This is the shocking moment passengers squeezed into a toilet on an overcrowded train in India.

Footage shows desperate travellers crammed inside the filthy lavatory while other commuters jostled their way inside the packed train coach at the Charbagh Railway station in Lucknow on February 16.

Ashwini Kumar, one of the passengers who stayed in the toilet, said: 'I travelled inside the train's toilet for hours to reach Lucknow. I'm still lucky to get a seat as many could not board.'

This incident highlights the challenges faced by the Indian Railways, which serves as the largest daily traffic transporter in the country, connecting various regions of India through its extensive network.

With an average of more than 12,817 trains running daily, the Indian Railways plays a crucial role in transporting around 24 million passengers nationwide.

However, the country's massive population of commuters means coaches are often overcrowded, leading to travel chaos.