I’ve ridden trains across Europe and been on subways in London, New York, Athens, and many other places. But I’ve never, never seen anything like the trains in Mumbai, India. You couldn’t pay me to get on one of those death traps – not like it’s even possible to physically get on one.
The first thing you notice is that the doors don’t close. There is a rational reason for this apparant lack of safety feature. People are hanging out of them!

You may also notice that there is a “First Class” car – whatever that means… and that there are seperate cabins for men and women. Presumably to protect the Women from perverts. Of course, I guess it would be impossible to protect yourself from a pickpocket. But that’s a whole other story.
Considering that Mumbai is the fifth most populous metropolitan area on earth, and with an average annual income of around $10,000, I guess we should expect transportation to look like this. But it is still shocking to people who don’t have to live this way.



EDIT – Here is a bonus video found by our buddy WebUrbanist of a similar overcrowding situation in Japan.