railway

Preceding the floods that drowned Mumbai, the favorite topic of discussion for me is the inane urban planning of this city. The politicians and the people have robbed this wonderful city of dreams of its beauty. Since I have been to Hong Kong (and Avinash happens to stay there) I can vouch for the fact that I haven’t seen a city as beautiful. The most towering influence as soon as you land in Hong Kong (HK) is the Chap Lap Kok International Airport and the superb Airport Express trains. It’s like getting off one plane and moving into another. Then comes the 3 private companies who run the excellent bus services and the 2 rail transport companies (KCR and MTR) running the overground as well as the underground rail services. The waterfront is also used for transportation from one island to the main land and so on. Every person carries a smart card which acts like a ticket on any transportation that you take. Simply said, Mumbai needs such services desperately and I am afraid that it’s already too late to even start thinking about it. We have the money and the expertise and the men who can do this job efficiently. All we need are some politicians with foresight and willpower.

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