booking trains

divadino

Hi there

From all the wonderful info on this forum, I've realised that's it's advisable to book trains before I leave UK, especially for overnight or longer journeys (over 3 hours?) - especially in Rajasthan.

What I'd like to clarify is whether I need to pre-book train tickets in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (this is for end December/January time) - as I'd be stopping every 2-4 hours in different towns (this is if I don't end up just getting a driver/taxi of course). I'm definiately planning to use trains and buses on the stretch between Kochi and Trivandrum (and that town at the very bottom - can't remember name - begins with a K!?). Will I need to pre-book these or can I just turn up and get on the train (for such short journeys what class would it be best to travel in - unreserved 2nd or something?)

thanks muchly!

Dinah

Karma Queen

i wouldn't bother booking them before you get to india. i've never done it, so i don't know how easy it is etc, but it is so simple to book over there, i'd leave it if i were you. just go to the train station at the city you are in, head for the booking office. fill out a form (your name, age, sex, which train, when, which class etc) and join the queue. you can book train tickets all over india (starting and finishing anywhere in india) from any station. buy a book (moer like a magazine really) called 'trains at a glance' from stations and some bookshops for about Rs 30 and that'll provide you with the info you need.

good luck! it's daunting at first, but easy once you know how

cyberhippie

There's no need to book ALL your tickets before you leave the UK the first onward journey will suffice!
Give yourself the time (say an extra day) to visit the tourist cell in Delhi/Mumbai then you can book the rest of your tickets!!
As for your question about Tamil Nadu and Kerala well that's a poser you plan to be moving on every two or three hours if I understand you correctly.
If this is the case I would advise against pre booking your train as this will limit you to journeying on certain trains at certain times which sooner or later is going fall down when a train is delayed.
My advice would be to buy general class tickets (the old wooden benches class) then find a ticket inspector and upgrade to sleeper class or second class sitting (most trains don't seem to have these sitting coaches so you will have to pay the sleeper supplement which isn't much)
Of course for such short journeys general class may suit you they are not always crowded and the backside can take the wooden seats-for a while!!
We used general class several times in Kerala and were pleasantly suprised how quiet it was, but be warned a lot of general class carriages can get VERY busy!!
Well that my two cents worth the "train guys" will be along shortly and they will give you the low down on whether my info is the best way to go!!!

Happy Traveling

divadino

thanks guys

No way am I planning on moving on to somewhere new every 2-3 hours. What I meant was I would arrive somewhere spend a day or overnight there (or where very nearby an afternoon) and then catch a train which would take me 2-3 hours down the track to my next destination where I would then spend a day or few days etc. So my question was does one need to pre-book or stand in a long queue to get into general class (my bum can manage 2-4 hours on a wooden bench - it's well padded )

D

cyberhippie

Ok in that case pre-booking is a possibility!! If you know your travel dates just pre-book a clutch of tickets at a time!!
Otherwise 24 hours notice will get you on most trains but be prepared for a few disappointments.
For general class the waiting time in a queue isn't too extreme it's the reservation queue that can take ages!!
I still reckon this may be the best way to go for such short journeys!
Have fun

Happy Traveling

jarman_ah

"My advice would be to buy general class tickets (the old wooden benches class) then find a ticket inspector and upgrade to sleeper class or second class sitting (most trains don't seem to have these sitting coaches so you will have to pay the sleeper supplement which isn't much)........For general class the waiting time in a queue isn't too extreme it's the reservation queue that can take ages!!......24 hours notice will get you on most trains but be prepared for a few disappointments."


Cyberhippie, can you explain this a little more fully. Is "general class" unreserved seating, where they just squeeze as many people on as have tickets? If you buy general class, does that mean that, for all intents and purposes, your train is NEVER "full", because only the "upper" classes and sleeper class have designated seating? The reason I ask is that I plan, at present, to follow your advice and book the trains after I've arrived ..... my first train journey, only, is currently prebooked. I don't mind "a few disappointments" if what that means is that I can't get the nice Class 3A or 2A which I wanted (I can stand wooden seats if it means keeping to schedule), but I certainly don't want to take the chance of being turned away, or told "the earliest we can get you on a train is two or three days after your preferred date". My schedule would be right up the spout if that happened!

If such a thing were likely to happen, I would change tactics and book a cluster of tickets right now, three weeks early, and breathe easy (except, of course, I'd worry about the collection of the tickets not going smoothly.... but that's another story!) So, can you write a bit further on this subject? My main question is, is it possible to roll up for tickets and be told the whole train is full? Or can you just buy "unreserved", hop on the train secure in the knowledge that at least you won't get thrown off, and then (as you said above) find a conductor and ask him to look around for an empty seat or two in 2A or 3A -- thus paying the difference to him, rather than the reservations office, and sidestepping the need to stand in a reservations queue, maybe for hours?

I hope that's not too badly expressed to be understandable.... I will be VERY interested to hear your answer (I guess it's all in one of steven ber's posts already; I confess I haven't got around to reading them in full as yet).

cyberhippie

Ok I think I understand what your getting at!
My comment about upgrading to second class sleeper were for short journeys where if it all get too much in General class the ticket inspector will allow you (after paying the supplement) to SIT in 2nd sleeper where the passenger who has the reservation has not joined the train yet and will not do so for a few hours. In this case the TT will allot you a temporary seat usually up to you destination.
I wouldn't count on the general class option myself. General class is indeed where they just pack in as many people who have tickets.
This can get very very crowded and you'll be happy if your bum ever feels the slats of the wooden bench!!
If your train is departing from the first station on the timetable then you may get a seat but don't count on it!
General class is used by workers getting to work, wood cutters and as the cheapest class it is very heavily patronized!!
I've only ever used general class on short 3-4 hour journeys you can in theory go to the Ticket inspector and ask him to upgrade your ticket and if there's space he'll accomodate you (on short journeys he can usually fit you in but don't expect to get a bed in the same fashion booked is booked if there are no beds you're stuffed) for which you'll have to pay a supplement!
If you really want to stick to an itinery then I suggest booking a clutch of tickets upto a place where you intend to hang around for a few days. Or if your itinery is rigid all the tickets.
This will avoid unexpected delays when you can't get reservations for a couple of days!!
There is unfortunatley no science to this much of the time you will get a reservation with only 24 hours notice but equally if your unlucky the train may be booked up for days, there are too many factors to go into here but luck plays a major role!
As your prefered choice of travel is 2AC or 3AC I think it all the more imperative that you book all your ticket to keep to schedule. This accomodation is limited and to stick to a schedule it might be wise!
I hope this has helped with your planning!

Happy Traveling

jarman_ah

Yes, cyberhippie, it has helped a lot, and thank you. I'll bet there are many other people reading this thread who are as grateful as I am for your generosity in advising (and so quick, too -- I only posted the question a half hour ago!)

It is comforting to know that there is, even on express trains (but not, I'd expect, those super-expresses whose name I can never remember -- shadabti?) do have an unreserved component, so that even if we had to stand, we can at least get on... as hard as a several-hour journey might be, it would be better than leaving out a whole stopover because of a twenty-four hour delay. At least, standing in a crowded carriage is getting to know the "real" India! I hope we won't have to do that much, as, after reading your advice, I think we will book our overnight train for Oct 19 via the internet, and then, on October 18 at the reservations centre, we will be booking ongoing tickets that start from October 21, a more decent "interval".

SHIMLA

divadino,

For short, day journeys of 2-3 hours, you need not book in advance. You can easily rough it out in the unreserved sitting compartments. If there is room in "SL" class, you can always travel by these and have your ticket upgraded by paying the difference to the TTE on the train.

jarman,

Rajdhani and Shatabdi(shatabdi means centenary) Express trains are fully air-conditioned, fully reserved trains and do not have an unreserved coach.

The concept of a Shatabdi Express - a superfast fully air-con train between two important towns and which returned to its originating station the same day - was introduced in 1988-89, to commemorate the "Shatabdi", ie. the centenary, of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first P.M.

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divadino

thanks to all! very very useful.

I'll just hope that none of the trains from Chennai to the Keralan coast are super express trains then - so I can chug along happily. I'll probably end up getting a car/driver after all this though!


Dinah

ranthambhore_in

Check out www.indianrail.gov.in
Its the official Indian Railways site and offers some good deals for foreign travellers. If you are planning to take a lot of trains the Indian rail pass may be a good option. I would book all the overnight journeys. For short day journeys one does not really need to book in advance.

jarman_ah

Well, cyberhippie, I tried to make a booking (For October 19) via the net, but it was the usual two-hour saga that I experienced with my first booking. The site had a communication problem and wouldn't let me proceed, then as I paid on a second try, my time expired and I was told to start again. A few minutes after, they sent word via email that they would re-credit my account with the payment that I had actually made just prior to expiry, and would I please book again!
Finally, when I booked the final time the payment went through, but instead of a coach and seat, I got a blank -- and the status of WL8 and WL9. So, what do I do now? Do wait lists (especially when we're talking nearly a month in advance) normally clear? Should I cancel and try for a second-class sleeper or something "lower grade"?

I sent them an email to their help centre, but they are not so fast in replying to individual queries. I don't want to book ongoing tickets for after the 19th unless I know what's happening on the 19th.... looks like I need your expert advice again!

Thanks for that!
Alan

steven_ber

Detailed info is so important.

WL8 and WL9 in 2A or 3A will almost certainly be confirmed by the time you travel, WL8 and WL9 in 1A or FC probably wouldn't.

There are not many 1A or FC berths on a train, but there can be loads of 2A or 3A berths.

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Train information.


RAC & Waitlists explained.

cyberhippie

Good morning Alan!!
Waiting listed 8 na 9 stand a good chance of getting on the train but unfortunately you won't know for sure until a couple of hours before the train departs.
You can check the staus of your ticket using the PNR number of the waiting listed tickets but I'm pretty sure the decision is made just before the train leaves. Though logic dictates that if people cancel you should be hoisted up the list, maybe Shimla knows if this is the case, when I've had a waiting listed ticket I've always been told that I won't know for sure until a couple of hours before departure!!
This is an Indian Railways dilemma you could book a second ticket in 2nd sleeper (if available) and wait and see if you've been upgraded to a confirmed ticket on the day if so you can still cash your second class tickets in and get back 50% of the cost of your 2nd sleeper tickets.
Obviously this will leave you out of pocket I don't know how you feel about this.
The other option is of course to cancel now the 2AC tickets and go for the second class sleeper option (again if available)
Or if you tell me where your departing from and where your trying to get to I'll be happy to try and find a train that has availabilty on your given travel date!

Edit
After consultation with one of our resident experts (cheers Steven Ber) It would appear that there is real time info available on the upgrading of tickets to confirmed status.
It's the berth/seat number that is arranged shortly before departure not the ticket confirmation.
In practise this means you may well know if your ticket has been upgraded a couple of days before departure enabling you to cash in you "emergency" 2nd sleeper ticket for only a small administration cost not the 50% I mentioned before.
I still think looking at the availability on other trains should be our first course of action though, you never know another train may have space in 2/3AC

to check the status of your waiting listed ticket
Click the link and look for passenger status (top left) click here and you will be taken to a page and invited to enter the 10 digit pin number of you ticket and hopefully you'll see the status of your ticket (might have gone up a few notches already)

ticket status

jarman_ah

Boy, are you two guys a comfort! The tickets were for 2A class (the site wouldn't sell me 3A, my original preference, and I had to type in all the information again!!!), so I guess the best thing I can do is ride it out and see what happens. It's overnight from Agra to Jodhpur. Probably if it doesn't get confirmed, there'll be an overnight bus..... do you think? By the way, how do you know when a ticket is confirmed a couple of hours before? Do you go to the station and ask?

How about having the quota changed from general to tourist? Possible? Not via the net, I'd hazard a guess!

One last thing -- can either of you explain the WL1, WL2, etc.... does WL9 mean that there are eight people in front of me? I note that the returning train, from Jaisalmer to Jaipur (which I haven't tried to book on the net yet) is also listed on the Indian Railways site as wait-listed -- though with smaller numbers than 8 and 9. I confess that until today I had never clicked the "check availability" button on this site -- somehow it never seemed important, a month before departure! Now I know better!

Thnaks for all your help, and the offer to track my ticket.... but I think I know how to do this for myself (if not, I'll get back onto you for instructions! I don't want you to do it for me if I can work out how to do it for myself -- on the Fodor's forum, we have people who ask questions that could easily be answered by a one-minute google search (which is how we answer them for the posters, most of the time) and it does get a little wearying when people just won't lift a finger to help themselves. I don't want to turn into one of those!)

Alan