Booking rail tickets from abroad- a Beginner's Guide

ilaris · Feb 23rd, 2009, 13:48

Swapnil, thanks. I also did mark the tatkal - hope it helps me to get the berth.

My (uneducated) assumption is that Delhi-Gorakhpur is popular route.

Menindee · Feb 28th, 2009, 03:57

I recently had trouble booking an E-ticket trying to use Visa.
The Indian Rail ask you what bank you want to use to buy your ticket, they are all Indian Banks. But they are not asking which bank you use, they are asking which bank you want to handle your transaction. I found using a Visa debit card thru Axis worked fine. I don't know about Diners. I booked 2 1/2 months in advance for a sleeper from Mumbai to Jaipur and there were only three berths left. Hence, you need to book as far ahead as possible or take your chances sitting up all night.

bond007 · Mar 13th, 2009, 05:14

I didn't think you could get a Waitlisted ticket in Tatkal quota... right?

steven_ber · Mar 13th, 2009, 12:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by bond007

I didn't think you could get a Waitlisted ticket in Tatkal quota... right?

Yes, once all Tatkal tickets are sold, a waitlist is started, but I'm about 99% sure there are no RAC tickets sold in Tatkal.

bitchou · Apr 26th, 2009, 17:41

Hi,

Thanks for this nice job. Very helpful.

Usually a friend sends my ticket from India. This time I want to keep my arrival secret. So I want to book my ticket on line. I suppose it is possible now to reserve for foreigners (I am french).

Do you think it is possible to pay via Paypal ? I did not find here any reference about it.

Thanks a lot.

Menindee · Apr 27th, 2009, 04:10

I don't think Paypal will be accepted.
Visa appears to by widely accepted thoughout India.

carlostik · Apr 27th, 2009, 04:22

Do I have any chance to get (2) train tickets for several journeys in Kerala-Goa area around 20 May (specially the one from Calicut to Magdaon)?

It looks like I should be more far-sighted or discover IM months ago!

Menindee · Apr 27th, 2009, 04:40

You can only try.
Booking on line is easy.
Just do your homework, know which train you want, know origin/destination, what class of travel etc etc.

carlostik · Apr 27th, 2009, 05:41

Thanks Menindee. I am doing my homework, memorizing timetables and reading steven posts as my bible. Just afraid of being unable to get tickets "on site" (which it would be anyway a much more exciting experience than check "sold out" online).

bitchou · Apr 27th, 2009, 13:12

Thank you for your answer Menindee.

bitchou

carlostik · Apr 29th, 2009, 17:35

Just bought my first E-ticket! This is simply amazing, even if I wouldn´t need the tickets, booking them is a great experience. WL 11/WL 9 (journey date 22nd May).

After reading most of railways thread, i still have a practical doubt. If tourist quota can´t be booked online, that means tourist quota tickets should be bought at counters. So will there be available tickets for these journeys "on site"? Should and could we buy tickets once we arrive in India for all required journeys for our trip?

gaurav1441 · Apr 29th, 2009, 17:41

You are correct . Tourist Quota Tickets can be booked from Reservation counters of Indian Railways spread across India at almost all Railway Stations and other places.You can definitely buy once you land up here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlostik

Just bought my first E-ticket! This is simply amazing, even if I wouldn´t need the tickets, booking them is a great experience. WL 11/WL 9 (journey date 22nd May).

After reading most of railways thread, i still have a practical doubt. If tourist quota can´t be booked online, that means tourist quota tickets should be bought at counters. So will there be available tickets for these journeys "on site"? Should and could we buy tickets once we arrive in India for all required journeys for our trip?

machadinha · Apr 29th, 2009, 19:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlostik

If tourist quota can´t be booked online, that means tourist quota tickets should be bought at counters. So will there be available tickets for these journeys "on site"? Should and could we buy tickets once we arrive in India for all required journeys for our trip?

It's not so clear-cut: The foreign tourist quota (or any other quota for that matter) is precisely a quota: A certain number of seats get reserved for foreign tourists, on certain trains and on certain routes only. They will be allotted to stations along those routes according to their importance or popularity. (I.e., you may stand a good chance of booking them from station A, but not at all from station B, whereas C may not have any to begin with.)

Once those seats are gone (i.e., other tourists -- NRI's [Non-Resident Indians, of which there may be many traveling around at any given time, certainly around holiday periods in either India or their places of residence] included, I believe -- have already booked them), the quota is gone. One sees the advice too often to "go for the tourist quota," as if it were a guaranteed thing. It isn't.

In short, no one can tell just like that if you'll manage to get a seat or not using the quota.

carlostik · Apr 29th, 2009, 19:41

Thank you guys!

I didn´t mean that i put all my hopes in foreign tourist quota. But simply: having so scarce online booking system, with most of services (I am interested in) "sold out"; I just wonder if this is just regarding "online available seats" or those services are really going to be sold out and I have little chance to get a ticket there.

machadinha · Apr 29th, 2009, 20:56

Again, it's impossible to say just like that. I think if you use http://erail.in/ (note: results should always be checked with the official Railways site to be sure), you can check on the Foreign Quota (you can check on various quotas somewhere at the top right), so this might give you an indication.

The online booking system btw can hardly be said to be scant, it's quite advanced really; I haven't checked your precise plans, but this is the Indian summer holiday season (late March/early April till June/July or thereabouts), so certainly popular routes will book out well in advance yes. So if everything's sold out, it's less likely to be because the system is dysfunctional, but because it's sold out indeed.

Feb 28th, 2009, 03:57	#707
Menindee Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Newcastle Aust. Posts: 5	Diner Club rail payment I recently had trouble booking an E-ticket trying to use Visa. The Indian Rail ask you what bank you want to use to buy your ticket, they are all Indian Banks. But they are not asking which bank you use, they are asking which bank you want to handle your transaction. I found using a Visa debit card thru Axis worked fine. I don't know about Diners. I booked 2 1/2 months in advance for a sleeper from Mumbai to Jaipur and there were only three berths left. Hence, you need to book as far ahead as possible or take your chances sitting up all night.

Apr 26th, 2009, 17:41	#710
bitchou Hindi student Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Paris France Posts: 30	Reservation with Paypal ? Hi, Thanks for this nice job. Very helpful. Usually a friend sends my ticket from India. This time I want to keep my arrival secret. So I want to book my ticket on line. I suppose it is possible now to reserve for foreigners (I am french). Do you think it is possible to pay via Paypal ? I did not find here any reference about it. Thanks a lot. __________________ Bitchou

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Feb 23rd, 2009, 13:48	#706
ilaris Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Finland Posts: 4	Swapnil, thanks. I also did mark the tatkal - hope it helps me to get the berth. My (uneducated) assumption is that Delhi-Gorakhpur is popular route.

Mar 13th, 2009, 05:14	#708
bond007 Alien from India Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Delhi/US Posts: 251	I didn't think you could get a Waitlisted ticket in Tatkal quota... right?

Apr 27th, 2009, 04:10	#711
Menindee Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Newcastle Aust. Posts: 5	I don't think Paypal will be accepted. Visa appears to by widely accepted thoughout India.

Apr 27th, 2009, 04:22	#712
carlostik Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: London Posts: 17	Do I have any chance to get (2) train tickets for several journeys in Kerala-Goa area around 20 May (specially the one from Calicut to Magdaon)? It looks like I should be more far-sighted or discover IM months ago!

Apr 27th, 2009, 04:40	#713
Menindee Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Newcastle Aust. Posts: 5	You can only try. Booking on line is easy. Just do your homework, know which train you want, know origin/destination, what class of travel etc etc.

Apr 27th, 2009, 05:41	#714
carlostik Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: London Posts: 17	Thanks Menindee. I am doing my homework, memorizing timetables and reading steven posts as my bible. Just afraid of being unable to get tickets "on site" (which it would be anyway a much more exciting experience than check "sold out" online).

Apr 27th, 2009, 13:12	#715
bitchou Hindi student Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Paris France Posts: 30	Thank you for your answer Menindee. bitchou

Apr 29th, 2009, 17:35	#716
carlostik Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: London Posts: 17	Just bought my first E-ticket! This is simply amazing, even if I wouldn´t need the tickets, booking them is a great experience. WL 11/WL 9 (journey date 22nd May). After reading most of railways thread, i still have a practical doubt. If tourist quota can´t be booked online, that means tourist quota tickets should be bought at counters. So will there be available tickets for these journeys "on site"? Should and could we buy tickets once we arrive in India for all required journeys for our trip?

Apr 29th, 2009, 19:41	#719
carlostik Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: London Posts: 17	Thank you guys! I didn´t mean that i put all my hopes in foreign tourist quota. But simply: having so scarce online booking system, with most of services (I am interested in) "sold out"; I just wonder if this is just regarding "online available seats" or those services are really going to be sold out and I have little chance to get a ticket there.

Apr 29th, 2009, 20:56	#720
machadinha brother my cup is empty member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 14,385	Again, it's impossible to say just like that. I think if you use http://erail.in/ (note: results should always be checked with the official Railways site to be sure), you can check on the Foreign Quota (you can check on various quotas somewhere at the top right), so this might give you an indication. The online booking system btw can hardly be said to be scant, it's quite advanced really; I haven't checked your precise plans, but this is the Indian summer holiday season (late March/early April till June/July or thereabouts), so certainly popular routes will book out well in advance yes. So if everything's sold out, it's less likely to be because the system is dysfunctional, but because it's sold out indeed.