Riders of the Indian Railways

First established in the mid-nineteenth century, passenger trains continue to be the primary mode of transportation in India. The government-run Indian Railways provides this service and refers to itself as the lifeline of the nation. Transporting approximately 23 million passengers daily, the ridership of Indian Railways echoes the vast economic, cultural and religious diversity of the country. Whenever I visit India, I always try to spend time at the local railway station to watch people traveling through town. My goal in this ongoing project is to capture candid passenger moments as they wait for their train to depart the station. The images in this series were made at the train station in Varanasi as I walked the station's platforms photographing through train car windows, using the available ambient light.