‘Littered floors, soiled berths…': Travel vlogger shares plight of one of India's longest-running train routes

Indian Express

4 hours ago

A shocking video showing the poor state of the sleeper class of the Vivek Express, one of the longest-running train routes running from Kanyakumari to Dibrugarh. Ujjwal Singh, a travel vlogger, recently shared his disturbing experience aboard the train. Singh called it 'India ki sabse gandi train – Vivek Express' (India's dirtiest train).
The video, posted on Instagram, has since sparked widespread conversation about cleanliness standards and the urgent need for regular maintenance in Indian Railways. In the viral video, Singh greets viewers and says, 'Swagat hai India ki sabse gandi train par, yaani dirty train ke andar. Yeh India ki longest train bhi hai – Kanyakumari se lekar Dibrugarh tak. Isse zyada gandi train maine aaj tak nahi dekhi…' (Welcome to the dirtiest train of India. This is also the longest train, from Kanyakumari to Dibrugarh. I've not seen a train dirtier than this'.
He points out that the train is so filthy, it appears no cleaning is done during its entire three-day journey.
The visuals in the video capture littered floors, soiled berths, leaking taps, and visibly unhygienic conditions. In one moment, Singh is even seen covering his nose, indicating how unbearable the stench is.
'Dear Indian Railways, I feel like crying since I love Indian Railways, and I feel bad capturing this. Hope to see a better Indian Railways for common people. Thank you for your consideration. Regards, Ujjwal Singh,' he ends the video with a note.
Watch here:
A post shared by ujjwal – THE EXPLORER (@ujjwal.the_explorer)
The viral garnered over eight lakh views, with a user commenting, 'Bhai its not always abt Indian railway's cleanliness its also about being an Indian citizen's civic sense.' Another user wrote, 'No point tagging railway authority and railway minister. We are the ones who dirty it. How many times will they come and clean.'
'We can't blame the system if we're the ones making it dirty. It starts with us,' a third user reacted. 'We are fifth largest growing economy in the world one day we would be a developed country,' a fourth user said.