When a Passenger's Letter Over 100 Years Ago Paved Way For Toilets On Trains
Last Updated: February 11, 2023, 11:21 IST
There were no restrooms on board for around 56 years.
Passengers would earlier relieve themselves on the sides of the railway tracks when the train came to a halt
Luxury trains like Palace on Wheels operate in India today. The railroad network offers its customers five-star amenities now, but it wasn’t always the same. India started using trains 170 years ago. On April 16, 1853, the first passenger railway in India travelled from Bombay (Mumbai) to Thane. There were no restrooms on board for around 56 years.
Passengers used to relieve themselves on the sides of the railway tracks when the train came to a halt. This caused severe inconvenience to passengers, many of whom missed their trains while getting off to relieve themselves. A letter written to a railway official by a railway passenger who fell while trying to catch a train by running to the toilet on the side of the railway tracks paved the way for the installation of toilets in Indian trains.
In the year 1909, the Indian Railways began using toilets when a passenger named Akhil Chandra Sen experienced a gastrointestinal ailment. He had to deboard at West Bengal’s Ahmedpur station because of an upset stomach. He went to the tracks to defecate. However, the train began to move after the guard blew his whistle. Running while holding his pot and dhoti, he lost his balance and fell, missing his train. He complained in writing to the railway’s Sahibganj divisional office about the train guard’s conduct and the absence of toilets in trains. This letter written by him is still kept in the Railway Museum of Delhi.
“This is very improper; why doesn’t the guard stop the train for a short while even if the passengers are outside to relieve themselves? Therefore, I beg you to find the guard severely. If not, I will tell the newspaper about this,” wrote Akhil Chandra Sen in his letter addressed to the Railways.
It is believed that it was only after Akhil’s letter that the railway officials took this matter seriously and started installing toilets in trains travelling for more than 50 miles. Even though the passengers got this facility in 1909, the loco pilots had to wait till 2016 to get this facility in the rail engine. Before 2016, there were no toilets in the locos
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