap, has left me wary of train travel.

Continued in 132. Savour Sweeties