Do you need train information?

Krishnika · Oct 24th, 2004, 03:40

I was reading beach's general post on trains and got inspired by the section describing the possibility of cancellations. When is the last possible moment to get a partial refund? Could it be even a day after the train has arrived? It occurred to me that instead of just giving up on what could possibly be a great connection Hospet-Guntakal-Chennai (arr G 18:40, leave G 19:00), I could buy it with the highest of hopes of at least the 1st train being on time, but also buy back-up tickets from G-Bangalore-Chennai if I missed the connection. (G-Bang leaves 23:00) And afterwards get some kind of refund for whatever train(s) I didn't take. Am I making any sense? It makes the trip more expensive, but if I reserved 3A instead of 2A for the night trips (G-Chen and G-Bang) and II instead of CC for the Bang-Chen, I wouldn't lose much money even if they only refund 50%. Of course if I have to use the back up trains, the whole journey ends up being extra extra long since I could have gone straight to Bangalore from Hospet in the first place leaving 4 hours later, but it seems a shame to not even try for such a great connection. Does this sound reasonable? Meaning would anyone else consider doing this besides me? It just sounds so nice to arrive at 5:30am in Chennai instead of arriving at 6am in Bangalore with the prospect of another 7 hour ride just ahead. Not that I don't think the ride would be enjoyable, it's just that there's quite a bit more if it planned for the following days!
What are the usual hours for station reservation/cancellation windows?

Turtle · Oct 24th, 2004, 18:08

We will be leaving Mumbai on the 13th November and heading for Ganapatiphule via Ratnagiri .. ?

We would like to arrive early in the day at Ganapatiphule to give us time to find accomodation.

Are there early trains to Ratnagiri and how long is the journey time ?

In Mumbai we will be staying in the juhu beach area.

steven_ber · Oct 24th, 2004, 18:32

T 2051...Mumbai (DAR) 05:30, Ratnagiri 10:27. Except W, (CC, II)

T 0103...Mumbai (CST) 07:00, Ratnagiri 13:40 (1A, 2A, 3A, SL, II,)

T 6345...Mumbai (LT) 11:40, Ratnagiri 18:50 (2A, 3A, SL, II,)

Mumbai to Ratnagiri trains depart from Dadar (DAR) or Lokmanya Tilak (LT) or Chhatrapati Sivaji Terminus (CST)

Turtle · Oct 24th, 2004, 19:37

Cheers steven , many thanks

Turtle · Oct 24th, 2004, 19:59

On the Indian railways site , How do the codes for availabilty work ?

I got this WL 71/WL 51 for third class on the 13th november .

We have 4 travelling.

Jasglo · Oct 25th, 2004, 22:32

Hello,
We are planning to cover in two weeks the following places in India
Delhi
Agra
Jodhpur
Udaipur
Jaipur

Could you please tell us the best route to take in order to avoid backtracking? We will be travelling just by train.

Should we try to see other places in Rajasthan that are a must? Jaisalmer maybe?
Thanks
P.S. We were planning on covering Goa also but we have decided not to as we wil have our newborn baby with us then and it might become too stressful.

steven_ber · Oct 26th, 2004, 16:48

Krishnika

Forget that connection, it isn't a 'great connection' it's an invitation to misery.

I have no info on me at the moment, but from memory... I think your first train starts in Goa (single track all the way), your connecting train starts in Mumbai (double track for large sections, if not all), if both trains left an hour late from their starting stations the first train would miss it's booked time to pass through a section and be held to wait for trains in the other direction to pass through (then possibly the same at the next section), the second train wouldn't have this problem, once delayed, a train on a single track route has very little chance of making up time.

I would be reluctant to try for that connection if there was an hour between the trains, but 20 minutes.......

There is a passenger train from Hospet that goes to a city (can't remember the name) 50 kms from Guntakal, IF it arrives on time, it will get to that city 2 hours and 15 minutes before your chosen train departs Guntakal, I'd also say that this would be too tight though.

Turtle,

I will try to answer that question tommorow (if anyone else wants to answer it, feel free, I'm not 100% sure I understand the waitlisting situation).

Turtle · Oct 26th, 2004, 20:30

Thanks steven , we'll probably just turn up at the station on the 11th and try and book some seats for the 13th , i think we'll be ok .. we are fairly flexible on class of seat , so it shouldn't be a worry.

Cheers

Krishnika · Oct 27th, 2004, 02:24

thanks for your realistic outlook, Steven! I've had to rethink the trip anyway since I have to be back in Goa much earlier than expected, so I've already bought tickets with Air Deccan from Goa to Chennai via Bangalore, saving Hampi for some other time. They were very inexpensive and there was no problem buying them over the Internet. My brother who lives in India was thinking they may be reserved only for Indian nationals, but there was no mention of this on the site. Anyway, since you are the train god, I may as well mention that I've had a hard time finding info on connections to Tiruvannamalai by train. The maps I have show it being on a rail line, but I think there many not be any express trains passing through. I'll be coming from Mahabalipurum and going to Kumbakoram. Should I just plan on taking buses?

sachar · Nov 5th, 2004, 18:02

Thank for the information I have recieved so far. Just one more question.

What's the quickest way to get from mysore to pondicherry. As far as I know there isn't a direct train going from mysore to chennai (although a guy told me there is one).

I'm thinking about getting the 6221 train from mysore to chennai and then from chennai to pondichery.

Is there any way to get to mysore from ooty or coonor without loosing to many days (probably stop in ooty or coonor for one day then and take that great train ride) but I then do want to be able to travel from there to pondicherry in a day. Is that possible?

steven_ber · Nov 8th, 2004, 18:32

sachar

As far as I know there are no direct trains from Mysore to Pondi.

You have to take a bus or a taxi from Ooty to Mysore.

6221 is a good option from Mysore to Chennai.

There is another option to get to Chennai after the Blue Mountain railway, you could take the train from Ooty down to Mettupalayam and then get the Nilgiri Express (train 2672), it departs Mettupalayam daily at 19:45 and gets to Chennai Central at 05:15, it has 1A, 2A, 3A, FC & SL.

Train 103 departs Chennai Egmore daily at 06:35 and gets to Pondi at 11:45, this train only has 2nd class unreserved and I've heard it's very busy, so a bus would probibly be a better option.

sachar · Nov 8th, 2004, 19:44

Thanks for the information steven.

My first plan was to take 6221 from mysore but as there was a waitlist and I sort of wanted to go to ooty anyway I went with your second option. Especially since the train ride between ooty and Mettupalayam is supposed to be quite nice. Thanks for the heads up on the train to pondi, I'll get a bus (whohooo 4 hours of looking death in the face).

veronique · Feb 24th, 2005, 22:13

hello
could you help me I am in the process of planning my first trip to india
I intend to do a mumbai-goa-chennai route
could you tell me what train goe from goa to chennai
how much is it and how long is the journey?
that s all for now
vero

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven_ber

If you need train information for travelling around India reply to this post and i will get back to you as soon as possible.

Please check to see if the information is already available on one of the following links.

Usefull trains for tourists

Some trains not in 'Trains At A Glance'

steven_ber · Feb 25th, 2005, 00:58

Welcome to Indiamike.com

The info you need is on this link, though do remember that the train only runs once a week.

ahilyabhai · Mar 2nd, 2005, 19:00

Dear Steven

I've just joined the forum and spent the last four hours reading many of your postings on indian trains, as I am attempting to plan and book a trip around Rajasthan at the moment.

I have become hopelessly confused about the train from Delhi to Jaisalmer - so far as I understand, there is now a direct sleeper train between these towns, and it has a 3AC, and it leaves Delhi at 5.40pm, and arrives at 12.40 next day? Or do I have to change at Jaipur/Jodhpur? And what is the Shatabdhi Express I read about somewhere along the way - is this a faster daytime train doing the same journey? Do you know the difference in price and time? (I am travelling with three young kids so trying to work out what is going to be easiest for them!). The next leg of our journey will be returning from Jaisalmer but jumping off at Jaipur - I thought it might be more fun to do this in the daytime if its not a long trip, and with windows we could see out of as I understand 3AC are all darkened - do you know what my options would be? I've really enjoyed reading all your postings - I feel a lot more confident about the trip now than I did this morning!

Oct 24th, 2004, 03:40	#76
Krishnika taking a break Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: NYC Posts: 233	Buying back up tickets, getting refunds later. I was reading beach's general post on trains and got inspired by the section describing the possibility of cancellations. When is the last possible moment to get a partial refund? Could it be even a day after the train has arrived? It occurred to me that instead of just giving up on what could possibly be a great connection Hospet-Guntakal-Chennai (arr G 18:40, leave G 19:00), I could buy it with the highest of hopes of at least the 1st train being on time, but also buy back-up tickets from G-Bangalore-Chennai if I missed the connection. (G-Bang leaves 23:00) And afterwards get some kind of refund for whatever train(s) I didn't take. Am I making any sense? It makes the trip more expensive, but if I reserved 3A instead of 2A for the night trips (G-Chen and G-Bang) and II instead of CC for the Bang-Chen, I wouldn't lose much money even if they only refund 50%. Of course if I have to use the back up trains, the whole journey ends up being extra extra long since I could have gone straight to Bangalore from Hospet in the first place leaving 4 hours later, but it seems a shame to not even try for such a great connection. Does this sound reasonable? Meaning would anyone else consider doing this besides me? It just sounds so nice to arrive at 5:30am in Chennai instead of arriving at 6am in Bangalore with the prospect of another 7 hour ride just ahead. Not that I don't think the ride would be enjoyable, it's just that there's quite a bit more if it planned for the following days! What are the usual hours for station reservation/cancellation windows?

Oct 24th, 2004, 18:32	#78
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South of England. Posts: 11,565	T 2051...Mumbai (DAR) 05:30, Ratnagiri 10:27. Except W, (CC, II) T 0103...Mumbai (CST) 07:00, Ratnagiri 13:40 (1A, 2A, 3A, SL, II,) T 6345...Mumbai (LT) 11:40, Ratnagiri 18:50 (2A, 3A, SL, II,) Mumbai to Ratnagiri trains depart from Dadar (DAR) or Lokmanya Tilak (LT) or Chhatrapati Sivaji Terminus (CST) __________________ . How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions. Train information. RAC & Waitlists explained.

Oct 25th, 2004, 22:32	#81
Jasglo Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Norway Posts: 8	Train Information Hello, We are planning to cover in two weeks the following places in India Delhi Agra Jodhpur Udaipur Jaipur Could you please tell us the best route to take in order to avoid backtracking? We will be travelling just by train. Should we try to see other places in Rajasthan that are a must? Jaisalmer maybe? Thanks P.S. We were planning on covering Goa also but we have decided not to as we wil have our newborn baby with us then and it might become too stressful.

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Oct 24th, 2004, 18:08	#77
Turtle Bombay bound .... NOV 9 !! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: UK , London Posts: 29	We will be leaving Mumbai on the 13th November and heading for Ganapatiphule via Ratnagiri .. ? We would like to arrive early in the day at Ganapatiphule to give us time to find accomodation. Are there early trains to Ratnagiri and how long is the journey time ? In Mumbai we will be staying in the juhu beach area.

Oct 24th, 2004, 19:37	#79
Turtle Bombay bound .... NOV 9 !! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: UK , London Posts: 29	Cheers steven , many thanks

Oct 24th, 2004, 19:59	#80
Turtle Bombay bound .... NOV 9 !! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: UK , London Posts: 29	On the Indian railways site , How do the codes for availabilty work ? I got this WL 71/WL 51 for third class on the 13th november . We have 4 travelling.

Oct 26th, 2004, 16:48	#82
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South of England. Posts: 11,565	Krishnika Forget that connection, it isn't a 'great connection' it's an invitation to misery. I have no info on me at the moment, but from memory... I think your first train starts in Goa (single track all the way), your connecting train starts in Mumbai (double track for large sections, if not all), if both trains left an hour late from their starting stations the first train would miss it's booked time to pass through a section and be held to wait for trains in the other direction to pass through (then possibly the same at the next section), the second train wouldn't have this problem, once delayed, a train on a single track route has very little chance of making up time. I would be reluctant to try for that connection if there was an hour between the trains, but 20 minutes....... There is a passenger train from Hospet that goes to a city (can't remember the name) 50 kms from Guntakal, IF it arrives on time, it will get to that city 2 hours and 15 minutes before your chosen train departs Guntakal, I'd also say that this would be too tight though. Turtle, I will try to answer that question tommorow (if anyone else wants to answer it, feel free, I'm not 100% sure I understand the waitlisting situation).

Oct 26th, 2004, 20:30	#83
Turtle Bombay bound .... NOV 9 !! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: UK , London Posts: 29	Thanks steven , we'll probably just turn up at the station on the 11th and try and book some seats for the 13th , i think we'll be ok .. we are fairly flexible on class of seat , so it shouldn't be a worry. Cheers

Oct 27th, 2004, 02:24	#84
Krishnika taking a break Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: NYC Posts: 233	thanks for your realistic outlook, Steven! I've had to rethink the trip anyway since I have to be back in Goa much earlier than expected, so I've already bought tickets with Air Deccan from Goa to Chennai via Bangalore, saving Hampi for some other time. They were very inexpensive and there was no problem buying them over the Internet. My brother who lives in India was thinking they may be reserved only for Indian nationals, but there was no mention of this on the site. Anyway, since you are the train god, I may as well mention that I've had a hard time finding info on connections to Tiruvannamalai by train. The maps I have show it being on a rail line, but I think there many not be any express trains passing through. I'll be coming from Mahabalipurum and going to Kumbakoram. Should I just plan on taking buses?

Nov 5th, 2004, 18:02	#85
sachar Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: The Netlerlands Posts: 14	Thank for the information I have recieved so far. Just one more question. What's the quickest way to get from mysore to pondicherry. As far as I know there isn't a direct train going from mysore to chennai (although a guy told me there is one). I'm thinking about getting the 6221 train from mysore to chennai and then from chennai to pondichery. Is there any way to get to mysore from ooty or coonor without loosing to many days (probably stop in ooty or coonor for one day then and take that great train ride) but I then do want to be able to travel from there to pondicherry in a day. Is that possible?

Nov 8th, 2004, 18:32	#86
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South of England. Posts: 11,565	sachar As far as I know there are no direct trains from Mysore to Pondi. You have to take a bus or a taxi from Ooty to Mysore. 6221 is a good option from Mysore to Chennai. There is another option to get to Chennai after the Blue Mountain railway, you could take the train from Ooty down to Mettupalayam and then get the Nilgiri Express (train 2672), it departs Mettupalayam daily at 19:45 and gets to Chennai Central at 05:15, it has 1A, 2A, 3A, FC & SL. Train 103 departs Chennai Egmore daily at 06:35 and gets to Pondi at 11:45, this train only has 2nd class unreserved and I've heard it's very busy, so a bus would probibly be a better option.

Nov 8th, 2004, 19:44	#87
sachar Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: The Netlerlands Posts: 14	Thanks for the information steven. My first plan was to take 6221 from mysore but as there was a waitlist and I sort of wanted to go to ooty anyway I went with your second option. Especially since the train ride between ooty and Mettupalayam is supposed to be quite nice. Thanks for the heads up on the train to pondi, I'll get a bus (whohooo 4 hours of looking death in the face).

Feb 25th, 2005, 00:58	#89
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: South of England. Posts: 11,565	Welcome to Indiamike.com The info you need is on this link, though do remember that the train only runs once a week.

Mar 2nd, 2005, 19:00	#90
ahilyabhai Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Brighton, UK Posts: 7	Dear Steven I've just joined the forum and spent the last four hours reading many of your postings on indian trains, as I am attempting to plan and book a trip around Rajasthan at the moment. I have become hopelessly confused about the train from Delhi to Jaisalmer - so far as I understand, there is now a direct sleeper train between these towns, and it has a 3AC, and it leaves Delhi at 5.40pm, and arrives at 12.40 next day? Or do I have to change at Jaipur/Jodhpur? And what is the Shatabdhi Express I read about somewhere along the way - is this a faster daytime train doing the same journey? Do you know the difference in price and time? (I am travelling with three young kids so trying to work out what is going to be easiest for them!). The next leg of our journey will be returning from Jaisalmer but jumping off at Jaipur - I thought it might be more fun to do this in the daytime if its not a long trip, and with windows we could see out of as I understand 3AC are all darkened - do you know what my options would be? I've really enjoyed reading all your postings - I feel a lot more confident about the trip now than I did this morning!