Children below 5 years

Hi

A Close friend has asked me to book tickets for 4 people:
2 Senior Citizens
2 Children below 5 years

I am not able to buy the ticket for the children. Apparently, the IRCTC system wants me to enter the age for only 5 and above.

My friend is insisting that the name of the children are displayed on the E-Ticket!

Any suggestions?

Your friend can insist but the Railways will persist.
If you still want and won't mind paying enter the age as 6.

One essential bit of info missing, why is your friend insisting on the names of the children being on the ticket?

Is it because they want seats/berths for the children?

You can't get the names onto an e-ticket (to get them seats/berths) unless you list them as 6 year olds, you'll then have to pay for them.

If you go to a reservation office and complete a reservation form, you can add the childrens details to the reservation form and list their correct ages, you won't have to pay for the children, but you also won't get seats/berths for the children.

No matter what way you book, or what age you list the children as, their names have to somehow get onto the reservation chart, so if you book an eticket (but can't add their names), your friends will have to see the TTE (on the train) before they travel to get the children's names added to the reservation chart, however, this won't get the children a seat/berth.

Goodness!

What happens if one adult is travelling with six 4-yr-olds?

One berth only?

Sounds horrible!

Yes dear Nick you get only one berth.

Dear Steven,

your friends will have to see the TTE (on the train) before they travel to get the children's names added to the reservation chart

##They will NOT do this!!!

##As you have said earlier, there is a provision to mention the names of the Children below 5 years in the Reservation Form, and their names might appear in the Train's Database but not for public display.

Except the answer again would be (as far as I know) to book as many regular seats for them as you want, simply by listing them as adults. This is feasible, like it would be for other seats (berths).

The only advantage in not doing so for a young child is again you naturally won't be paying for them either. It's like that where I live: Young children travel for free or a discount, but should technically be taken on one's lap if all seats are full (well, not sure about the discount situation, but you get the gist).

We booked our five year old daughter as six. Had to pay naturally, but she got her own seat .

Hans

OK, I worded that wrongly.

When you book online (and are travelling with children under the age of 5), you have to find the TTE (when you get to the train) and give him the names of your children, he will then keep those details and not display them on the reservation chart, but you do have to give him the details.

Dear Steven,

he will then keep those details and not display them on the reservation chart,

##In my next journey, I will try to know more about this. :-)

When I travelled with my daughter the TTE needed her details (I'd booked online and she was only 7 months old, so her details couldn't be added), I can't remember where, but I've seen this written somewhere (that the TTE needs the details), it's to do with 'safety', if the train crashes, they need to know who was on the train.

One berth and hopefully a prescription for tranquilizers (either for self or for the 4-year-olds - or both).

Much depends on the children, you may need to hand out a pill to each traveller around you.

Ho, yes!

On reason for travelling in a more expensive class is to avoid the larger and maybe-thus noisier families, but if the little-est (often but not always noisiest) ones travel free, it defeats the object .

(Actually my small experience is that it does work: one of my few experiences of 3AC lasted only until the TTE could upgrade us from several surrounding families to the relative peace of 2AC)

(And on my wife's last train journey she was kept awake by an adult playing classical music on his radio all night! )

That's funny; I was generally always struck by how quiet and well-behaved those Indian children were on those lenthy rides. My feeling was it's because they seem to be less terrorized by their parents going do this & don't do that all day, & generally more accepted as a part of the world perhaps, and so have less of a need to rebel. I'm thinking mostly of the real young 'uns here mind, the kind that will often run amok where I live. Rowdy teenage boys can be a different thing again...

But I remember many a mom (or dad or any family member) softly and earnestly going "shhh, now hush" if a kid would get whiny, and they would comply. That's mostly unthinkable over here, without a whole drama.

Was this just my impression?