indian address for train tickets? where to stay?

tuvan

A group of 5 of us are flying into Goa from abroad. we only have 2 days there before we need to get a train down to alleppey. I am hoping to book this train asap, but unfortunately have no address to sent the ticets to...does anyone have a suggestion near the airport in goa or some other central simple destination to send these tickets to?

Also, we will be in goa from the 24-26(hopefully taking train that eve). Can anyone suggest where will still be open and somewhat lively? We are not looking for big partying, just somewhere with a couple restaurant/bars and somewhereto kick back a few days

thanks

Eldaras

This might be a silly question, but is the e-ticket booking avalaible for that train?
The site to book the tickets is: http://www.irctc.co.in/.

If you don't know what an e-ticket is (it's not an i-ticket!) read this pages:
http://www.goneindia.com/GONEINDIAHORSESTRAINS111.html
http://www.seat61.com/India.htm

cheers!
Augusto.

ssharonuk

For a lively stay near Train station margoa id say colva nice beach to chill out and a good choice of restaurants and bars open all hours plusa good choice of hotels and .just 15 mins away from station

tuvan

I never even thought to check, and yes, it is bookable! The problem is it is waitlist only already.

When checking on http://www.indianrail.gov.in
It appears there are seats in 2ac and 3ac for foriegn tourist quota, but at
http://www.irctc.co.in

nothing appears to be available...i have tried to find some way between these two sites to book, but I can't figure it out...does anyone have a suggestion?

tuvan

and....if it is not possible to book e tickets, I must come full circle and ask if anyone has a suggestion of a place nearby the airpot to pick up i tickets...
thanks

cyberhippie

I've had a quick look and like you say the trains seem to be waiting listed!!
Which leaves you with a problem as the foriegn tourist quota CANNOT be booked online!!

steven_ber

Also, the Foreign Tourist Quota, even when available has only 2 berths in 2A and 2 berths in 3A on the Netravati Express, you require 5 berths.

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Train information.

tuvan

I know theres only 4 seats available, but one on the waitlist is better than 5 i was thinking. I am about to try and book a hotel in colva and have the tickets shipped there. Should i book the 4 tourist ones and book just one on the waitlist? Can foriegn tourist seats be booked by phone? or book 5 waitlist and hope for the best? OR just wait until i arrive on the 24th and deal with it all then? The flights from cochin are already booked for the 29th, so we have to get down there somehow.......ah, the fun of last minute organizing begins, i guess 2 1/2 weeks is too short a time to do this efficiently.

cyberhippie

Hmm you really are in a sticky situation!!!

First up for e-tickets you can only book where there is availability, that's not an option, so you will have to book waiting listed tickets via the i-ticket system and have them delivered to an address, possibly the hotel you are going to stay in??

Tourist quota tickets are only available in India itself with valid documents to show you are a foriegn tourist (passport)

I would book the waiting listed tickets or look into flights south!!

There is one other expensive, and given you've a flight to catch, risky option. You could try and get on the Taktal Quota, this quota only goes on sale 3 days before the train is due to leave!
There's a booking charge for this and you have to pay for the entire route of the train, not just the route you travel, on Navrati express that would mean paying the fare from LOKMANYATILAK (mumbai) to TRIVANDRUM

Book the waiting listed ticket (in 3 AC there's more chance of moving up the wating list in this class) and look for flight alternatives!!

greenchutney

netravati express is really popular train for many bombay keralities...and its gets sold out well in advance. especially now the holiday season as schools close!

there is an alternative to overnight bus it from goa to mangalore and then further on catch an intercity train (in the morning southbound to calicut and another train from there to allepey or bus it.....) or a second bus from mangalore south all the way~ ...really long though and tedious...

thats what we ended up doing (bus to mangalore, intercity train to calicut, bus to cochin and then bus to allepey) since we were four of us...last year during similar time of the year, tickets were sold out and planes werent available or too expensive...

other trains to look for than netravati would be pune-ernakulam (1097), gandhidham-nagercoil (6335), veraval-trivandrum (6333), okha-ernakulam (6337), Jaipur-Ernakulam (2978), Nizamuddin-Trivandrum Rajdhani (2432)...

Keep in mind that the above trains are not daily.....There are some intercity trains, summer specials that wont be listed..but MAY show up on the website...

didnt see your waitlisted number...if it is say in the 20s or 30s..maybe you have a chance..but its hard to predict given summer time and vacation season~...regardless really really doubt you would get on the netravati...its just a popular train.

you can try tatkal quota (might be decently priced for the train from pune) but usually they are expensive as pointed out earlier....

if you dont get train and flights, and if you are on a short trip...the bus all the way..i am reluctant to recommend since its really long~

alonig

If it would help i can give u address of friend in Goa u can post the tickets to, we regularly post stuff to them and have stuff sent back so know its trustworthy. Also have details of hotel there that may have spaces.
PM me if u want the details

aask

Send the tckects to :
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX(your name)
Post-Restante,
GPO- Panaji (or HPO-Madgaon)
Goa-India.
(GPO= General Post Office, HPO=Head Post Office, I guess!!)

Come to the GPO-post restante counter and collect the mail for yourself, by identifying the name in the postal article with your Passport. All post offices in India offer post-restante services(ecept for GPO's, do it only if you have the post office PIN/ZIP code). Allow mailing time(10-14 days for arimail, 3-4 days EMS speed post).

Enjoy your travel. There are 6 or more trains to Alleppey every week via Goa. The smartest option is to travel to Ernakulam-south from Goa, and connect with any of the dozen trains that ply daily from Ernakulam through Alleppey. You can buy a ticket from Goa to Alleppey, if you do not purchase it from the web, this way you can simply change the trains at the last leg(75 minutes to Alleppey). The best train to go to Alleppey is the Rajdhani Express from New Delhi to Trivandrum, twice a week. You can get off at Ernakulam South early morning and have connections within one hour to Alleppey. Browse a bit for the latest train schedules at the Indian Railway site.

steven_ber

The following train is a 'special' that can be booked and the tickets printed on a home computer.

Train 2071A departs Madgaon on Wednesdays at 13:55 and gets to Mangalore at 18:45

26- 4-2006 -- Air con Chair Class = AVAILABLE- 0022


Train 6603 departs Mangalore daily at 22:00 and gets to Alleppey at 09:30

26- 4-2006 -- 3 tier air con = AVAILABLE- 0040


Book now, I really can't see any other 'reasonable' way, I even tried direct trains from Goa to Cochin, but couldn't find availability.

I've looked for most of them trains, but unfortunetly tuvan wants tickets for the 26th of this month (I hope it's this month, he doesn't say) and the 26th falls on a Wednesday.

greenchutney

ok..i missed one...i think it jodhpur trivandrum (once a week) that reaches madgaon 7:30am on a wednesday..that train number is 6311.

yes..i would second steven and book it quick~...lot of people forget about the specials and they dont show up in the rail guides!

tuvan

FANTASTIC! I can safely say i would never ever have come up with this solution. Both trains are now booked. If anything, that timetable is better than the overnight one i was trying to get. What a nightmare that site is to navigate, i suppose it's a nice intro to what I'm about to venture into, and it all worked in the end, thank you very much, wish i knew of a way to email beer

deep gratitude for this info