Heavy rain strands Rajdhani passengers as train remains halted near Mumbai

The train halted at Valsad for more than eight hours. File pic/Wikipedia

I may have jinxed my own plans by telling everyone who asked why I took a train and not a flight that it's a Rajdhani; it never gets late. Well, am eating my words. I took the Tejas Rajdhani from Delhi to Mumbai on July 22, which was supposed to reach Borivli at 7.30 am on July 23. It's July 23, 9.20 pm, and the train is parked at Valsad station, around two hours from Borivli, but right now very far away as the rain has been slamming down on Valsad, Palghar, and Dahanu districts.

Lack of information

Tea served at 5 pm on Thursday

First, the train stopped outside Baroda station for five hours, and now at Valsad for eight hours. It's been tiring, and most of the information I have got has been from the internet. I would really like it if authorities were more accountable and made announcements about what is happening. I think accountability is the biggest green flag these days - especially from public authorities, government, and in relationships.

Lunch, snacks provided

Since it's a Rajdhani - supposed to be the jewel in the crown of Western Railways - we were served a complimentary lunch of dal chawal, and later, tea with snacks at 5 pm. Additional water was also provided later in the evening. For now, the train has AC, power vents working to charge your phone and water in the bathrooms. I hope this lasts till whatever time we reach Mumbai. Till then, all I pray is that I reach Mumbai before the time it took Odysseus to reach Ithaca.

Unreliable network

No estimated time of departure from Valsad was provided. PICS/AASTHA ATRAY BANAN

No announcements were made aboard the train. Passengers were told to sit tight and that the train hadn't been cancelled, but no estimated time of departure was given. To make matters worse, the Airtel network was unavailable, while Vodafone and Jio networks were available sporadically.

TCs, the heroes

A woman was having an anxiety attack after being stuck on the train for over 12 hours (train was still at Valsad around 9 pm) and while fellow passengers tried to calm her down, it was the TCs who opened the doors of the compartment and let her out on to the platform, and even fetched her coffee and water. They stepped up very calmly even though they didn't really understand what was going on.