I've always loved to travel by train in India. On these recent visits I've taken the Shatabdi (an express train) that takes about 5 hours to go the ca. 300 kilometers (a fast trip for India travel), and ridden in the Executive Class car (eligible for senior discount now!). This is a chair car similar to what exists in the rest of the world, though the toilets are, alas, not dissimilar from the old 3d class ones.
The route first travels from the New Delhi station through the outer suburbs of the city through the Gangetic plain. Around Saharanpur the topography starts to become more rugged as the route travels out of the plain and into the 'terai' region. If the air is clear, one can start seeing mountains from near Haridwar. After the Haridwar station the route passes through several tunnels into the Siwaliks before finally entering the Doon valley.
This is the third time in as many years that I've come this route. This time I really saw all of the trash along the way. The railroad right of way is littered heavily with plastic, particularly in cities and villages. This seems to be a major problem that ought to be addressed .. but probably will not be until there is a real market (and use) for all kinds of plastic.
The route first travels from the New Delhi station through the outer suburbs of the city through the Gangetic plain. Around Saharanpur the topography starts to become more rugged as the route travels out of the plain and into the 'terai' region. If the air is clear, one can start seeing mountains from near Haridwar. After the Haridwar station the route passes through several tunnels into the Siwaliks before finally entering the Doon valley.
This is the third time in as many years that I've come this route. This time I really saw all of the trash along the way. The railroad right of way is littered heavily with plastic, particularly in cities and villages. This seems to be a major problem that ought to be addressed .. but probably will not be until there is a real market (and use) for all kinds of plastic.
