“Why do you want to trouble yourself with the long train journey? Take a flight”. This is what I heard when I shared my travel plans to attend a family wedding. With good intentions, my well-wishes advised me to ditch the 20-hour train journey for faster air travel.
There was a wedding in the family and I had to travel to Kakinada, a small town in the east coast of India. I lived in Bangalore which was about 550miles away from the destination. I had two options – to travel by air or to travel by rail. Since rail reservations are hard to get, I immediately reserved a spot on the train to the destination with the view that I could cancel anytime in case I change my plan. Then I researched the best itinerary for air travel. The odd flight times and hassles of security at airports didn’t appeal to me and I stuck to my initial plan by train. I am so glad I did.
We have been conditioned to think that air travel is more comfortable when compared to train travel. Those who choose to travel by train do so because they cannot afford air travel. “Given a choice, anyone would prefer to travel by air than by train”- this is a popularly held opinion. But my train journey prodded me to re-think this well-conditioned thought process. Is cost the only reason why people travel by train (assuming connectivity is available)?
I think we need to evaluate the two options in more depth than merely considering cost factors. Let’s evaluate my journey to Kakinada on various parameters.
| Parameters | By Plane | By Train |
| Time taken to travel to airport/railway station at origin city | 90 mins | 45 mins |
| Time taken to sit in your seat | 90 mins | 10mins |
| Travel time at destination city after alighting plane/train and to board plane/train | 90 mins | 10 mins |
| Time taken to fetch bags and reach taxi stand | 45 mins | 10 mins |
| Beyond Time Factors | ||
| Experience during the journey | Constant announcements on what you should do and should not, restricted movement, and uncomfortable seating until the flight takes off, and when the flight is due to land. No space to stretch your legs. If your seat is a window or middle seat, request your co-passengers each time you must use the loo or refrain from going to the loo to avoid disturbing neighbors | You are disturbed only once when your ticket is verified. Take a book and be on your own. No one intrudes on you. Look out of the window or go to the upper berth and take a nice nap. Interaction with vendors, and co-passengers is entirely up to you. No obligation. You can choose to be detached from your surroundings until your destination. Food sales and announcements are not as intrusive and, in the face, as in an aircraft. |
| Change in sleep and waking time | Affected (early onward journey and late return journey) | Not affected (Boarding and alighting during daytime) |
Take a look at the preparation time required before and after the travel time for the two modes of transport. For flight, I need to invest 315 mins whereas for the train just 75 mins. Now coming to the actual travel time between the two modes of transport – It takes about 90 min flight for a direct flight but can be 4 hours if it is a flight with 1 stop. But even during the 90 mins, I am never allowed to be at peace. I am constantly interrupted by announcements and instructions. When I am served food, I can’t even budge from my seat and I have to wait until someone comes to collect the tray. All through the flight, I am forced to sit crammed in a small space without any room to even stretch my legs comfortably.
On the contrary, my train time is about 1200 mins but I own the time. Except for the time when the Ticket Collector (TC) comes to verify your ticket, I am not interrupted. I am not dependent on anyone and can move about freely and stretch my legs as much as I want. I can sleep if I want to, by going on to the upper berth. I can work without being interrupted. There may be vendors offering snacks and drinks. I can buy them if I want to or ignore them if I choose to. I do get a variety of choices along the way instead of limited choices and tasteless packaged food I get at inflated prices 30,000 feet up in the sky. I am not disturbed by the movements of vendors in the train as they don’t block my way if I wish to go to the loo or just take a walk along the bogies. In short, I can be with myself without intrusions into my personal space. I own the time and space. It is certainly not the case in flights.
Conversations with co-passengers are invariably more relaxed and easy on train journeys. You can maintain your distance because you do get at least an arm’s length between you and your passenger. Try having a decent conversation with a passenger sitting next to you in an aircraft. It is hard because you cannot maintain eye contact and if you do, you will have to turn your body or neck uncomfortably which is not pleasant. So, you are better off maintaining silence.
So, why the preference for air travel? Why is air travel held in higher esteem by people than train travel? I term this misplaced preference, particularly after my 20 hours of the journey each way to Kakinada. I enjoyed every moment of it and I really look forward to my next train journey.
Chittadhaara 