I have been taking trains around Bombay basically since my second day here. But I've written very little about them, especially considering that my train travels have been one of the defining aspects of my Bombay experience. There is a train station one short block from Bakir uncle's place (where I'm staying), so I find myself on a train almost on a daily basis.
The Bombay rail system covers most of the city. There are three main lines that connect the city center in the south to the northern suburbs. Much of south Bombay's work force lives in a northern suburb and commutes into the city every day, many on trains. So especially during rush hour, the trains are extremely crowded. (As a side point, the use of the word suburb is a bit misleading here. Bombayites call much of the city that is not South Bombay "suburbs," but these are still very urban places. Some slums in the suburbs have population densities of around 100,000 per square kilometer).
The trains don't have closed doors, so you can hang out the side and jump on and off at any time. Every train has a few cars designated as women's compartments. I always ride in these-- most women do, unless they are traveling with a man-- because when its so crowded that you can't help but be pressed against others' bodies, its a little more comfortable if they're all women. One less thing to worry about. And as riders, women are less rough. Men dangle out of the compartment more, take leaps onto moving trains and jump off well before the train comes to a complete stop.
There is a pretty well-established code of conduct and camaraderie on trains. There is also a lot of pushing. Both of these things are at their height during rush hour. Since I live in the south and tend to travel to the north for work, I often find myself riding against rush hour and rarely have to deal with the situations I am about to describe. Still, I have been on a few rush hour trains and they are my most memorable experiences.
One key to understanding rush hour patterns is the observation that the trains stop at each station for only about 15 to 20 seconds. When there are large crowds of people that need to exit and enter the train during that short period of time, you really have to be on your toes to make sure you don't get left behind. First, you have to position yourself near the door of the train before it arrives at your station. And you can't just quietly wait behind someone else who is near the door-- you have to ask if they're getting off at your destination, because if they don't move, you'll be trapped. If the person in front of you is getting off after you, she will switch places with you and let you get closer to the door. People are constantly asking others where they need to go and rearranging their positions.
When its time to get off, you can't dilly-dally. The people at the very edge of the compartment, near the doors, have to begin their exit before the train has fully stopped. Its best to do this of your own volition, because otherwise, someone behind you will push you. Better to exit a moving train on your own terms rather than someone else's. Its also imperative to get out of the way as soon as you are off the train. If you're not successful on that account, you risk being swept into the sea of people that is entering the train. Kind of like being caught in a whirlpool. Once, when I found myself being shoved back onto the train by the incoming wave, a woman on the outside grabbed my arm and yanked me to safety. So while there is a decent amount of pushing and very little personal space, there is also plenty of help if you need it. Kind of a reflection of Bombay itself... crowded, abrasive, personal... and ultimately friendly.
The compartment in the picture above is only moderately crowded. It was taken on a Sunday... rush hour is probably twice as crowded. Below is a video of rush hour.
A final, rather stunning, train fact: Bombay trains kill about 4,000 people a year. This includes riders as well as people who get run over because they live/work/walk too close to the tracks. (This is a statistic I found in Maximum City by Sukhetu Mehta... a really entertaining book on Bombay).