Dacoits on the Rajdhani

Last weekend saw me travel to Baroda and Ahmedabad which included a train journey with my cousin from Mumbai to Baroda. I've always wanted to do experience the Mumbai-Delhi travel by the Rajdhani Express so even if it was half the experience upto Baroda, I jumped at it.

After we found our seats and settled there, we noticed many gentlemen who looked as if they were coming straight from work. It seemed that they all knew each other exchanging Kem-chhos and hand gestures indicating 'hello'. Finally, three of such gentlemen settled in the seats in front of us by the time the train started.

Special mentions must be made for the service on the train. Orders for snacks were followed by tea followed by soup followed by orders for dinner - the food just kept coming. The waiters were courteous and raved about the specials on the menu. I was beginning to really enjoy the journey.

When the TC arrived, we showed our tickets but our co-passengers didn't, and instead muttered something to him suspiciously to see him leave. Another fellow sitting on the other side had struck up conversation with them and this is what I gathered:
The 3 gentlemen sitting ahead were among the many diamond traders from Surat who worked in Mumbai. They would travel to Mumbai on Monday morning and would go back to their homes and family on the weekend. "Bijness karnaa hai to Mumbai mei.n rehnaa paDtaa hai." The diamond business was going good, they said, summing it up with "Narendra Modi zindaabaad".
The Rajdhani was the best train that left Mumbai evening and reached Surat non-stop by night. The catch was, they never bought a ticket.
As they told the other guy, "we have a 'setting' with the TC. This one is a good guy, he is married and has kids, so is understanding. The last one acted smart so we got him transferred to Bihar where no one gives him even 10 bucks!" They seemed to be really proud of this fact. "I have been travelling on this train up and down for the past 5 years", beamed one while polishing of his Veg. Continental, "never have I bought a ticket!"

A part of my thoughts noted the humour in the black comedy of these guys managing to hoodwink the railways at such ease. The other part was angrily calculating the loss they were causing the tax-payers. About 50 men travelling twice a week without paying a ticket costing approximately Rs. 500, I estimated them to be looting us honest tax-payers an average of Rs. 50,00,000 25,00,000 per annum. I wouldn't be surprised to know that this was comparable to train-looting dacoits in Bihar or the Chambal valley.

I pondered over this situation over the excellent dinner that came at Surat station. The blatant looting by the diamond merchants was nothing new. There are plenty of ticketless travellers with 'setting'. The fact that they travel by the expensive Rajdhani Express increases the volume of their loot. They can't be prevented by enforcing stricter checks - the only sufferer would be the TC who might get transferred to Bihar.

A better alternative would be to prevent the presence of vacant seats. On a Saturday evening, the Rajdhani is virtually empty from Mumbai to Baroda. Many passengers are travelling ticketless and enjoying good food and service at the tax-payers' expense. Reducing the fares will see a packed train with all seats being bought legitimately. I only hope the authorities take notice and act in time.