Mumbai Suburban Local Train Journey

Mumbai runs on rails. India's first passenger train steamed out of Bori Bunder for Thane on 16 April 1853, and the suburban network that grew from that short hop is now the artery of the city.

• Three principal routes carry it: the Western Line running north from Churchgate up the coastal strip, the Central Line from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus towards Thane and the ghats beyond, and the Harbour Line curling east and south across the creek.
• Between them they carry several million passenger journeys every single day, a scale few urban railways anywhere can match.
• Riding one is not a sightseeing gimmick.
• It is the single most honest way to read the city's geography, its working rhythm and its extraordinary, unsentimental tolerance for crowds.
• The trick is to time it badly on purpose — that is, to travel off-peak.
• Between roughly 11am and 4pm on a weekday, or early on a Sunday, the carriages thin out and a window seat is genuinely available.
• Buy a paper ticket at the counter or use the station's ticket machine; second class costs only a few rupees, first class several times more for the same view and rather less of a crush.
• Read the indicator board before boarding: a fast train skips most halts between the big junctions, a slow train stops everywhere, and boarding the wrong one is the classic visitor's mistake.
• Ladies' compartments, marked by painted signs and colour bands, are a well-used and useful feature.
• Stand clear of the doorway, never ride the footboard, keep your bag inside the carriage, and step well back on the platform as a train draws in.
• What you get for the price of a cup of tea is a moving cross-section of the city.
• Out of Churchgate the Western Line runs past the Oval maidan and the Art Deco frontages, then over the Mahim causeway with the bay opening out on one side — the finest few minutes on the whole network.
• The Central Line climbs through the old mill districts around Dadar and Parel, where chawls, workshops and new towers stack against one another.
• The Harbour Line delivers salt pans and mangroves near Sewri and Vadala, and on a clear winter morning, flamingos feeding on the mudflats.
• Inside, there are commuter bhajan groups, vendors working the aisle, and newspapers folded to fit a shoulder's width of space.
• Eat before or after the ride rather than on it.
• Matunga on the Central Line and King's Circle on the Harbour Line sit at the heart of Mumbai's Udupi-style South Indian belt, where long-running houses such as Ram Ashraya and Café Madras serve filter coffee, idli, upma and sheera; both are known as vegetarian kitchens, but read the board and confirm at the counter before you order.
• In Dadar West, Prakash Shakahari Upahaar Kendra is the classic stop for sabudana vada, thalipeeth and a glass of piyush — again, confirm when you sit down.
• Around Churchgate and Fort, Gujarati and Rajasthani thali houses advertise shuddh shakahari boards, and platform stalls at the bigger stations sell vada pav, batata bhaji and cutting chai.
• Mumbai is also a major seafood and non-vegetarian city, so never assume: ask the vendor or the counter to confirm the kitchen is pure vegetarian and that no egg is handled, before you order.