Will you take the longest train journey in India?

Описание: It was late evening. The Kanyakumari railway station wore a deserted look.

I was on the platform where the totally empty train stood. After walking what felt like a mile, I spotted my bogie.

It was totally dark. I had to switch the lights on.

The berths or seats that double up as beds were covered in the trademark blue of Indian railways.

‘How can this train be so empty?’, I asked myself.

That was the start of my journey on the Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express. 5 days, 9 states and 4200kms, it is the longest train journey of India.

Are you ready for it?

Trains make big cities accessible from millions of villages in the vast hinterland of our country. They are inexpensive and probably the biggest legacy of socialist India.

While the growth of the rail network post Independence is disappointing, you cannot argue the importance of the Indian railways.

For most Indians, trains are an obvious choice for transport, but for some privileged folks like me, it is also about the romance of the railways. The promise of crossing through different landscapes, the serendipity of meeting someone interesting and the excitement of reaching a new destination.

So it is but natural I was excited at the possibility of travelling on the longest train journey in India. My chance came in February of 2015, when I was attempting to reach the last railway stations in major directions in India using only trains.

I got in at Kanyakumari on Thursday night. The bogie was empty.

But by the time I opened my eyes in the morning, the bogie was jam-packed. The scenes were opposite to the ones I had encountered the night earlier.


The train started in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, entered Kerala and then re-entered Tamil Nadu. All in the night.

I was lucky. There were athletes from Assam who were to be my neighbours till Guwahati.

Whatever little romance I had for the train journey disappeared within the few waking hours. Dirty toilets, a sea of people everywhere and really bad food. It may sound like an exaggeration, but it felt like an entire city was packed into a train.

The first day no ticket checker arrived.

The day passed in crossing Tamil Nadu and later making our way through Andhra Pradesh. Buttermilk packets provided a welcome respite from the heat.

But conversations were fun. Where else in India would you be sharing space with the state handball team of Assam. They had won silver medal at the National games held in Trichy.

For some reason strangers you meet on trains feel like friends you ought to have in life. The coach of the handball team was fascinated by my journey and wanted to stay in touch.

But like most travel friendships, this one too disappeared after he alighted at his station.

Vendors kept crossing bogies selling everything from bangles, earphones to blessings from gods.

By now it was the third day. Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Asansol, Durgapur…..the stations came and went like a never-ending blur.

I managed to dare and visit the general compartment as well. I was in second class. Suddenly I felt like I was travelling like royalty.


Makeshift hammocks, card games and people standing huddled together as they had no space to sit. This is what the general compartment of Vivek Express looks like.

Sunday evening the train slowly drew into Guwahati. I felt a sense of victory.

“One more night and this journey would be done”, I told myself.

Maybe I celebrated too soon.

That night my camera, cards, phone and cash were stolen.

The next morning on Monday I got off at the Diburgarh railway station with no cash or proof of identity.

Passengers of Vivek express are much like most Indians. Jostling for space and dignity, but finding a way to smile nevertheless.

It is an India that we would like to forget or brush under the carpet of our glass tower urbanisation.

So if you are faint-hearted, don’t get on the Vivek Express. It is the tough and embarrassing India we do not want to know of. It is easier to look away.

If you want to know how I managed without cash, identity or camera in Dibrugarh - then I’d be happy to make a video on it. Just let me know in comments - if I get more than 5 comments, I will make a video on that interesting story as well.

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