Delhi diaries : The updated and upgraded survival guide to delhi metro

In 2013, just over 2 years ago, I had written the survival guide 

for delhi metro for those who were overwhelmed by the huge crowds they saw at the stations and in the coaches and were struggling for seats to sit. That 22 point writeup was written by me as part of my daily observation as I travelled and had hoped that it would ease things a bit.

This was the original guide here :

http://www.shwetabhmathur.in/2013/03/delhi-diaries-survival-guide-for-delhi.html

Now its time to update those points and present you with the 

upgraded version. Somethings have remained the same while others have gone worse. Just pay attention and enjoy the ride….once again.

1. If you are a first timer, travelling without a map is a strict no no. Better still check the metro map at various interchange or ending stations pinned on the wall. With metro making commuting connectable with the whole of NCR , sometimes you might be going to a location which is not on any direct metro route. In that case google would help you find the nearest metro station.

2. Gone are the days when the maximum crowd and rush used to be only on Kashmiri Gate, Central Secretariat and Rajiv Chowk Stations. Now the things have changed, the maximum crowded stations are now (interchangeable or ending) – Rajiv Chowk (still holds the place because of travelling crowd or beautifullll girls I don’t know), Kashmiri Gate ( due to the bus terminal in the vicinity), Badarpur border, Huda City Centre. The load on Central secretariat has eased a bit due to the extension of the Badarpur line till Mandi house.

3. 2 years back you were hoping to find an empty seat, you would have disappointed. Now also, it’s the same story..you wont get it. The only exception is late night travelling at around 10pm when coaches are pretty much empty or you boarded a 6 coach train. Build up your stamina and endurance to stand the whole journey.

4. Except the red line all other lines have train racks more than 4 coaches. The blue line trains are normally 6 coaches with the yellow line going 50-50 in both 6 and 8 coaches. The violet line from badarpur has only 1 train rack of 6 coaches. Having more coaches doesn`t mean life is a breeze, crowd grows in the same proportion.

5. Feeling suffocated in the jam packed train?? Let me give you a breather of the various points where crowd gets down.. Shhh.. just read on.

On weekdays crowd from badarpur gets down mostly at Govindpuri and Nehru place (mid way deboarding). On Sundays make that Kalkaji mandir and Central Secretariat.

Blue line on weekdays is Jhandewalan, Karol bagh, Rajendra place, Patel Nagar and few beyond. (towards and from Dwarka).

On yellow line the rush is New Delhi railway station ( 24x7x365) , MG road and Iffco chowk. Sundays Include Qutab Minar.

Apart from the specific ones, Sundays would see the most rush at stations which are near shopping malls, multiplexes, tourist places.

6. With the crowd growing every day , its advisable to travel by smart card…saves a lotttttttt of time buying tokens and unnecessary standing in the line.

7. Now every station has become like mumbai local (earlier it used to be only Rajiv Chowk). There is too much crowd that you have to really pre plan your deboarding and boarding even before the train stops. As the train chugs to a stop keep a boarding and de boarding route ready well in advance so that you can save yourself from being crushed, pushed by the crowd.

8. Earlier you could stand in the area which joined 2 coaches if you didn’t get a seat. Now forget it. Some lazy bums (who can stand with a girl for hours without a seat) will instantly get down on the floor and take up a “ too tired” yoga posture. You wont even have a place to stand.

One of those days...

     

9. Irrespective of the fact that there is now a ladies coach especially for them, don’t think that you have had easy in terms of sitting. They still rule a say in all coaches. The seats marked for them in various other coaches are still their territory so watch out first before you plomp yourself on that vacant seat. You would have to get up anyway during your snooze time for a lady.

10. Same with those 2x2 seats for senior citizens and handicapped people. I have seen older people fight among themselves for seats, it can get messy sometimes. Just keep out of it. And don’t sit it in the 1st place. When the older people start demanding that seat inspite of the other person being in genuine concern, its no use.

11. Women still stand at 2 places in coaches – just besides the door and / or they grab the pole just infront of the door. So in case you are standing at either of the 2 places and see a crowd, you very well know where the women would rush and so save yourself from being crushed.

12. This one comes from personal experience. If you have a habit of catching every train DDLJ Simran style or Jab we met Kareena style, its of no use. The unnecessary exertion you would put on your body would make you tired and would wear out the muscles and ligaments much faster than you can imagine , leaving you in a very bad state of health. Unless you are running to meet your girlfriend.. who might break up with you if you don’t reach on time.

13. 2 – 3 minutes might not seem to be much in terms of the time you set to reach your destination station but it surely is a difference between catching an over crowded train and a relatively easy one. If you feel that you cant survive in the rush, leave that and catch the next one untill you feel comfortable.

14. Carry something to pass your time along, the girls are now in the ladies coach. Those who are single and in the metro are few and far in between. Most with their boyfriends. Ouch.. that hurt..didn`t it?

15. The most beautiful of girls are found at majority of stations so take care of your heart and that “ love at first sight” tendency because you will meet a lot of stunner.

16. Catching a train from Rajiv chowk towards Yellow line but forgot which line you need to catch?? Here`s a trick – H for Haryana, H for Huda.. so catch the train for Huda city if you are looking to go towards gurgaon and Faridabad. Sometimes due to being late and crowd, a person can become disorientated and specially when he enters rajiv chowk from an entry gate he is not used to.

Yeah...that

17. Even after so many years this thing still remains the same when you see a total stunner and a ok looking boy, “ इससे पहले मुलाकात क्यूँ नहीं हुई यार”....

18. Majority of fashion disasters are caught in the metro with mainly boys coming in wearing such clothes that I cant say much. Even we wear better clothes in the morning in comparison to them while bringing groceries from the neighbourhood shop….ahh… exactly how do they dress up as if they couldn’t find one thing in a shop and they decided to catch a metro to bring it from somewhere else.

19. With summers coming and heat and humidity about to go up until the rains show up, it is advisable to carry water with you. Sometimes health can deteoriate much faster in the metro due to rush and you might feel suffocated, before you get a chance to hit the emergency alarm. On that thought, if you are travelling a bit of longer distance, just check where is the emergency alarm located so that you or the fellow passengers may press in case of an eventuality. I myself have seen medical emergencies where trains stopped at next stations while the person was evacuated.

20. Although most of the new coaches have power outlets in them to charge the phones but there is a lot of other ones that don’t have any. So its advisable to carry a powerbank just in case of an emergency.

21. There would be a lot of “ faltu” people who would try to strike a conversation with you and would want you to listen to their views about everything under the sun. If you are the person who likes to keep to yourself, tell them you are not interested otherwise you would get mad in a matter of few stations.

22. People can get damn abusive and physical for seats and I am talking about elders. So always travel as if you don’t want a seat (except for an emergency) and you`ll be fine. 

23. The metro can go bonkers anytime so keep buffer time with you always.

24. In case its one of those unfortunate days where there is a crowd of some 3000-4000 people at rajiv chowk due to slow running of trains (either at blue line or yellow) and going by auto is not an option for you due to some reason, Do this-

Stop looking at your watch. You are going to get late anyways. Don’t try to rush into the 1st available train that comes, the whole crowd would go there. Due to bunching of trains in such cases, the ones coming from behind run at very short intervals so by say the 3rd train which comes, you would find that the whole platform has become relatively empty. You can breathe a sigh of relief and board.

25. Foreigners are still the friendly chaps who love to talk about history , monuments etc. In case you spot a group in the train and you are interested in history, you`ll love talking to them.

26. Just for the boys – Many a times foreigners look absolutelyyyyyy beautiful in sarees than Indian women in their normal wear so just get a hold on your heart. They know that you are staring at them, makes them a bit conscious. Just let them feel at ease.

These points would again go through changes , upgradation in 

a few years as new lines, stations, crowds come along but this upgraded survival list and the original one would make sure that you enjoy delhi metro with minimum of hassles.