Delhi Metro

I got to ride the Delhi Metro last week. I am so happy for that shitty city that it finally has something world class, and even more importantly, treats it as such. What surprised me most was the relative decency which most people showed at the stations and in the trains. For one, I saw nobody littering. No graffiti, which in Indian context stands for some cheapskate etching his and/or his girlfriend's name on the glass. The Delhi Metro has just crossed 5 years of operations, and its still going great guns. In fact, they plan to add a lot more routes before the Commonwealth games in 2010.

There are some things that are still missing though when it comes to Metro etiquette. For one, and the most important was leaving the seats for women, the aged and the disabled. Sure, some women might actually prefer to be treated without any special considerations in this women's lib world, but I did see a lot of inconsideration for the aged in the metro trains. The second thing I noticed was that when there is a crowd, people lose their patience. They still havent learnt to let the inside passengers out before letting themselves in. They just rush into the thing without even noticing that some people are trying to get out. But hopefully that will change too, with time. 5 years are too little to change a society's psyche and its lifestyle.

I just wanted to post this nice map of the metro, with its tentative 2010 spread. Picked it up from the skyscrapercity.com forum, and its made by a fellow forumer. Thanks bud!