New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- Last year, I got an opportunity that I will remember for a long time. I was selected for a short film on Indian Railways and travelled to different railway locations for the shoot. It was unusual because I was looking at the Railways from two different worlds - as a theatre artist in front of the camera and as an Indian Railway Management Service officer who had begun to understand the organisation from within. During the shoot, I noticed things I might otherwise have overlooked. A railway station is fascinating. Someone is always arriving, someone is always leaving. Every passenger has a reason for travelling, and that is why the changes taking place across Indian Railways are important.

More than a place to catch a train

Think about the railway station we knew a decade ago - crowded platforms, long queues, inadequate waiting spaces and stairs difficult for elderly passengers. Today, the idea of a railway station is gradually changing. The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme is aimed at developing stations with better access, waiting halls, toilets, lifts and escalators, passenger information systems, cleanliness, facilities for Divyangjan and integration with the surrounding city. It also envisages Wi-Fi and spaces for local products through One Station One Product. Good infrastructure is ultimately about making ordinary situations easier for ordinary people.

Technology that works quietly in the background

There is another transformation passengers may not always notice - the increasing use of technology. Railways is moving towards greater use of digital systems, data and artificial intelligence. The most useful technology may be the technology a passenger never notices - preventing safety issues or providing information quickly during delays and platform changes. RailMadad allows passengers to register and track complaints, while 139 is available for assistance.

Safety is not always visible - but it matters the most

When everything works perfectly, passengers rarely think about railway safety. We board a train and reach our destination without necessarily thinking about signalling systems, track maintenance, inspections, control rooms and thousands of employees whose work makes that journey possible. Technologies such as Kavach are part of this greater effort towards safety. After joining the service, I began noticing the enormous chain of people and processes behind every journey.

Small facilities can mean big things

Indian Railways has provided facilities for Divyangjan in passenger coaches, including wider entrances, wheelchair spaces and accessible toilets, while Braille signage is being provided in newly manufactured coaches and retrofitted progressively in existing coaches. For a visually impaired passenger, a Braille sign can mean greater independence. Public infrastructure should be judged not only by how much has been built, but by who can use it and how easily.

Cleanliness is everyone's responsibility

The widespread adoption of bio-toilets has helped prevent human waste from being discharged directly onto tracks. But infrastructure and technology can go only so far. A clean railway also requires better habits and better citizenship from passengers.

People behind the railway

During my short-film shoot, I became more conscious of employees who rarely become part of the passenger's story - ticket checkers, cleaning and station staff, maintenance workers, RPF personnel and loco pilots. We often remember the train but rarely the people who make it possible. The transformation of Indian Railways is also about the people who run the system every day.

Passengers have a role too

We often ask what Indian Railways is doing for us. Perhaps we should occasionally ask what we are doing for Indian Railways. Can we keep our coach clean, respect reserved spaces for elderly and Divyangjan passengers and follow safety instructions? A public transport system can only become as good as the relationship between the institution and the people it serves.

The journey ahead

When I look back at that short-film shoot today, what stays with me is the diversity of people I saw travelling through the railway system. Everyone was going somewhere. Everyone had a story. And everyone expected the Railway to get them there safely. The future railway cannot be defined only by speed. It has to be defined by safety, accessibility, cleanliness, technology, reliability and dignity.

The most meaningful transformation will be the one a passenger feels without needing to understand the technology behind it. A grandmother should be able to find her platform without anxiety. A Divyang passenger should be able to move independently. And when the train finally pulls into the destination station, the passenger should feel that the journey was not merely completed - it was cared for.

That is the Indian Railway I saw glimpses of during my short-film journey. And that is the railway journey we should continue building - one in which India's progress is measured not merely by how fast its trains move, but by how comfortably, safely and inclusively its people move with them.

Views expressed are personal. The writer is an IRMS officer

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.