Bombay Railway

Known as one of the busiest and greatest railways in the entire world, the Bombay Railway in India hosts a whooping 2.64 billion annual commuters.

Being a railway with over 2,342 train services spread over 390 kilometres (240 mi), how exactly does it work? What intricacies does it have and what stories do the people using the trains have?

Most of the trains are designed to carry 1200 passangers, but usually over 5000 people overcrowd each train.

Investigate the Bombay Railway (today known as the Mumbai Suburban Railway) throughout two different episodes as the Indian railroad opens its history, inner workings and the society which built it.

Episode 1: Pressure

The first episode takes a look at the mounting pressure of the rising amount commuters on the trains along with the problem solving o the peaktime “super-dense crush load”.

The episode also takes a look at the people whose lives revolve around the everyday struggles and surrounding pressure of the railway life.

Episode 2: Dreams

Continuing on in Bombay Railway’s second episode, the documentary looks at those whose dreams are intertwined with the Mumbai Suburban Railway life.

For a city that never sleeps – these dreams never rest too. With millions of lifestyles tied to the beat of the Mumbai trains the film has limited it to a handfull.

It follows Mumtaz Kazi, one of the first fully qualified female train drivers. For Mumtaz, we’ll get an insight into the struggles of having family responsibilities which could end up overshadowing her work in the train.

Another is Jagdish Paul Raj , the son of a railway catering officer. Like his father, Jagdish’s interest lies in food and trying to combine it properly with the railway.