Do you need train information?

Hello Martin

The stretch from Trivandrum to Ernakulam (Cochin) is a very enjoyable stretch to travel along during the day, I've heard the stretch from Mangalore to Madgaon (Goa) is also scenic, and I enjoyed the stretch from Madgaon to Mumbai as well, so the following trains may be worth considering.

Train 6334 (Mondays), 6336 (Tuesdays) and 6312 (Saturdays) depart Trivandrum at 15:15 and get to Madgaon at 10:55 the following day. (2A, 3A, SL.)

An alternative.....

Train 6346 departs Trivandrum daily at 10:00 and gets to Madgaon at 05:50 (2A, 3A, SL.)


Train 2052 departs Madgaon (not Thursdays) at 11:40 ande gets to Dadar (Mumbai) at 20:30. (CC, 2S.)

Alternatives.....

Train 6346 departs Madgaon daily at 06:00 and gets to Lokmanya Tilak (Mumbai) at 16:40 (2A, 3A, SL.)

Train 0104 departs Madgaon daily at 09:50 and gets to Mumbai CST at 21:45. (1A, 2A, 3A, SL.)


If your going from Trivandrum to Mumbai and breaking your journey at Madgaon for a couple of days, the Station from/to section would be for the ticket and would be Station From Trivandrum - To Mumbai CST (or whatever Mumbai station you're using), but you would be Boarding at Trivandrum with a Reservation up to Madgaon.

In the ’Onward/return journey details’ section further down the reservation form, you would put the details of the second train, then Station From – Madgaon, To – Mumbai CST. (or whatever Mumbai station you're using)

See the Understanding Reservation Forms. thread for more details.

See the 'Train Fares' thread for the rules regarding 'Break Of Journey' tickets.

Thanks very much Steven,
you are truly, THE MAN !
martin.

[QUOTE=SHIMLA]Steven,

There seems to be no logic behind the inclusion of a few passenger trains and the exclusion of many!!

A rather late reply .
Only passenger trains where ADVANCE RESERVATION can be made are mentioned on IR's website.

583/584 Bangalore - Hubli - Bangalore Pass
661/662 Mettupalyam - Ooty - Mettupalyam Pass
241/242 Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Mumbai Pass
213/214 Mysore - Tirupati - Mysore Fast Pass

Are some examples, among many others

Aloke

KONKAN RAILWAY is the name of a railway zone that covers the west coast ( the Konkan Coast ) of India, from Roha near Mumbai down through Goa, down south to Mangalore in Karnataka.
Visit their website at:
http://www.konkanrailway.com/website/ehtm/begining.htm

Hi Steven (and others),

I am trying to figure out how to get to Pondicherry from Kerala (probably Triv, but maybe Kollam or Alappuzha) by train. It looks like there is no direct way. What is the closest city that we can get to and then take a taxi?

Thanks so much!

Villuparam Jn is the most convenient train station at the moment, it is 37 Kms from Pondicherry and has regular buses connectiong the 2.

Train 6124 starts it's journey at Trivandrum at 16:20 (daily) and gets to Villuparam Jn at 05:25 the following morning. (2A, 3A, SL.)

An alternative....

Train 728 departs Quilon at 18:00, Varkala at 18:40, then Trivandrum at 20:20 and gets to Madurai at 05:20 (Sleeper Class only)

Have breakfast then have a look at the famous temple, then....

Train 6128 departs Madurai daily at 11:05 and gets to Villuparam Jn at 16:55 (2A, 3A, SL, 2S.)

There are also many overnight trains (departing after 22:30 for a 7 hour trip) from Madurai to Villuparam Jn.

You really are amazing! Thanks very much

Alternatively, you could take the 6128 (Guruvayur - Chennai Express) from Ernakulam (Dep: 11.30 p.m.) or Allepey (Dep 12.33 a.m.) upto Chengalpattu (Arrives: 6.53 p.m.) and from there take the 6115 Chennai - Pondicherry Express (Dep: 6.58 p.m., Pondy arr 9.30 p.m.). If jittery about the fineness of that connection, you could get down at Villipuram (Arr. 4.55 p.m.) and from there take the same Pondicherry Express (Dep: 8.42 p.m.) Of course, that is a rather ridiculously long wait, and it would be much wiser to just take a taxi/bus as Steven had said.

Aloke

Hi
My boyfriend and I are planning to travel from Mangalore to Mumbai by train starting the 20th of Feb and arriving in Mumbai the 4th March. Can anyone tell me if you can get a train ticket that lets you jump on and off as we'd like to stop at Gokarna and poss at some of the beaches in Goa. (where we've been before but got taxis/buses everywhere). And is there a train station at Gokarna?

Any info would be appreciated - also I've heard there is a massive festival in Gokarna at the end of Feb, does anyone have any info about this?

Not to my knowledge no. There's the "Break of Journey" rules but I doubt if they'd be applicable here.

There appears to be a train station at Gokarna Road, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gokarna , http://www.indiagroove.com/ .

What class do you intend to travel in?

(there's a good reason for asking)

Would you consider 2nd class unreserved if you could get seats?

(this would offer extreme flexibility, and save the need to book in advance)

I know what I'm talking about as well, I've just used a few of these trains on that route with my Girlfriend and Baby.

Like Steven say travelling unreserved is the best bet. Certainly from Goa to Mangalore isn't too over crowded!!

This route was not that crowded frm Mangalore when i travelled and Feb is not holiday season so i think you can get the tickets easily.Gokarna has a small railway station.
You must get another ticket at gokarna if you want go further frm there.A nice scenic journey though.

The "big festival" must be Shivratri.Unfortunately it's on 16th Feb. this year.
For your journey Mangalore to Goa the best train is KR2, a passenger train stopping at places like Udipi,Gokarna Road,and Cancona. Note that the Konkan Railway was built 10-40 kms from the coast so when you arrive at Gokarna Road you have to take a bus or autorickshaw into town.You may actually find buses are more efficient on this route-though travelling 2nd class unreserved in S.India can be fun .Don't worry about reserving tickets on the passenger train since you wont be on it for more than a few hours and fellow passengers are usually friendly and will make room for you to squeeze in if it's busy.

Thanks - I think we'll just book when we get there then, also can anyone help me with getting from Bangalore to Mangalore - seems to be a train to Mysore and then nothing. Is this part of the line still under construction? Wondering if it mightn't be easier to just fly from Delhi to Mangalore. Is Bangalore worth stopping of at. We only have 18 days in India and will ahve spent 5 in Delhi by the time we head to Karnataka.

Also if we want to visit Agra I'm assuming we'll need to book our train tickets in advance and then collect them from the office when we arrive-is this right? Can anyone suggest a good hotel in Delhi?