Fact Check: Viral video of overcrowded train falsely attributed to India

Aayushi Rana December 30, 2024

A video of an overcrowded train with passengers sitting on the roof and hanging off the sides has gone viral, claiming it to be from India. The video showcases a chaotic scene, often associated with heavy rush during festivals or emergencies in densely populated areas. This claim gained traction on social media, with users attributing the footage to India.

A user named Not Jerome Powell (@aliarhat79) shared the video and claimed,” Indians coming into America using H1B”

Other users were also found sharing a similar video and claim which can be viewed here and here.

Fact Check

Upon conducting a fact-check, it was found that the claim is misleading. Matching images were discovered in reports by Bangladeshi media outlets. A Bangladeshi platform, Bfirst News, had published similar visuals with the caption: “Journey by train…on the roof: A menace of an offence punishable by Tk50 fine!”

Another media outlet, The Business Standard, also featured images from the same video dated July 2022, with a caption: “HC bans passengers on train rooftops, BR officials to get sacked for negligence.” The report further informed, “Railway authorities informed the HC bench that a probe body had been formed to investigate the complaints of mismanagement in train ticket sales raised by Mohiuddin Hawlader Roni, a fourth-year Dhaka University student. The HC bench said that people stand in lines for hours to buy train tickets while they are being sold on the black market. Responding to this, railway officials admitted their failure in this regard and claimed that they lack adequate manpower. The HC then asked how would Bangladesh Railways run its operations with such ‘excuses’ “.

Additionally, a closer video inspection revealed a logo on the train’s engine. When cross-referenced, it was identified as the logo of Bangladesh Railway, the state-owned railway operator of Bangladesh.