19 Railway Stories That Travelers Are Unlikely to Forget Any Time Soon

Traveling by train is often filled with a special romance that comes from the changing scenery outside the window and the measured clatter of the wheels. But fellow travelers and their quirks definitely add a lot to this charm.

• I am working with a psychologist on my personal boundaries. I used to find it difficult to say “no” to people, even if it affected my own interests. Now I try to listen to myself more often.
  Recently I was traveling on a train. My grandmother and I had the bottom bunks. A woman with a teenage daughter came into our compartment and immediately asked me to switch bunks with them. I flatly refused.
  She started crying silently, just tears pouring down her cheeks. I took a closer look at the girl and froze: her head was completely bald (she had just taken off her hat). I understood everything at once. I apologized to the woman and gave up my bunk. We got to talking.
  It turned out that they were going for treatment. Suddenly a place for the operation became available, so they urgently bought the last tickets, and there were only top bunks available. That day I felt like a real monster, and I promised to myself that although I would try to protect my personal boundaries, I would always try to keep my humanity. © Chamber 6 / VK
• I was travelling alone in a third class compartment with 3 men. Before that, I hadn’t slept for several days, so I passed out instantly. I woke up at 5 a.m. from the feeling that someone was hugging me from behind. I was stunned with surprise. Then I quietly turned my head and was stunned even more, because I was staring at a medium-sized dog, nestled on the edge of my bunk.
  As it turned out later, it was traveling at the end of the carriage with its owner, who had fallen asleep and dropped the leash. The dog got bored and went for a walk around the carriage. And it chose me, probably because I have 2 dogs at home. This tailed guy’s name was Trojan, and he knows how to make a nice move on a girl.

• I have many train incidents, but this was the worst. I was travelling to Ahemdabad and since this was during summer this was a special train due to rush. We were on a family outing and we booked 2-tier AC ticket. The evening went well, we gossiped and had dinner.
  It was 12 by then, and I went off to bed and in just about 15 minutes I could feel itchiness all over my body and got up immediately and to my surprise I see big boils on my face and thighs apparently from bed bugs. I couldn’t stand it, I started crying looking at myself, went to the staff who sleeps outside the AC coach, even he got shocked looking at my face. He told me that he will look at the issue, an hour went by and nothing happened.
  I went again to him, and he is telling me that he went around the couch and saw no one was complaining, so he could not do anything about it. Imagine I had 2 nights in that train and the rest of the 2 nights I kept standing and crying and complaining to my mom that I will never travel in a train again, not the end of story.
  I did take a photo of my face and emailed the complaint but not to my surprise I didn’t get any respond from the railway department. It’s been 2 years, I have still not traveled by train. I know I will have to one day, but now I am scared. © Zainab Khetty / Quora
• A trip I’ll never forget is taking the train from Beijing to Lhasa. Anytime you have to sign a document about altitude sickness, and you sleep in a berth with ports built into the walls to pump in oxygen, you know you’re in a pretty unique place on the Earth. A man 2 berths down from us was severely affected by the altitude change.
  And then you wake up one morning and look out the window and see the great Tibetan plateau, untouched as far as you can see, with beautiful lakes and yaks grazing. And then as you get closer to Lhasa, the serious mountain ranges start popping up a bit. It’s all very memorable.
  Other than that, it’s not the most glamorous or fun train ride in the world. The last 1/2 day, the train crawled into Lhasa, and I was ready to jump out of it and walk the rest of the way because of cabin fever. But it’s certainly an experience to take a train into heights that aren’t frequently visited and the across the untouched expanses of Tibet into Lhasa. © lastdukestreetking / Reddit
• A couple of years ago, my 6-year-old daughter was on a train for the first time. She liked the third class carriage best, but not so much the second class compartments.
  In a third class carriage, you can hang out with other kids, visit each other, watch interesting cartoons on their tablets. And most importantly, they are in full view of everyone. But in a second class compartment, all children are hidden inside by their parents, and you can just hear them from time to time, “Pete, why have you spilled tea all over again?!” © dva*** / Pikabu

• I recently went on a business trip. There was a guy in the compartment, and we chatted all day. When we were about to go to bed, he surprised me with the question, “Can I hold your hand?” He said he has asthma and snores a lot, but if he holds on to someone, it doesn’t happen.
  I don’t know if he was lying or not, but that’s how we slept, holding hands, on neighboring bunks. Not once did he snore. © Overheard / Ideer
• I was once about to get off a train and there was a crowd of the undead about to board, and the fear of the fight gripped me. When the doors opened, this little old lady that was leaving the train at the same time, stopped in front of the door and shouted, “OFF BEFORE ON! OFF BEFORE ON!!” No word of a lie, it was like Moses parting the sea as we all got off unhindered. Whoever you are, old lady, you are a hero and I thank you. © Knowlesdinho / Reddit
• We were moving to another city with our 2 cats. The door lock in the compartment didn’t work well, but this didn’t bother us. During the night we fell fast asleep, and in the morning we found the door ajar (later we found out that during the shaking it moves by itself) and one cat missing.
  After 3 hours of searching and questioning passengers, it became clear that the animal was not on the train, apparently it had jumped out the door at the station or leaked out the window.
  We checked the stations we passed at night, found online volunteer groups and just online groups with ads, wrote hundreds of posts asking for help. We decided that we would take our stuff and the second cat to our destination, and return to look for the lost one.
  But a couple of days later we were contacted by a woman. Her husband was repairing tracks and found our missing cat at one of the stations. They sent our pet with another train straight after us. 3 days later we welcomed it at the station alive and well.
  Our faith in people is alive, we are very grateful to all those who searched the cat and supported us. © Overheard / Ideer

• My mum went on a train tour with a friend. A woman with a child traveled with them in the compartment. My mother took biscuits and all sorts of goodies for the road, but they went to eat in the restaurant car. And here she takes out biscuits, and the child says, “Oh, this is my favorite!”
  My mum’s not greedy, so she shared. But when she and her friend went to the restaurant car, this child finished all the biscuits and treated herself to other goodies. And then he asked, “What else have you got?” © Overheard / Ideer
• About 20 years ago there was a situation. A mum with 2 children was travelling from the sea. At the stop, she went to the station to buy something. And missed the train!
  In tears, she rushed to the police station. They calmed her down, immediately put her in the car and drove to catch up with the train. On the way they called the policemen at the next station, they met them halfway and put the woman in their car.
  They arrived before the train. The children didn’t have time to get frightened, plus they radioed the train foreman and told him that the mum would catch up with them. © WT2008 / Pikabu
• The overnight train from Veliko Tărnovo, Bulgaria to Istanbul is a bit terrifying, a bit magical. In the middle of the night, everyone is woken up to do the border-crossing dance. You have about 15 minutes to crowd into the office, figure out if you do or do not have to purchase a visa (and where to go to make said purchase), run back to the office to get your passport stamped, and make it back onto the train before they take off.
  After this crossing, a man with a burlap sack full of puppies or birds (couldn’t quite tell) kept trying to break into our sleeper car. Suddenly, you wake up in Istanbul, get blasted by a cacophony of airings of the call to prayer, and the next adventure begins. © wonderaemes / Reddit

• It was my 18th birthday and the entire 24 hours plus 8 more were spent on that train Hohhot to Harbin (China), and we only had standing tickets. It was a week before Chinese New Year, so the trains were packed — there were people sitting in the sinks, paying to sit in the conductor’s cabin, sleeping under the seats, I’ve honestly never been so cramped in my life. Outside was approaching −40 degrees (doesn’t matter which scale, they’re the same at that point) but inside with all the body heat was like a sauna.
  My 2 travel buddies had brought on a little birthday cake and some sickly sweet liquor that tasted kind of like popcorn, and tried unsuccessfully to get the whole cabin singing me happy birthday. It was unpleasant and uncomfortable, but I will never forget my 18th. © SilentSamamander / Reddit
• The train stopped at one of the stations. A 35–40 years old woman hurried into the sleeper class bogie and sat in my opposite seat. As soon as the train left the station, this woman unpacked her tiffin boxes and washed her hands through the train window against the force of wind and speed of the train.
  All the water whizzed back in the train, sprinkling all over my face and my seat. She realized it, but she didn’t care to apologize. I decided to let it go, as it wasn’t intentional. I cleaned my face and then my seat and continued reading my book.
  Very next minute, this lady turned to me and rigorously said rather ordered, “I am having my food, switch your seat somewhere else.” There was no please in her sentence. I just nodded and acquired the upper berth.
  After 25–30 minutes, once she was done with her lunch, I came down to my seat. Once again in a very rude tone she murmured, “You could’ve sat on the upper berth.” I was very disgusted by now but pretended as if I haven’t heard her. For no reason, she kept giving me those wicked looks. © Swapnil Patil / Quora
• I’m travelling on a train, and a couple gets on. The bed in the compartment has already been made. The girl starts to replace the bed linen with her own. She explains to the stunned conductor, “Who knows who slept on it?” The conductor tries to prove that it’s clean.
  And then this clean girl’s boyfriend, who was silently chewing sweets, drops one candy on the floor. He picks it up, blows on it and throws it back into his mouth. The conductor and I were frankly stunned by their “squeamishness.” © Podslushano / Ideer

• We’re on a train in a compartment. Me, my 2 friends and some bloke about 45 years old. We sit down, put our stuff away, and stare at our phones. I’m texting my friends, saying goodbye. One friend is also texting, the other is reading an e-book.
  The man watched us for a long time and then decided to read something. He took out his ticket, held it in his hand like a phone and studied it for 10 minutes. Then he put it away and said, “Nobody texts me.” And went to bed. © Overheard / Ideer
• At my grandmother’s place at a remote station, the train stood for 2 minutes and there was no platform. I was so afraid of missing the train that I jumped into the carriage without waiting for the conductor to lower the ladder. It was very high for a child. © Piyavka2023 / Pikabu
• I was travelling in third class, people were getting ready to leave, and a woman with a leather bag over her shoulder was standing near my compartment. I see that she puts her hand in it and says:
  — It’s cold, don’t get out.
  — Vinnie! — comes from the bag.
  — Vinnie, it’s cold, I said, don’t get out!
  And then a big parrot’s head appears out of the bag, looks round the carriage, says, “Hello!” — and hides back in the bag. © Overheard / Ideer

• When we were given bedrolls on the train, it was already 10:30 p.m. I wanted to sleep and immediately began to spread a sheet on my bottom berth. “Please wait until we finish dinner,” said a man in his forties. There were three of them. A husband, a wife, and a child about 5 or 6 years old.
  “Okay,” I said. First, the wife started feeding her son. This took almost 40 minutes. Then they put the baby to sleep on the bottom berth opposite mine and started eating leisurely, exchanging jokes and gossiping about some random relatives. Another 45 minutes of me waiting.
  Then I breathed a sigh of relief and made my bed. Half an hour later, I woke up to find all three of them sleeping peacefully with the lights on. I got up from my berth and switched off the lights.
  An hour later, the child started shaking me violently and asking me to take him to the toilet.
  At 3 a.m., I was awakened again by a noise. The father was asking the conductor why his tea hadn’t been brewed properly. The light in the compartment was switched on again. I couldn’t sleep anymore. Next morning I went to the office like a zombie! © Vijaya Lakshmi / Quora
• I thought there would be a restaurant car on the train, but it was closed. I call my mum and say, “It’s horrible, it’s a 4-day trip.” I’m 2 months pregnant, the only food available for sale is instant noodles, juice and croissants.
  I went to my compartment, and after 2 minutes a man knocked, “I heard by chance that you have nothing to eat,” and handed me pies in a bag. But as soon as I put a pie in my mouth, another knock was heard and a woman came in with a pile of food.
  My bed was full of gifts, and my neighbors were confused, saying, “Why are they bringing you food?” I confessed that I have nothing to eat, I didn’t take anything with me, and the traveling companions heard the conversation with my mother on the phone.
  The neighbors immediately said, “Why didn’t you tell us, we have plenty of food. Here are some sausages, chicken, don’t be shy.” So, the 4 of us were sitting, munching on food and telling stories. © spartanez22 / Pikabu

Pregnant women tend to get into various weird stories. Here’s one of them. Check it out.