First-AC, 2 tier and 3 tier experience

Thanks for your reply but spending max time in the train with my gf is not the idea. I am not used to long travels and so would like to keep the time to a minimum but at the same time, a cuddle would not be something to avoid if the place is private enough. My gf is rather fond of PDA and so I have to think along those lines too.

I read in one of the posts that our wise IR allots 2/4 cabins in such a way so as to keep men with men and women with women. So if there are 4 couples, does that mean that they would give one 4 seat cabin to 4 women, a 2 seat coupe to 2 men and a 2 seat coupe to 2 women? If they do it this way then they are really very nonsensical. As if women are never part of gangs.

I really appreciate the effort you made in replying to my query.

1. So far as I have gathered reading in this thread, it is not possible to explicitly book a coupe/cabin on one's name. Do you talk of some specific way? (OR were you hinting at some below the table activity?)

2.I think HA1 means HALF AC FIRST. What else could it mean?
So if Rajdhanis do not have a HA coach then what do H1 and H2 stand for?

I am suddenly realizing that this AC1 class is a somewhat less explored option, primarily because the people who can afford this class can also afford to fly and they find it much more convenient and much faster.

AC1 is looking like a Maze or a Tilism with no one having quite the exact idea about it.

Perhaps people know more about the Discovery Shuttle than Indian Railway's AC1.

Is this not a funny practice? Would we feel safer traveling with a stranger(s) or with someone we already know well?

So as per this logic, do I get it right if I say that:-

If there are 2 couples and 2 2-seat coupes then IR would give one coupe to the 2 men and one coupe to the 2 women.

I really don't think IR would be that badly stupid.


1. Thanks for the trains you mentioned but are they better than Rajdhani or are mere alternatives?

2. What is LHB? Left Hand Berth?

4. Does the IR not see that if 4 people have a common ticket then obviously they should be given a common 4 seat cabin. I just get the feeling that the safest way of getting a 4 seat cabin (for a couple) is to give names of 3 women and one man (me). That way, it looks to me that IR would allot 3 seats in a cabin to the the 3 women (of course 2 of them would not board) and the 4th one would be given to the 4th co-passenger (me).

This AC1 seating allotment might need a game theory based algorithm. The IR tries its own logic and we the passengers try to beat that logic further more and who knows if IR knows this and comes up with a new logic

Hi Nattusbs,

both the points that you make are relevant for me.
Its not quite a honeymoon but I do have to travel to Mumbai with my gf in a few weeks time, I want to know of a way that gives me a good chance of getting a 2 seat box for us. Can you please give me the thread link you talk about?

Your second point too holds some relevance for me. I might have to shift to Mumbai altogether in a few months time. Problem is, I have a Lab and I am not sure if a flight would be a good thing for him. I have also heard IR allows pets to board the train. I have also read the rules about this on the web site of IR but I am unaware of the way things work at the ground level.

1. What services do IR provide for pets?

2. Would I have to carry a special container for his nature calls? A dog is unlikely to use any such if he is not used to it, esp in a closed unknown enclosure.

3. Do I have to carry a crate for him (but mine is a big dog, about 51 KG)?

4. Finally, how did your GS feel when you traveled with him? What was the experience like?

5. One more, you say that your GS is a "HE" and yet you said that you would have called him Mrs Nattu "MyLastName inserted here". MRS? The TTE are not that unobservant.

Regards,
Sandeep Shastri.

Note for Mods:-

Thanks for merging all my posts, it did not occur to me that I had sent a lot of replies and it was better for me to keep it all condensed. I was actually using the Quote button rather than the Reply button unwittingly.

Btw, what a unique name "OceanTragic" for a mod (or for anyone) to have. Is there a story behind it?

1. Yes, it is not possible to explicitly book a cabin/coupe unless you have some contacts with the charting officer, which is very unlikely.

2. HA means a combination of First AC and 2nd AC.
H denotes 1st AC
A denotes 2nd AC
B denotes 3rd AC (Except Garib Rath)

A Simple H, as said above means a complete full 1st AC.
They are numbered 1,2,3 and so on sequentially.
Usually Rajdhanis has old ICF Coaches having a berth capacity of 18 berths (3 Coupes and 3 Cabins:- [3*4]+[3*2]=18)

3. People who loves to spend some time alone and/or is a fan of Railways can prefer 1AC.
Rajdhanis is specially preferred for this class, due to its comfort and luxury.

Yeah, now I do recall that the Sleepers are numbered as S1-S2--- and the other class coaches are named accordingly too. I have not traveled in trains all that much and never done a long distance journey. On the few occasions I have traveled in a train, it has been the Shatabdi and it has been a CC.

Btw, where can I find this charting officer in the station and would it be of any benefit if any Tea-Water was offered to him/her? Does he really have any powers over the allotment or it is all software?

Also, please tell me what is a LHB Coach?

http://articles.timesofindia.indiati...-ac-3-shatabdi

No idea about the charting officer. However if you happen to book the ticket through PRS, you can indirectly approach the reservation officer. He might lead you to the charting official.

Sandsha if you look carefully at what I said I mentioned that IR keeps couples together and will try to give a 2 berth to couples (they wouldn't split them up) until such time they run out, then couples will share a four berth with other couples or single travellers.
However if say there are 9/12 males (single travellers all) and 9/12 females they would allocate men with men and women with women so much as possible. So no, not stupid but an attempt to keep women from having to travel with strange men.

Probably makes single women feel a bit safer.

Sorry, perhaps I didn't explain that too well in my first post.

Once, a blogger in some other site reportedly expressed his concern about the safety of female passengers.
A young girl was allotted a coupe along with a HO (Perhaps a MLA/MP). The person reportedly tried to harass the girl by asking her repeated questions. The girl came out and requested a single family for someone to exchange the berth with her. A young guy from the family readily agreed and swapped the berth with her.

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While I was travelling in 12246 Ypr-Hwh Express, I saw quite a few no. of empty berths in 1AC. I requested the TTE to upgrade my berth to 1AC. I saw an entire cabin/coupe to be empty. I was trying to get the coupe. (mostly for its LB and also I guessed if I would have the chance to travel with less no. of ppl)
It so happened that a single girl was allotted a berth in a cabin. Her father started screaming/howling and and shouting by seeing 3 other passengers in her cabin. HE tried to claim that since he has booked a berth in 1AC, her daughter must have the priviledge to travel along in a single coupe/cabin for her own safety and security. As if the other passengers in her allotted cabin would go and eat her up.
The TTE being helpless had to shift the girl in a single coupe, and swap the two persons in that coupe to the cabin (much to their disapproval)

Thanks for the link.

I have the idea now. The IR is not that stupid after all.

In simple words LHB rakes are made of stainless steel and are designed so that the coach suffers minimum loss and does not topple while encountering an accident.
Cost of LHB is very high, and thus you would not find them much comfortable being designed with cushions.
But for 2AC and 3AC, it is a good choice.
Slowly all the existing ICF Rakes are to be replaced by LHB's.