A German vlogger has gone viral on social media after he praised India’s metro system, stating it was better than some of the transit routes in Western Europe. Alex Welder took to Instagram to share the video with his over 70,000 followers where he expressed surprise at the efficiency, cleanliness and modern infrastructure of the metro systems in cities such as Delhi and Agra, highlighting how they had exceeded his expectations.
Mr Welder admitted that prior to coming to India, he had his fair share of preconceived notions which included stumbling upon a dilapidated transport system with shabby buses and noisy tuk-tuks.
“Before coming to India, the stereotypes about public transport in the country were demolished or old buses and trains and noisy tuk-tuks and rickshaws,” Mr Welder captioned the post.
“I didn’t know that some cities in India like Agra and Delhi actually have a very decent metro system. Delhi even has platform screen doors on some of its lines, plugs to charge your phone and designated seats for women and elderly,” he added.
Mr Welder revealed that he stayed in South Delhi and managed to get a seat in the metro for the majority of the time.
“As long as I didn’t ride the metros at rush hour and stayed away from the city center and tourist hotspots.”
Mr Welder pointed out that Delhi’s metro has features similar to those in countries like South Korea, Japan, and China.
“Delhi even has platform screen doors on some of its lines, plugs to charge your phone, and designated seats for women and the elderly. These are all things I’ve seen in South Korea, Japan, and China but honestly did not expect to find in India,” he noted.
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Social media reacts
As of the last update, the video had garnered over 3.8 million views and thousands of likes and comments with the majority stating that the Western world still had a myopic view of India’s progress.
“When you travel you realise the western propaganda about many things,” said one user while another added: “No drug addicts, no drunken people, nobody pissing or puking, no rats, clean a little crowded, best connectivity! better than any other subway system.”
A third commented: “Delhi metro is sooo much better than London tube.”
Mr Welder said he was surprised that other foreign tourists and content creators had not shown this side of India to the world.
