Mumbai Man Compares Travelling In Local Train To Olympic Sport: ‘Endless Queues, Sweat, Pushing, No Space To Breathe’

A young Mumbai professional recently shared an emotional note that has struck a chord with many. In it, he opened up about how a small delay after work turned into a long, exhausting journey home, one that made him question life in India’s busiest city.

His words paint a vivid picture of what millions experience daily, while ending on a powerful thought: do citizens really deserve to live this way despite paying their taxes?

“It Felt Like a Punishment Just to Get Home”

The man on Reddit wrote that he usually plans his commute carefully to avoid rush hour, but leaving work just 30 minutes late completely changed his evening. “Yesterday was one of those days that make you question everything about living and working in this country,” he said.

What

followed was a nightmare: two local trains, a shared auto, endless queues, sweat, and pushing crowds. “Getting into a local train was an Olympic sport,” he described, adding that even first-class coaches offered no relief.

“People literally pressed against each other. There’s no concept of personal space. I was in first class, and still people were shouting, ‘please move your hair,’ ‘keep your bag here,’ ‘don’t touch me.’ Like, do you not see? There’s no space to even stand properly.”

He added that after nearly an hour of standing in the packed train, he had to wait another 20 minutes for an auto, only to get stuck in traffic for another hour. “It’s just 2-3 km, but it feels like a marathon,” he wrote.

“Is This Really What We Deserve?”

The man questioned why things have to be this difficult for ordinary citizens. “Is this what we’re paying taxes for? Is this what we deserve as citizens of this country?” he asked. While people often blame overcrowding or lack of taxpayers, he argued that it is the government’s responsibility to fix systemic issues.

“Why should we, the ones already doing our bit, be punished every single day with this chaos and zero improvement?” he said. “I can afford to take a cab, but should that really be the only option? Why does choosing public transport have to feel like a punishment?”

His post also touched on the larger issue of accountability, expressing frustration that people have accepted such hardships as normal. “It’s not just about trains or traffic,” he wrote. “It’s about accountability. About the fact that we’ve been suffering through this for years, while our leaders pretend like everything’s fine. It’s not. It’s exhausting. It’s demoralising. And it’s high time we stop normalising this struggle.”

Check the post here:

I’m genuinely exhausted, is this really what we deserve as Indians?
byu/Empty-Homework-7030 inmumbai

Online Reactions Reflect Shared Frustration

Titled “I’m genuinely exhausted, is this really what we deserve as Indians?”, the post drew hundreds of reactions from people who said they could relate.

“True, travelling every day in local trains sucks the soul from the body,” one user wrote.

Another added, “Zero town planning from both big national parties since the ’90s has led to this crowded situation in metropolitan cities.”

“You’re absolutely right and it’s frustrating,” someone commented, while another shared, “I made a post about this a few days ago to discuss what we can do. No response. People are weak and don’t want to fight for change.”