Reportage: Archana Masih
Photograph: Jewella C Miranda

At 4.05 am every morning the first local train pulls into the Chhatrapati Shivaji Suburban Terminus.

The last train departs the station at 12.40 am the following day.

During rush hour, travellers protrude out of the open doors of trains and spill onto the platform as the trains draw in.

Gripped with the same scary skill, many waiting at the station hurl themselves into the carriages and scurry to prized window seats.

All this, even before the train has drawn to a halt.

For the unaware, this may seem as madness. But for veteran travelers on Mumbai's 'locals,' this is normal.

They come from far-flung places, packed like sardines. Hanging onto bars with one arm and a toehold, their bodies flaying out in the wind. One shove could take them to death on the tracks.

It has.

But such disasters hardly cross their minds when they set out. It is about getting there; about the 8:42 'fast' or the 9:03 'Andheri local' that cannot be missed.

It is about time.

And survival.